#192 - Slowing Things Down to Speed Up Research with Jared Forney of Okta

#192 - Slowing Things Down to Speed Up Research with Jared Forney of Okta

Author: User Interviews July 1, 2026 Duration: 56:33

Erin May talks with Jared Forney, Research Operations Principal at Okta, about how the role of research and research operations is shifting as AI accelerates product development. Jared explains why scale and rigor do not have to be opposing forces and why teams need to return to their core goals before adding new tools.

Jared dives into how he builds trust across legal, product, and design teams and why that trust becomes the capital you spend when driving big change. He shares why automating more work actually concentrates human attention rather than removing it, how he approaches knowledge management and orchestration across many data sources, and why written communication and technical skills now matter more than ever. Jared also answers audience questions on governance, getting buy in for research ops, working faster under compressed timelines, AI guard rails, and breaking into the field.

Highlights

  • 02:13 Upskilling for scale and rigor
  • 04:33 Balancing speed with research quality
  • 14:50 Where humans fit in AI workflows
  • 25:00 Rethinking knowledge management and MCP
  • 32:00 Best tactic for getting governance buy-in
  • 41:35 Enabling faster research under pressure

About Our Guest
Jared is a Research Operations Principal based in the San Francisco Bay Area with 8+ years building research infrastructure from the ground up. His work sits at the intersection of governance, tooling, and enablement: building systems that help research teams move faster while keeping data practices sound. He's led repository migrations, developed AI governance frameworks, consolidated tooling ecosystems, and spoken at industry conferences about how operations can amplify — not constrain — great research. Connect with Jared on LinkedIn!

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]

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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]

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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…