#179 - The Future of Research Operations with Kate Towsey LIVE

#179 - The Future of Research Operations with Kate Towsey LIVE

Author: User Interviews December 22, 2025 Duration: 55:28

Erin May sits down with Kate Towsey, founder of Cha Cha Club and author of Research That Scales, for Research Ops Appreciation Week. Kate shares insights from producing an audio documentary series on the future of research ops, including her fascinating experience co-creating content with AI. She reveals how research ops teams are increasingly surviving layoffs while research teams are cut, explaining that ops professionals focus on unblocking systems and delivering measurable business value rather than gatekeeping processes.

Kate emphasizes the critical shift happening in research ops from administrative firefighting to strategic systems design. She discusses the importance of discovery over knee-jerk solutions when building research ops from scratch, advocating for focused problem-solving rather than generic panel and library building. The conversation covers the newly released research ops career ladder, the growing need for strategy skills in the field, and how to effectively communicate value to executives by aligning with existing business priorities and measuring concrete outcomes.

Highlights

  • 03:54 Bringing past skills to research ops
  • 17:45 AI context and memory limitations
  • 26:37 Future vision for strategic research positioning
  • 36:28 Quality governance in AI era
  • 44:21 Strategy skills gap in research teams
  • 50:27 Translating research value to executives

Resources


Awkward Silences is a conversation about the human side of building things. Hosts Erin May and Carol Guest, both VPs at User Interviews, don't just talk about theory-they get into the messy, real-world practice of talking to users and making sense of what they say. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the craft of user research, featuring candid chats with the practitioners who do this work every day. You'll hear stories about navigating tricky interviews, the weight of interpreting qualitative data, and how genuine understanding directly shapes better products and smarter business decisions. This isn't a dry lecture; it's a geeky, relatable dive into the questions and quiet moments that define UX research. The Awkward Silences podcast lives in the intersection of technology and business, focusing on the people and processes that connect them. Listen for practical insights, empathetic strategies, and the occasional shared laugh about the inevitable fumbles that come with trying to understand anyone. It’s for anyone who believes that building effectively starts with listening well.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Awkward Silences
Podcast Episodes
Research Ops 2.0, Episode 2: Leveraging AI for Research Superstardom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:24
In just 10 years, ResearchOps has transformed from an obscure Silicon Valley speciality into a vibrant global profession. Despite economic headwinds, ResearchOps roles are emerging across industries far beyond tech, and…
#171 - Summer Throwback: Kate Towsey on Starting a ReOps Practice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:24
Welcome to Summer Throwbacks, where we revisit some of our favorite episodes. This week's guest is Kate Towsey, who helped spotlight the relevance, urgency, and importance of Research Operations (ReOps) to business. This…
#169 - Summer Throwback: Eniola Abioye on Breaking into User Research [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:37
Welcome to Summer Throwbacks, were we revisit some of Awkward Silences' most memorable episodes.This week, Eniola Abioye, UX Researcher at Meta, discusses what it takes to break into the user research industry. Her advic…
#168 - Summer Throwback: Amy Chess on Asking Better Questions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:00
Welcome to Summer Throwbacks, where we revisit some of Awkward Silences' most memorable episodes.This week features Amy Chess (then at Amazon) unpacking arguably the most important research skill: asking questions. She s…