#162 - Empowering PwDR Using Research Education with Daniel Gottlieb of Microsoft

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Mar 12, 2025

Daniel Gottlieb, Head of Research Operations at Microsoft and former animal behavior PhD, explains how he builds workshops to empower people who do research. He describes workshop structure, tactics to keep teams engaged, coaching and leadership demos, and ways to scale training and keep research visible across product teams.

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ANECDOTE

From Primate Research To Tech Research Ops

Daniel transitioned from 15 years researching primate behavior to research ops at Microsoft by mapping his logistics experience to the role.
He realized oversight of studies, balancing resources, and coordinating stakeholders translated directly to research operations.

INSIGHT

Ops Is Docs Plus Relationship Work

Research ops is both removing technical friction and doing soft work to align disparate groups toward the same customer-focused goal.
Daniel compares juggling researchers, program managers, customers, and animals to show ops mixes toolkit, docs, and relationship-building.

INSIGHT

PwDR Is A Spectrum Centered On Being Customer Driven

'People Who Do Research' (PwDR) spans a spectrum from do-it-all non-researchers to those who simply consume insights; being customer-driven is the broader desirable trait.
Daniel values involvement levels from running studies to asking for evidence in product decisions.

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Many research activities are completed by non-researchers, but whose work is benefited from user insights. Generally, these folks—designers, PMs, developers, among others—are called "PwDR" or "people who do research." In addition to their own work, many UX researchers and operations specialists are focusing on educating and empowering this group. When stakeholders and colleagues are better informed on the hows and whys of user research, more of it gets done, more insights are integrated, and customer experiences improve.

Daniel Gottlieb, Head of Research Operation for Microsoft's Developer Division, has spent a lot of time designing research education programs. He joins to discuss his success creating workshops that empower and inspire non-researchers to get involved. He shares the parts of a good workshop, ways to keep attendees engaged, and how he measures success.

This is a revealing conversation for anyone who has wondered what successfully "democratizing" user research could look like. Daniel brings pragmatism and positivity to research education. You'll leave with a better sense of how to begin educating your own stakeholders on the power of user research, and maybe even get a democratization practice up and running.

Highlights

12:12 - Empowering UX Researchers Multiplies Impact
17:21 - Collaborative Research and Customer Insights
22:08 - Guided Customer Research Workshops
27:22 - Building Excitement Through Coaching
36:38 - Benefits of Diverse Group Dynamics
38:25 - Empowering Developer-Led Research Showcase

About Daniel
Daniel Gottlieb is the Head of Research Operations for Microsoft’s Developer Division User Research Group. He received his PhD in Animal Behavior from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on animal welfare (quality of life) and primate (monkey) behavior. Daniel moved from researching monkey behavior, to managing research logistics at a National Primate Research Center, to managing UX Research Operations in Microsoft’s Developer Division. He is passionate about making research easy and accessible, teaching, and finding ways for disparate groups to work together to support a unified research mission.

Resources

PwDR questions answered live by UXpert Nikki Anderson
Discovery research exploring "people who do research"
The "State of Research for Non-Researchers" Report