Making User Research Everyone’s Job | Deanna Sim | Research Secrets

How can user research create more impact across a product organization? And where does AI fit into the research process? In this episode of Research Secrets, Wilson, Co-founder of BlockSurvey, sits down with Deanna Sim, User Researcher at Polarsteps, to explore how researchers can move beyond simply collecting insights and focus on creating meaningful business impact. They discuss what makes a quality user insight, why Deanna believes in embedding researchers within product teams, how to combine passive and active data, and how AI can support researchers without replacing human judgment. Deanna also shares practical advice on building business skills, staying up to date in user research, and developing the skills that help researchers make a bigger impact. What You’ll Learn ✅ Why quality user insights are harder to identify than simply collecting insights ✅ How embedded researchers build stronger product context and relationships ✅ How to connect user research to business impact ✅ The tools Deanna uses across the research workflow ✅ How AI can support research as a “sparring partner” ✅ Why researchers should combine passive and active data ✅ How to build stronger business skills as a researcher ✅ Ways to stay current and continue developing your research skills Chapters 00:00 Preview 00:35 Introduction & Deanna’s Research Journey 02:00 From Sociology to User Research 05:38 From Curiosity to Business Impact 07:52 What Makes an Experience Human-Friendly? 09:18 How Embedded User Research Works 12:41 Tools Used in the Research Workflow 14:45 How AI Is Changing User Research 16:43 Why Quality User Insights Are Hard 17:45 Passive vs. Active Data Collection 20:13 Why Embedded Researchers Create More Impact 22:54 How to Adopt the Embedded Research Model 25:49 Business Skills for User Researchers 27:28 Staying Current in User Research 30:23 Connect with Deanna 30:49 Outro Guest Deanna Sim User Researcher at Polarsteps 🔗 LinkedIn:   / deanna-sim-422b295b   Host Wilson Co-founder, BlockSurvey 🔗 https://blocksurvey.io