When is user research actually most important?
User research is often presented as a given. A necessary and non-negotiable part of product development. In theory, it’s hard to argue against. Understanding users, their needs, and their context almost always leads to better decisions, better design, and ultimately better products. At the same time, reality is often more complex. Many clients who come to Intunio have a clear idea of what they want to build. But a limited budget to build it. That’s when the question inevitably comes up: Is it really worth spending money on user research, or should we start building right away? It’s a reasonable question. And the answer isn’t always the same.
Tobias Rydenhag
Head of Design
“We already know what users want”
In many projects, clients feel they already have a solid understanding of their users. Maybe they belong to the target group themselves. Maybe they’ve worked in the industry for years. Maybe they’ve already sold similar products or services before.
Often, they’re right.
In practice, it’s common to see that the core needs, goals, and problems are roughly what everyone expected. In those cases, user research doesn’t reveal dramatic new insights. It mainly confirms what was already known.
That confirmation has value. It creates confidence in decisions and makes it easier to stand by design choices later on. But the question remains: is that confirmation always worth the cost?
Research isn’t free, and budgets are always limited
Proper user research takes time and resources.
A relatively small research effort, 2–3 weeks conducted by an experienced designer or researcher, typically costs around 100,000 SEK.
In a project where the total budget for designing and building an app might be around 1,000,000 SEK, that’s a significant share. Suddenly, the discussion isn’t about whether research is good, but about what you’re willing to deprioritize to make room for it.
More research often means:
- less time for design
- less time for iteration
- less time for technical quality
- or fewer features in the first release
This is where the discussion becomes more nuanced than it’s sometimes portrayed in the design community.
Does research always make the product that much better?
Questioning extensive research can easily feel controversial. Within the design world, there’s often an unspoken rule:
If you don’t do research, you’re doing it wrong.
At a fundamental level, we agree with the ambition. Products often become better with research. But the more important question to ask is:
How much better, and at what cost?
In some projects, the answer is obvious. In others, the improvement is marginal, especially when the team already has strong domain knowledge and the target audience is close.
When research matters the most
In our experience, user research becomes more critical the further removed the team is from the end user.
Examples where research is often essential include:
- Medtech — where users work in regulated environments with high demands on safety, precision, and responsibility
- Industrial systems — where end users are often operators or field technicians with workflows, constraints, and technical contexts very different from those of the development team
- Complex B2B systems — where the product is a work tool rather than a consumer service
In these contexts, it’s easy to miss crucial details:
- what the environment actually looks like
- which shortcuts users rely on
- what constraints shape real behavior
- what feels “simple” or “complicated” in practice
Here, research can be the difference between a system that works in theory and one that works in reality.
When research may be less critical
In more consumer-oriented projects, the situation is often different.
If:
- the target audience is broad and well understood
- the context is easy to grasp
- the client themselves belongs to the target group
- or the team has built similar products many times before
… then the value of extensive upfront research may be lower.
This doesn’t mean ignoring the user perspective. But in some cases, it can be more effective to:
- start with design and prototyping
- test early and simply
- gather feedback continuously
- adjust based on real usage
In these situations, research becomes something you grow into rather than something that must be fully completed from day one.
A more pragmatic view on user research
For us, the question is not research or no research.
It’s about when, how much, and where research delivers the most value.
Sometimes deep research is essential.
Sometimes experience, common sense, and fast validation are enough.
Often, the best answer lies somewhere in between.
What matters most is making conscious choices. Not following dogma.