Awkward Silences #189 - Throwback: Quantifying Research Impact with Ruby Pryor of Rex
May 12, 2026
Ruby Pryor, founder of Rex and former management consultant, helps teams quantify UX research impact. She outlines a four-level impact framework and talks about scoring early optimization wins. Ruby explains ways to convert product metrics into dollar value, document research influence, and tailor impact stories to different stakeholders.
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Four Level Framework For Research Impact
- UX research impact fits a four-level pyramid: insights, optimization, prioritization, and strategy.
- Ruby Pryor defines insights as table stakes, optimization as improving existing products, prioritization as shaping roadmaps, and strategy as influencing business direction.
Get A Seat At Strategy By Facilitating Workshops
- Audit how strategy is made in your org, then build relationships with those stakeholders and offer to facilitate their strategy sessions.
- Ruby suggests proposing new workshop formats and positioning research as a collaborator who can take work off leaders' plates.
Record Promises And Baselines To Prove Impact
- Keep rigorous records: document baseline metrics and specific changes teams commit to after research.
- Track who agreed to what, follow up with PM/data teams, and log post-launch metric changes to prove impact.
