Agile Research 101 with Brianna Boyer of AYTM

Welcome back to Intellicast! On today’s episode, Gabby Blados and Brian Peterson are joined by special guest Brianna Boyer, the Senior Director of Solution Strategy from AYTM, to discuss agile research.

Before jumping into the agile research discussion, Brianna talks about how she got into market research. Like many of us in the market research industry, Brianna talks about how she kind of fell into the industry. Brian and Brianna talk about what could happen to the industry if an effort was put into having people pursue careers in market research rather than just fall into it.

Next, Brian, Gabby, and Brianna dig into what agile research exactly is. Brianna explained that agile research involves applying the agile mindset to research, emphasizing rapid progress and change, unlike traditional methods. She noted that agile research often involves shorter, more DIY studies but stressed that these characteristics are not its core but rather a byproduct of the larger values and principles behind agile.

Next, Brianna discusses the benefits of the agile methodology in product development, emphasizing its focus on incremental steps and iterative processes. She highlights the importance of not being too invested in one question or aspect but rather focusing on the current answer that can help progress. Brian asked if shorter surveys were a part of this process, to which Brianna agreed, suggesting that while there’s room to reduce the length of surveys, it’s important not to eliminate all depth in favor of brevity. She proposed thinking in terms of ‘must haves,’ ‘should haves,’ and ‘could haves’ and focusing on the first two to keep the length of surveys manageable.

They then turn to the challenges of agile research. Brianna mentions that the biggest challenge is implementing agile research, highlighting the need for a mindset shift and change management. She emphasizes the importance of buy-in from stakeholders and teams, to the reality that change takes time. This leads to Brianna talking about realistic timelines for implementation.

Gabby and Brianna then discuss the potential of using agile research methods within traditional market research frameworks to identify insights quickly. Brianna explains that while agile research may not be suitable for every project or need, it can be beneficial between larger research projects. Brianna also suggested that agile research can be particularly effective during innovation cycles and for new initiatives.

In the last segment of the interview, Brian, Brianna, and Gabby discuss AI’s impact on the future of agile research. Brianna highlights the potential of AI in data analysis, designing questionnaires, and building visualizations while also voicing some concern about the potential loss of human interaction and richness of insights.

If you ever wanted to know about agile research, this is the episode for you.

You can learn more about AYTM by visiting their website: https://aytm.com/

You can connect with Brianna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannalboyer/

Thanks for tuning in!

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