Nikki Anderson, founder of The User Research Strategist, joined Rally's co-founder and CEO, Oren Friedman, to share her step-by-step methods for not only identifying the key stakeholders you need to support your UX research, but also leveraging enough buy-in that your research can't be ignored. 

Missed the event? Or want to revisit the key takeaways? Read the recap below or watch the live webinar here.

Who is Nikki?

Hi, I'm Nikki. I’m a user researcher, consultant, and teacher specializing in qualitative research. With nearly a decade of experience in the user research field, my background blends clinical/social psychology, Buddhism, and teaching, all of which I incorporate into my current practice.

Is there a proven method for getting stakeholder buy-in for UX research?

I want to share with you what I do in my day-to-day work to gain more buy-in from stakeholders and help make research impossible for them to ignore. 

I call it The Five-Step Influence Shift. 

1. Identifying real decision-makers
2. Decoding their drivers
3. Predicting their resistances
4. Planting early micro-commitments 
5. Making alignment unforgettable 

If you haven't done these steps yet, don’t worry. Now is the perfect time to start!

Step 1: Identifying Real Decision-Makers

How do you identify the real decision-makers you need to support your research?

I used to spend hours updating a colleague, getting feedback from them on a project, only to find out that they didn't have the final say or any real control over the project. That's when I switched over to something called Influence Web Mapping.

Start with the person that you're in contact with and ask, "Who would sign off on this work, or who would be most excited or concerned about these findings?" 

I was literally drawing little mind maps of who knew who, who held the real influence, and how decisions actually moved through the org. It helped me plan research, but it also made me realize which people I needed to build relationships with if I wanted to grow in my career.

I created stakeholder profiles where I wrote down their level of influence, decision style, key drivers, and relationships. Then I built a web of stakeholders to map out who the major decision-makers were, who controlled budget and scope, and how everyone was connected

How do you put these 'influence webs' into action to support your research?

I had a group of stakeholders who hated research, but above them was a VP who loved it. So I went straight to the source. I skipped that layer, talked to him directly, and because everyone trusted him, it helped me get the buy-in I needed.

Try to understand who the most direct decision-maker is, who the most indirect decision-maker is, and which is the gatekeeper that can block access. 

The opportunity to work with stakeholders is a gift, and you can learn something from each one. We need that on a t-shirt or a sticker, and every researcher needs to put it somewhere that they can see every single day.

Step 2: Decoding their drivers

Are there techniques to identify what drives my stakeholders?

I see three core types of drivers:

1. Performance Drivers

These are tied directly to someone’s job expectations and outcomes. Ask yourself:

• What are they measured on?
• What impacts their performance review?
• What determines whether they get promoted, get a raise, or risk being let go?

This is where KPIs, OKRs, and business results take center stage.

2. Political Drivers

This is about influence and perception inside the organization. Consider:

• Who do they report to or want to impress?
• Are they looking for recognition or a promotion?
• What internal dynamics are they navigating, and what relationships matter?

You're essentially mapping out the social landscape and power structures.

3. Personal Drivers

These are identity-based and tied to how they want to be known. For example:

• Do they want to be seen as fast and efficient?
• The creative innovator?
• The steady problem solver everyone turns to for answers?

These motivations shape how they show up and make decisions.

Don't stress about identifying all three perfectly. Start with the one that feels most obvious for each stakeholder, and use that as your entry point into understanding how to influence and collaborate with them.

How do I align research with what my stakeholders care about most?

These are prompting questions I ask stakeholders: 

"If this project is successful, what would that look like? 

"How could I help you with a particular goal you're trying to achieve?" 

"What is the goal that you are trying to achieve? What are you trying your hardest to achieve? 

"What could happen if this failed? How could we de-risk this?" 

Those kinds of questions will help you get to those different layers, so that you can start asking them and pulling apart. Do they care a lot more about performance, or do they care about the more personal side of things? Do they care about the political side? 

Some additional questions that you could ask: 

"What's the one metric you're most focused on right now when you report to your boss?"

"What's the thing they want to or need to hear?" 

"If this project worked out, what would be a personal win for you?"

You might not always know people's KPIs, and that’s ok!. My recommendation? Just ask! If a PM said, "The VP of Product would be so thrilled if we could do X, Y, or Z," hat tells you exactly what matters to them and what they’re being measured on.

How do I make sure my research resonates with my stakeholders?

A lot of the time, when research lands flat, it's because we haven't taken a second to realize what's important to the people that we're talking to and presenting to. I completely forgot the context of my audience, what they cared about, and what related to them.

Start by choosing one stakeholder and writing down exactly what they care about. Begin with someone you’re comfortable with and build from there. If you’re unsure or feeling intimidated, practice with a colleague first. The goal is simply to get this information out so you can start tailoring your approach.

Step 3: Predicting their resistances

What is the most common stakeholder pushback, and how do I neutralize it?

We’ve all experienced stakeholder pushback, and most of the time we can see it coming before it happens. That's why Step Three is about predicting resistance and then overcoming it. 

Here's how:

1. List any expected objections
2. Link objections to an underlying fear
3. Prepare reframes that address fear
4. Link the reframes to documented drivers

I’ve identified the most common pushbacks and included reframes you can use to respond to them.

"We don't have time" = They believe research will slow things down, so I need to show how it actually speeds us up in both the short and long term.

"This isn't a priority" = I need to do a better job connecting research to their goals and success metrics.

"We need to test the solution" = They want validation, not discovery, so I need to show how research de-risks the product and protects outcomes.

"I'll get back to you" = They are overwhelmed or avoiding additional work, so I need to reduce the perceived effort and make it easy to participate.

Step 4: Planting early micro-commitments 

What are 'micro-commitments' and why do they matter?

Step Four is all about securing micro-commitments, which are small, low-risk agreements that build momentum and buy-in over time.

Micro-commitments matter because they turn passive stakeholders into active participants. When someone says “yes” early, even to something simple, they are more likely to stay engaged and supportive as the work progresses.

To do this effectively, identify the easy yes, something they can agree to without hesitation, and make your asks clear and time-bound. 

Here are prompts you can use to get specific in what you are asking for:

What's the one thing the stakeholder can do in under five minutes that helps this project? It might be pointing to a particular KPI that they've been obsessed with, or pointing to a question that their boss has asked them over and over and over again.

What's an opinion, data point, or resource they can give you early? Any access to any data that can help move the project forward so that, when it comes to the presentation, you're not just sitting there saying "five users said this." 

Who could they introduce you to who would strengthen the project? I always ask people to introduce me to either customer support, data or product analytics, or the marketing team, even. Then you publicly acknowledge their contributions so they feel ownership. 

To log a micro-commitment, I use this framework:

• Small = suggesting a metric, asking a question, or adding a question for consideration
• Medium = making an introduction to a teammate or joining a kickoff for a related project
• Large = co-presenting or taking on an active role as a champion of research

Dive into any micro-commitment that you could find and showcase how that person helped you with the project. We should be celebrating stakeholders, not disliking them!

Step 5: Making alignment unforgettable 

How do I make alignment 'unforgettable'?

To make alignment unforgettable, create an Agreement Tracker, which includes: 

• Recording agreements immediately after they happen and including the context, so people understand why the decision was made 
• Sharing a recap within 24 hours
• Surfacing agreements before milestones to remind people what was decided

With an Alignment Tracker, your project scope, goals, and stakeholders are unforgettable because they are written down, and that document is constantly re-shared and re-reviewed with everyone involved.

I use this amazing Influence Tracker Canvas, which condenses all of these concepts into a simple PDF you can fill out and refer back to.

Review your Alignment Tracker every week to update stakeholder drivers, pushbacks, and commitments. Approach this with a researcher mindset. It helps you stay objective and zoom out from the emotions that can creep into these relationships, so you can see patterns more clearly and make better strategic decisions.

See the Influencer Tracker Canvas in action

Want Nikki to walk you through her techniques and material step by step? Rewatch the complete webinar on making stakeholder alignment unforgettable. While you're there, get answers to bonus questions like:

• How can you ensure a stakeholder buy-in when user research results are unexpected (and point to major changes that are still unclear)? 
• How do you handle stakeholders who want research only to affirm a bias they have, or to validate a project they're on?
• How do you build trust with stakeholders who are in sales that may perceive user research as risking a sale? 
• How do I report evidence that contradicts stakeholder assumptions in a way that avoids triggering defensiveness or conflict?
• How do I build trust with a PM who is a contractor? 

You can get your copy of Nikki's Influencer Tracker Canvas here.

Maximize your stakeholder alignment with Rally 

Now that you're an expert at aligning your stakeholders, you need a UX research platform that minimizes the effort and maximizes the value of your actual studies. You need Rally.

If you're ready to see how a "UXR CRM" can turn stakeholder alignment into research ops excellence, schedule your personalized Rally demo today.