A senior user researcher just told me they still don’t get briefed on business goals. That’s not broken UX—that’s broken leadership.

I was speaking with a very senior user researcher last week. The kind of person who’s shipped hundreds of studies, worked across sectors, and mentors others. They dropped a line that stopped me mid-scroll:

“UR needs a better way of connecting with business goals.”

Let that sink in. In 2025, we are still here. Still talking about how design research isn’t aligned with what the business wants. And the kicker?

“Apart from ‘UR takes too long,’ this is one of the biggest criticisms we’re getting.”

I said, “That’s bollocks. You shouldn’t have to beg for business context. That’s a failure in the system. There should be a design strategist—or a strategic PM—bridging that gap before you even start.”

They agreed.

Because here’s the real issue: researchers are getting tasks. Not context.

They’re being briefed—but it’s a brief without context.

No business goals. No access to PRDs or financial models. No seat at the planning table.
If user researchers are still in the dark, then UX strategy alignment isn’t happening. It’s being performed.

This is theatre. And it’s costing teams time, trust, and outcomes.

If the glue is missing, the thing falls apart

UX only works when it connects three worlds: the user, the tech, and the business. When one of those legs is missing, it wobbles. When two are missing, it collapses.

Right now, research teams are expected to operate in the dark—handed vague prompts like “understand the customer” with zero strategic context. No revenue targets. No market pressure. No understanding of the trade-offs product is navigating.

And it’s not just passive ignorance—it’s structural. As that same user researcher put it:

“We’re not told about business documents like PRDs or financial models—let alone given access. It’s not in our onboarding. And then we get questioned about the impact we have. It’s unfair.”

Unfair is putting it lightly.

This is happening inside Fortune 500s. The same companies that proudly label themselves as ‘design-driven.’

All the Figma files and UX roadmaps in the world can’t compensate for a brief without
strategic input.

The big lie of “cross-functional”

Here’s the myth:

“Our researchers are in the squad. They’ll hear the goals in standups.”

No, they won’t.

They’ll hear delivery updates, ticket debates, and maybe someone saying “retention’s down again.” That’s not business alignment. That’s noise.

The real mistake? Believing that proximity equals clarity.

Just because UX researchers sit near PMs doesn’t mean they understand the company strategy. And too often, no one takes ownership of that connector role between business and research.

That’s how you get:

• Discovery work no one uses
• Personas that don’t influence decisions
• Insights that never touch the roadmap

When design research isn’t anchored to business goals, it floats. And when it floats, it gets ignored.

What good looks like (and how to fix it fast)

In every high-performing team I’ve worked with, someone plays the role of translator.

Sometimes it’s a strategic PM. Sometimes it’s a design strategist. Sometimes it’s the founder. But always, someone takes the business goals, the market pressures, the P&L tensions—and turns them into researchable problems.

You don’t need a six-week alignment sprint. Sometimes it’s one 30-minute conversation:

“Here’s what we’re trying to prove this quarter. Here’s what we don’t know. Here’s where you can de-risk us.”

That’s it.

It unlocks relevance, speed, and clarity. And most researchers? They want this. They want to contribute to outcomes—not just outputs.

We’re just not giving them the tools.

One of the best examples of getting this translator role right is IBM. Under Phil Gilbert’s leadership, IBM scaled design thinking not as a side project, but as core business infrastructure. They embedded design strategists across teams—people who translate business goals into research questions and product direction.

Why? Because IBM isn’t just a tech company anymore. Its consulting business now outpaces hardware and software. These strategists connect billion-dollar client goals to delivery teams.

At IBM, design isn’t decoration. It’s deal flow.

And the translator role? It’s not UX fluff—it’s what keeps the business aligned and moving.

A brief is not enough—context is the operating system

If you’ve ever looked at your research team and thought, “They’re not moving the needle,” ask yourself:

Did you give them real context—or just a to-do list?

Because what most researchers get isn’t a strategy.

It’s a task disguised as a brief.

They’re told what to explore—but not why it matters.

They don’t get visibility into the business model, financial metrics, or product planning docs like PRDs and Financial Metric Systms (FMs).

They’re not involved in shaping the problem—they’re just expected to validate it.

That’s not alignment. That’s delegation with a blindfold on.

If you want research to be strategic, you need to stop hiding the mechanics.

Let researchers into planning.

Share the business goals in plain language.

Give them the same materials PMs use to make decisions.

Because without that?

You’re not doing design.

You’re doing theatre.

And eventually—the curtain falls.