Shows
Insights UnlockedPowering smarter research: what the UserTesting acquisition of User Interviews signals for UX researchEpisode web page: https://bit.ly/3LR63bd
Episode summary:
In this special episode, guest host Kate Towsey—ResearchOps thought leader and founder of the Cha-Cha Club—sits down with Baran Erkel, Chief Strategy Officer at UserTesting, and Basel Fakhoury, CEO and co-founder of User Interviews, to unpack the recent acquisition of User Interviews by UserTesting.
Together, they dive into the strategy, vision, and community impact behind the merger, addressing head-on the questions and emotions stirred within the UX and research communities.
Listeners will gain insight into why now was the right...
2026-01-2644 min
Awkward Silences#179 - The Future of Research Operations with Kate Towsey LIVEErin May sits down with Kate Towsey, founder of Cha Cha Club and author of Research That Scales, for Research Ops Appreciation Week. Kate shares insights from producing an audio documentary series on the future of research ops, including her fascinating experience co-creating content with AI. She reveals how research ops teams are increasingly surviving layoffs while research teams are cut, explaining that ops professionals focus on unblocking systems and delivering measurable business value rather than gatekeeping processes.Kate emphasizes the critical shift happening in research ops from administrative firefighting to strategic systems design. She discusses the...
2025-12-2255 min
Awkward SilencesResearch Ops 2.0, Episode 5: The People of ResearchOpsIn just ten years, ResearchOps has transformed from an obscure Silicon Valley speciality into a vibrant global profession. Despite economic headwinds, ResearchOps roles are emerging across industries far beyond tech, and the field is evolving at breathtaking speed. But where have we come from, and where are we going?In this five-part audio documentary, we’re exploring the past, present, and future of ResearchOps—and it’s exciting, fascinating, and, at times, pretty mindblowing stuff! Each episode features the voices of Cha Cha Club members, senior research leaders, and the smart minds behind User Interviews.In thi...
2025-10-1454 min
Awkward SilencesResearch Ops 2.0, Episode 4: Building Enduring Systems Amidst Constant ChangeIn just ten years, ResearchOps has transformed from an obscure Silicon Valley speciality into a vibrant global profession. Despite economic headwinds, ResearchOps roles are emerging across industries far beyond tech, and the field is evolving at breathtaking speed. But where have we come from, and where are we going?In this five-part audio documentary, we’re exploring the past, present, and future of ResearchOps—and it’s exciting, fascinating, and, at times, pretty mindblowing stuff! Each episode features the voices of Cha Cha Club members, senior research leaders, and the smart minds behind User Interviews.In...
2025-09-3048 min
Awkward SilencesResearch Ops 2.0, Episode 3: Taking a Platform Approach to ResearchOpsIn just ten years, ResearchOps has transformed from an obscure Silicon Valley speciality into a vibrant global profession. Despite economic headwinds, ResearchOps roles are emerging across industries far beyond tech, and the field is evolving at breathtaking speed. But where have we come from, and where are we going?In this five-part audio documentary, we’re exploring the past, present, and future of ResearchOps—and it’s exciting, fascinating, and, at times, pretty mindblowing stuff! Each episode features the voices of Cha Cha Club members, senior research leaders, and the smart minds behind User Interviews—the only solution...
2025-09-1646 min
Awkward SilencesResearch Ops 2.0, Episode 2: Leveraging AI for Research SuperstardomIn just 10 years, ResearchOps has transformed from an obscure Silicon Valley speciality into a vibrant global profession. Despite economic headwinds, ResearchOps roles are emerging across industries far beyond tech, and the field is evolving at breathtaking speed. But where has it come from, and where is it going?In this five-part audio documentary series, Kate Towsey of Cha Cha Club explores the past, present, and, most important of all, the future of ResearchOps. Each episode features the voices of Cha Cha Club members, senior research leaders, and the smart minds behind User Interviews. In this...
2025-09-0251 min
Awkward SilencesSpecial Release! Research Ops 2.0, Episode 1: The Evolution of ResearchOpsIn just 10 years, ResearchOps has transformed from an obscure Silicon Valley speciality into a vibrant global profession. Despite economic headwinds, ResearchOps roles are emerging across industries far beyond tech, and the field is evolving at breathtaking speed. But where has it come from, and where is it going?In this five-part audio documentary series, Kate Towsey of Cha Cha Club explores the past, present, and, most important of all, the future of ResearchOps. Each episode features the voices of Cha Cha Club members, senior research leaders, and the smart minds behind User Interviews. This episode features insights...
2025-08-1943 min
Awkward Silences#171 - Summer Throwback: Kate Towsey on Starting a ReOps PracticeWelcome to Summer Throwbacks, where we revisit some of our favorite episodes. This week's guest is Kate Towsey, who helped spotlight the relevance, urgency, and importance of Research Operations (ReOps) to business. This conversation is from her time leading ReOps at Atlassian. She breaks down the rationale for ReOps and the steps folks can take to start a practice of their own.These days, Kate's investing in Cha Cha Club, a space for ResearchOps pros to connect and learn. Stay tuned for an exclusive podcast series with Kate and Cha Cha Club...coming soon.
2025-07-2444 min
DesignOps Aligned Podcast Show"Should Everybody Do Research?" - Kate Towsey"Should Everybody Do Research?" - Act 02 - Scene 38 - Kate TowseySummaryIn this episode of the DesignOps Aligned podcast, Naresh Shan speaks with Kate Towsey, a prominent figure in the field of research operations. They discuss the evolution and current state of research ops, the importance of democratizing research, and the role of researchers in product development. Kate emphasises the need for strong research leadership and the integration of AI as a strategic partner in research processes. The conversation also touches on the future of research methodologies and the importance of building effective research...
2025-06-181h 05
Research That Scales–a Limited-Edition Podcast SeriesEpisode 8: Nishita GillResearch That Scales is a nine-part podcast series inspired by my book, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024). In each thirty-minute episode, I speak with a brilliant research mind, weaving in voice notes and sound design to bring their stories to life. Together, we explore what scaling research means, beyond the platitudes and jargon, and what it takes to turn the vision of scalable, impactful research into a robust reality.“We need to reconfigure what we thought of as a researcher, and what is really valuable. Because we have been gifted with the fluidity of...
2025-06-1636 min
Research That Scales–a Limited-Edition Podcast SeriesEpisode 7: Tim ToyResearch That Scales is a nine-part podcast series inspired by my book of the same name, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024). In each thirty-minute episode, I speak with a brilliant research mind, weaving in voice notes and sound design to bring their stories to life. Together, we explore what scaling research means, beyond the platitudes and jargon, and what it takes to turn the vision of scalable, impactful research into a robust reality."I love how your book talks about how research operations is a part of research strategy because I don't think...
2025-06-0933 min
Research That Scales–a Limited-Edition Podcast SeriesEpisode 6: Behzod SirjaniResearch That Scales is a nine-part podcast series inspired by my book, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024). In each thirty-minute episode, I speak with a brilliant research mind, weaving in voice notes and sound design to bring their stories to life. Together, we explore what scaling research means, beyond the platitudes and jargon, and what it takes to turn the vision of scalable, impactful research into a robust reality.“Scaling research is the work of building and supporting whatever it takes to gather and synthesise more evidence to make better decisions in service of...
2025-06-0235 min
UX Research ClubS3-E2: Why Research Ops Matters: A conversation with Kate TowseySend a textIn today's episode, I am delighted to have a conversation with TowseyKate Towsey is an independent strategic advisor, ResearchOps guru, and founder of the Cha Cha Club a members' club for ResearchOps professionals. Kate has been at the forefront of ResearchOps for over a decade. The inventor of the widely used acronym PWDR (pau·duh) for “people who do research,” Kate also wrote some of the earliest blog posts about setting up research operations, founded the ResearchOps Community, and launched the #WhatisResearchOps movement, putting ResearchOps on the map.
2025-05-2857 min
Research That Scales–a Limited-Edition Podcast SeriesEpisode 5: Noel LambResearch That Scales is a nine-part podcast series inspired by my book, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024). In each thirty-minute episode, I speak with a brilliant research mind, weaving in voice notes and sound design to bring their stories to life. Together, we explore what scaling research means, beyond the platitudes and jargon, and what it takes to turn the vision of scalable, impactful research into a robust reality.“… a lot of people forget that there is a human on the other side of the participant number. Their time is valuable. Their experience is i...
2025-05-2632 min
Research That Scales–a Limited-Edition Podcast SeriesEpisode 4: Ned DwyerResearch That Scales is a nine-part podcast series inspired by my book, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024). In each thirty-minute episode, I speak with a brilliant research mind, weaving in voice notes and sound design to bring their stories to life. Together, we explore what scaling research means, beyond the platitudes and jargon, and what it takes to turn the vision of scalable, impactful research into a robust reality.“Scaling research isn’t just about hiring more researchers—it’s about empowering the entire organisation to make informed, customer-centric decisions.”—Ned DwyerIn this...
2025-05-1930 min
Research That Scales–a Limited-Edition Podcast SeriesEpisode 3: Elizabeth McGuaneResearch That Scales is a nine-part podcast series inspired by my book, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024). In each thirty-minute episode, I speak with a brilliant research mind, weaving in voice notes and sound design to bring their stories to life. Together, we explore what scaling research means, beyond the platitudes and jargon, and what it takes to turn the vision of scalable, impactful research into a robust reality.“Scale itself has diminishing returns: the more you scale things without any sense of impact or value, and only thinking about the size of th...
2025-05-1235 min
Research That Scales–a Limited-Edition Podcast SeriesEpisode 2: Jen Cardello“Instead of thinking in terms of just bespoke discrete research studies that kind of litter the space, it’s how do these things click together.”—Jen CardelloIn this episode of Research That Scales, I speak with Jen Cardello, MVP of Design Research and Operations at Capital One. We discuss why scaling research is not about growing headcount, but about building systems that scale value across the organisation. Jen shares how a systems mindset, rather than a service mindset, is essential for scaling research. We explore why getting the fundamentals right—asking the right research questions, establishing sound oper...
2025-05-0435 min
Research That Scales–a Limited-Edition Podcast SeriesEpisode 1: Matt Gallivan“I tend to think of scaling as being more focused on efficiency rather than growth and volume.”—Matt GallivanIn this first episode of Research That Scales, I speak with Matt Gallivan, a research leader who’s led research teams at Meta, Airbnb, and Slack. Matt is also the voice behind The Understanders, a Substack exploring the evolution of AI.We cover the cultural impact of the research systems we build. What happens when you make a system too frictionless, for instance? We also talk about why research leaders and ResearchOps working as co-conspirators is gold, an...
2025-04-2825 min
Finders to Builders - A UX Research ShowSPECIAL - Off My Bookshelf : Kate TowseyKate shares her journey of writing the book, how it evolved with the changes in the industry from 2020 to 2022, and the core ideas around scaling research. She discusses the importance of operations beyond just headcount, how to embed value into the organisation, and the necessity of actionable strategies. Key takeaways include the concept of research teams as both finders and builders, systems thinking in operations regardless of team size, and how to pitch the importance of operational work within research to the wider organization. Kate also highlights her upcoming masterclasses that focus on creating actionable research strategies...
2025-04-2333 min
NN/G UX Podcast46. Getting Strategic About Research (feat. Kate Towsey, author of Research that Scales)As tech layoffs and budget cuts dominate the start of the year, UX teams are navigating a critical challenge: proving the value of research while doing more with less. In this episode, NN/g Director of Research Maria Rosala sits down with ResearchOps pioneer Kate Towsey to explore how ResearchOps can help teams think strategically about the impact and efficiency of their research.
Learn more about Kate Towsey
Kate’s Book: Research That Scales: The Research Operations Handbook
Kate's Substack: Scaling and Systematising Research
Kate’s Masterclasses in Australia and Europe: Defining a ResearchOps Strategy, 2025
Kate's ChaCha Club...
2025-01-2450 min
Insights UnlockedWhy central repositories are key to scaling research, with Kate TowseyEpisode web page: https://bit.ly/3Vlc2q8-----------------------Rate Insights Unlocked and write a reviewIf you appreciate Insights Unlocked, please give it a rating and a review.Visit Apple Podcasts, pull up the Insights Unlocked show page and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Below the trailers, you'll find Ratings and Reviews. Click on a star rating. Scroll down past the highlighted review and click on "Write a Review." You'll make my day.-----------------------Episode show notesIn this episode of Insights...
2024-12-0941 min
Service Design ShowThe Secrets behind Research that Scales / Kate Towsey / Ep. #216There is no service design...
Without high-quality research.
Sure, we all know that.
But doing good research is hard.
Kate Towsey, often called the inventor of the ResearchOps field, can certainly attest to this.
If you're a dedicated listener of the show, you might remember Kate from our conversation about a year ago where she shared that she was writing a book.
Well, that book, titled "Research that Scales", has officially been published!
And with a 4.9/5 rating on Amazon, it seems to have struck a...
2024-12-051h 01
UX Research GeeksKate Towsey | Scaling Research Ops | #47Kate explores scaling research within organizations, building effective infrastructure, and crafting strategies for solo or small teams. She also touches on her book, Research That Scales, and offers insights on drawing inspiration from fields like librarianship and systems thinking.
👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com
🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:
https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/kate-towsey-scaling-research-ops/
Episode highlights
00:01:38 – Recent release of Research...
2024-11-0734 min
Service Design ShowHow DesignOps helps you Focus on What Matters / Meredith Black / Ep. #210Ever feel like the weight of the world on your shoulders as a service design professional...
That you're constantly juggling your "actual" work with the complexities of organizational processes and structures?
Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Our DesignOps friends are here to lighten that load.
They enable us to focus on what we do best - design – by handling the operational intricacies that so often slow us down, and drain our energy.
I've heard many firsthand stories of how transformative a DesignOps partner can be. But to fully unlock the potential of this partnership, we...
2024-09-1257 min
The Learners PodcastUXRConf 2019 - Kate Towsey - The State of ResearchOps: More Than Just TheoryAs one of the faster growing fields of work, Research Ops is on the rise! But what is ReOps? Who does ReOps? Am I ReOps?Listen as Kate Towsey, founder of the ResearchOps Community, answers these questions and more.
2024-08-2427 min
Rosenfeld Review PodcastAll about ResearchOps with Kate TowseyKate Towsey has certainly left her mark on research operations, pioneering the practice, helping launch the ResearchOps community, and now through writing Research That Scales: The Research Operations Handbook, which Rosenfeld Media is publishing in September of 2024.
In her interview with Lou, Kate reflects on her journey from content strategist to a pivotal figure in the research operations community. She recounts her early days at the UK Government Digital Service, where she unexpectedly found herself building research labs, and later at Atlassian, where she helped develop systems to manage vast amounts of research data. Through her work, Kate realized the...
2024-08-1535 min
Service Design ShowHow ResearchOps saves time and maximizes impact / Kate Towsey / Episode #189ResearchOps, it's a real game-changer... To drive home why, let me share a personal story.
I've been producing this podcast for six years now. There are at least 60 steps that need to be completed before a conversation reaches your ears.
Over the years, I've put different systems in place to make the production process run smoother. But here's the interesting part: Today, I spend about the same amount of time on each episode as I did in my first year.
So what's changed, you ask?
Now that I've standardized and documented...
2023-11-2458 min
UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product StrategyEpisode 274: Research Ops with Kate TowseyHow can we better support research teams? Our guest today is Kate Towsey, research ops guru and the author of Research That Scales. You’ll learn when it’s time to invest in research ops, how to scale research teams, what library science can contribute to the field, and more.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Podcasts.Show NotesResearch That Scales — Kate’s bookRespondent, User Interviews, AskableCheck out Kate’s websiteConnect with Kate on LinkedInCha Cha Club — Kat...
2023-09-0837 min
UX Research GeeksSeason 2 #3 |The Strategic Importance of ResearchOps | Julian Della MattiaJulian Della Mattia is UX Research Lead at Kiwi.com and founder of the180 Agency. Based in Spain, Julian helps teams build up research practices from scratch and specializes in Facilitation & ResearchOps.
Follow Julian & his work here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdelmat/
If you interested to learn more about ResearchOps, we also recommend:
The Youtube channel of Kate Towsey https://www.youtube.com/@katetowsey5455
The podcast of Roy Opata Olende https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scaling-research/id1546142497
2023-02-1546 min
Insights UnlockedResearch Operations isn't admin, it's fundamental - Kate Towsey, Research Operations Manager at AtlassianKate Towsey is Research Operations Manager at Atlassian. In this episode, Kate challenges how we think about Research Ops, saying it’s not an administrative effort. It’s foundational in providing the necessary tools and training to make sure research can be democratized while maintaining the highest quality insights.
2022-10-1114 minNN/G UX Podcast12. ResearchOps (feat. Kara Pernice, Sr. VP at NN/g)One might think user research gets easier when there are more people available to do it; but managing research initiatives at scale can be a difficult task in itself. In this episode, Kara Pernice, Senior VP at NN/g shares her experience and insights about managing UX research operations.
Kara Pernice's Articles and Videos (NN/g bio)
NN/g courses and articles referenced in this episode:
ResearchOps (UX certification course)
ResearchOps (article)
Research Repositories for Tracking UX Research and Growing Your ResearchOps (article)
Design Systems 101 (article)
DesignOps (UX certification course)
Res...
2021-07-0232 min
Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis 🇺🇦Kate Towsey - Scaling Research Ops: Lessons Learned
Kate Towsey shares some of the experiences that have shaped her career and goes deep into the research ops journey she’s been leading at Atlassian.
Why did Kate leave contracting in London for a gig at Atlassian's Sydney office?
How did an early mistake help Kate to find the key to scaling Research Ops?
What is Kate’s Candy Floss vs. Carrots theory of research?
======
Who is Kate Towsey?
Kate is the Research Ops Manager at Atlasssian, and the founder of the 8000+ strong ResearchOps Community. Before moving from London to Sydney in 2018 to join Atlassian, Kate pioneered Research Operations at the U...
2021-04-201h 20
Design +C'est quoi la Research Ops ? Alexis GeromeAccède à des bonus réservé aux abonnés Premium. Écoute les nouveaux épisodes en avant-première avant le public. Deviens membre exclusif de la communauté Design +
► Abonne toi : https://designplus.supercast.com
> Connaissez-vous la Research Ops ? A quoi ça sert ? Depuis quand ça existe ? Quels sont ses bienfaits et quelles sont ses limites ? Quels types de sociétés peut l'utiliser ? Qui peut exercer la Research Ops ?
Alexis Gerome m'a fait découvrir la Research Ops et j'espère que vous apprendrez aussi ce que c'est.
Alexis a parlé de Kate Towsey http://www.kate...
2021-04-021h 20
Awkward Silences#62 - The State of User Research with Katryna BalboniOur third annual State of User Research survey gathered insights from 525 people who do research around the world. Katryna Balboni, our Content Director, joined the hosts of Awkward Silences to talk about how the 2021 report came together. They discussed the challenges of survey design, the changing landscape of user research, improving stakeholder buy-in for user research, and (nerd alert!) large-scale medieval surveys.In this episode, Katryna talks about…How we (re)designed our survey and distributed it to user researchersThe relationship between stakeholder buy-in and UX researcher job fulfillmentGetting philosophical about survey distribution and representative audiencesThe “Grea...
2021-03-2335 min
Scaling Research010 - Maturing a Research Ops Practice w/ Kate TowseyFor more info, head to www.scalingresearch.com.
In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Kate Towsey. Kate is the Research Ops Manager at Atlassian and the catalyst behind the Research Ops community. If you've Googled Research Ops, she's probably one of the first names that comes up.
Kate's wide-ranging path into Ops gives her a unique lens on this work. In our chat, Kate shares about:
Research Ops vs research admin
The importance of learning how to manage a team
Creating research systems vs individual research resources...and much more
2021-03-0338 min
Mixed MethodsThe Future is Scalable - Kate Towsey, AtlassianWhen it comes to Research Operations, Kate Towsey is an expert. In addition to her current experience leading the team at Atlassian, she has years of experience working independently for a variety of clients. In her free time, she also started the largest community for professionals in this space. As the field of UX research continues to grow at a breakneck speed, scaling effectively will be paramount. Join us to better understand how to scale your growing research team.
2019-07-1100 minAwkward Silences#15 - Starting a ResearchOps Practice with Kate TowseyThis week on Awkward Silences, we talked to Kate Towsey, a ResearchOps thought leader and advisor and founder of the Cha Cha Club—a members' club for ResearchOps professionals. Previously Research Operations Manager at Atlassian, you may know her as the person who started the ResearchOps Slack community in March of 2018.In the past year, the ResearchOps community has grown and Kate has left her consulting career to join Atlassian. Erin and JH talked to Kate about how she's started a ResearchOps practice and what she's excited to see as ResearchOps grows.
2019-05-0144 min
Aurelius PodcastEpisode 33 with Kate TowseyEpisode 33 highlights with Kate Towsey:
- Kate’s background and how she got into user research and ResearchOps
- What it was like to “research the researchers”
- The global ResearchOps community and how it all began
- Research repositories and libraries
- Leading research operations at Atlassian
- How and why the ResearchOps community grew to what it is now
- Kate’s definition for #WhatisResearchOps?
2018-11-2748 min
Four-i'sContent Matters ep23: University Of Surrey redesign with Kate TowseyWith universities working harder than ever to attract new students, an easy-to-use and engaging website is now paramount. During 2012, Kate Towsey - a freelance content strategist - was part of a multidisciplinary team who reworked the University Of Surrey's website to great effect. She talks about her experiences in this episode of Content Matters.
2014-03-1000 min