Building Sustainable Design Research Systems with Sam Zucker — DT101 E143

The tension between doing good research and delivering on tight timelines is something I've experienced throughout my career in design and innovation. This conversation with Sam Zucker unpacks powerful approaches to making research more sustainable and equitable while building systems that support continuous learning and engagement.

What particularly struck me was Sam's practical framework for embedding research into organizational workflows. Her approach transforms research from a periodic, resource-intensive effort into an ongoing capability that shapes decision-making and product development. This represents a crucial evolution in how we think about evidence-based design.

Questions This Episode Helps You Answer

• How can we build sustainable research systems that work within real-world constraints?

• What makes equity-based research different from traditional approaches?

• When should we adapt research methods for regulated environments?

• How might we use prototypes to get better research insights?

• Why do continuous research systems often succeed where one-off studies fail?

I invited Sam to share her expertise because she brings a unique perspective on making research work in complex, regulated environments while maintaining a deep commitment to equity and inclusion. Her experience spans from reimagining college financial aid experiences to transforming employer benefits, always with a focus on serving people who are often overlooked in traditional research.

Episode Highlights

[01:40] Sam describes her journey from an interdisciplinary background at Carnegie Mellon studying conceptual art, communication design, and sociolinguistics to founding Reroute Research, illustrating how diverse educational foundations can lead to innovative research approaches.

[03:00] Shares insights from working on College Abacus, a groundbreaking tool that helped students understand true college costs beyond sticker prices, demonstrating how design research can tackle complex financial decisions.

[05:30] Articulates her core focus: taking complex decisions (like college choice or insurance selection) and making them more understandable and actionable for users, revealing how design research can simplify without oversimplifying.

[08:30] Introduces the innovative "researcher in residence" model where she embeds within companies for 3–4 months, showing how deeper integration leads to better knowledge transfer and organizational impact.

[12:00] Explains her commitment to equity-based design and how it shapes recruiting practices, emphasizing the importance of reaching participants who are typically underrepresented.

[15:30] Details practical strategies for inclusive recruitment, including flexible scheduling, multiple contact attempts, and accommodating cancellations — demonstrating how research processes themselves need to be designed for equity.

[18:30] Shares approach to reciprocity in research, explaining how she ensures participants benefit from the process through information sharing and resource connections.

[22:00] Describes how to build sustainable research systems that organizations can maintain long-term, emphasizing the importance of integrating with existing tools and workflows.

[25:30] Provides a success story of Better Future Forward implementing a continuous research system, showing how research can become embedded in organizational culture.

[31:30] Explains her approach to using low-fidelity prototypes early in research to get more accurate insights about what people actually want versus what they say they want.

[37:30] Shares expertise on conducting research in highly regulated environments, emphasizing the importance of reading and understanding regulations firsthand rather than relying on others' interpretations.

[41:30] Offers valuable advice for researchers working in regulated environments: build relationships with supportive stakeholders who can help drive innovation forward while navigating constraints.

[45:00] Concludes with an important insight about the critical role of language in UX, noting how sometimes the most impactful research finding can be identifying the right word choice for users.

Questions to Help You Go Deeper

Learning

What surprised you about Sam's approach to continuous research systems and why?

How does her equity-based framework challenge or enhance your current research practice?

Which aspects of the researcher-in-residence model seem most valuable for your context?

Leading

How might you help your team understand and apply continuous research approaches?

Where in your organization would more equitable research practices create the most value?

What would success look like if you implemented ongoing research systems with your team?

Applying

What's one small experiment you could run next week with prototype-based research?

Which current challenge could you address using Sam's approach to participant recruiting?

How could you adapt the continuous research system to work in your specific context?

Practicing

How will you build more equitable research practices into your regular work?

What support or resources do you need to implement continuous research systems?

Resources I Recommend

Monteiro, Mike. Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It. MULE BOOKS, 2024. 

>>> Sam specifically mentioned finding this essential reading and I agree. This bold update of Monteiro's classic work challenges us to face the ethical implications of our design choices head-on. The 2024 edition feels especially relevant for research practitioners wrestling with AI ethics, privacy concerns, and the increasing impact of our design decisions on society. While provocative, it provides practical frameworks for making better choices about what we create and why.

Monteiro, Mike. Design Is a Job: The Necessary Second Edition. Edited by Lisa Marie Marquis, Mule Books, 2024. 

>>> While not mentioned in our conversation, this book expands on many of the ideas in this episode and is essential reading for every designer.

Reece, Erik. Utopia Drive: A Road Trip through America’s Most Radical Idea. First paperback edition, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017. 

>>> Sam highlighted this as one of her favorite books, noting how it connects to design thinking through its exploration of systematic change efforts. The book examines America's history of utopian communities as design experiments. I find it valuable for understanding how ambitious visions for change interact with real-world constraints — a tension researchers regularly navigate.

Hall, Erika. Just Enough Research. 2024 edition, Mule Books, 2024. 

>>> While not directly referenced by Sam, this newly updated guide aligns perfectly with her lean, practical approach to research. It provides excellent frameworks for right-sizing research efforts to match organizational constraints while maintaining rigor. The 2024 edition adds valuable perspective on remote research and working within regulated environments.

Gray, Dave, et al. Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers. O’reilly, 2010. 

>>> Sam mentioned returning to this book often, seeing it as an intersection of conceptual art and facilitation techniques. I agree. While positioned as a workshop tool, Gamestorming’s techniques for structured exploration and collaborative meaning-making are invaluable for research sessions. The methods can help create the trust and openness Sam emphasized as crucial for good research.

Tools We Discussed

Typeform: For research participant feedback loops

Salesforce: Example of embedding research in existing systems

Asana/Jira/Notion: Options for research operations management

Deepen Your Learning

5.5 Things Every Designer Should Know About Hacking Bureaucracy with Marina Nitze — DT101 E106

Language + Design Research + Researcher Self-Care with Abby Bajuniemi — DT101 E96

Trauma-Informed Design + Participatory Design Perils + Research with Vulnerable Populations with Sarah Fathallah — DT101 E72

Remember to join Ask Like a Designer, our learning community at fluidhive.com/podcast for more resources and conversations about design thinking in practice!