Healthline UXR Roadmap

Scaling Research Impact Across Multiple Pods Through a Wave-Based Strategy

role: senior ux researcher

disciplines: research strategy, operational planning, multi-method design, uxr leadership, data synthesis, stakeholder alignment

timeline: january 2023 - march 2023

Actions I Led
Conducted stakeholder interviews across pods to identify overlapping research needs, synthesized them into three strategic pillars (Care Journeys, Data Disclosure, Site Experience), and developed a scalable wave-based research framework combining qualitative, quantitative, and internal data methods to deliver rolling, high-impact insights.
Leadership in Practice
Shifted research from reactive sprint-based validation to a strategic, ecosystem-level operating model. Increased cross-pod alignment, reduced redundant efforts, and created predictable insight cadences while adapting to evolving business priorities and market shifts.
Results at a Glance
Established Healthline’s first multi-pod UXR roadmap
Increased research velocity and predictability
Reduced duplicate studies across teams
Strengthened cross-functional alignment
Informed audience development, personalization, and data opt-in strategies
Why This Matters
This initiative transformed research from a support function into a strategic engine. By operationalizing insight delivery at scale, we enabled faster decision-making, stronger cross-team collaboration, and research that directly influenced long-term product and business strategy.

The Strategy // Define → Ideate

As the Senior UX Researcher on multiple business pods across Healthline, I saw…

opperational  issues:

Each pod had urgent product questions
Research was happening — but often reactively
Similar questions were being asked in parallel
Speed to insight varied dramatically

We didn’t just need more research.
We needed a scalable research operating system.

The Challenge // Empathize → Define

I developed a comprehensive UXR roadmap designed to:

Align research with long-term business initiatives
Increase research velocity without sacrificing rigor
Maximize cross-pod insight reuse
Create a predictable, transparent cadence for insight delivery
Fill foundational care journey research gaps

I conducted stakeholder interviews and working sessions with, Product Managers, Designers, Engineers, Cross-functional partners
I gathered current initiatives, open product questions, long-term roadmap goals, & areas of uncertainty
Then I mapped overlaps across pods to identify High-impact research themes, additive opportunities (where research could serve multiple teams), & redundant or reactive work to avoid

Actions I Led // Define → Ideate → Test → Iterate

Step 2: Identify 3 Strategic Research Pillars

From Reactive Studies to Strategic Roadmap

Step 1: Find Areas of Commonality

Three cross-pod areas emerged:

Care Journeys: Deep empathy and lived experience, condition-specific value propositions, audience strategy & development

Data Disclosure:
What incentivizes 1P data sharing?
What inhibits registration?
How do we future-proof against privacy and cookie shifts?

Site Experience: Navigation behavior, pathing optimization, drivers of repeat engagement

Step 3: Operational Innovation - The Wave Approach

To increase speed and impact, I introduced a Wave-Based Research Model

Synthesized data from a focused analytics pull to ground decisions in real behavior. Click data visualization across current site nav experience.

Cyan = highest clicks
Gold = middle/top of clicks
Red = lowest clicks

Reviewed and reconciled URL priorities across Commerce, Growth SEO, PMM, Editorial, Lifecycle, and Bezzy.

Color coding applied to these designs show where each vertical’s desired URLs/content are represented

Leadership & Team Impact

This project required navigating ambiguity, time pressure, and competing priorities.

Provided clarity and momentum during a highly cross-functional initiative
Shifted conversations from opinion-based debates to data-informed decision-making
Empowered stakeholders with a shared understanding of tradeoffs and goals
Maintained quality and alignment while meeting a hard launch deadline

Results at a Glance // Launched March 2023

Increased cross-pod insight reuse
Reduced redundant research efforts
Accelerated time-to-insight delivery
Improved stakeholder alignment
Filled foundational care journey gaps
Informed audience strategy and 1P data approaches
Positioned UXR as a forward-looking strategic function

Established Healthline’s first multi-pod strategic UXR roadmap

Reflection

This roadmap fundamentally changed how research operated across Healthline. It demonstrated that UX research is not just about answering questions —  it’s about designing the system that determines which questions get answered, when, and why.
By operationalizing research at the ecosystem level, we increased both research speed and research influence. 