Research Hub Implementation: A 60-Day Checklist

Who is this article for?
🗣️ UI subscription owners (aka "admins")
⭐ Recommended for all teams using Research Hub‍

Welcome to User Interviews! If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’ve decided to get started with Research Hub, our powerful panel management platform for teams that do research at scale.

In our experience, the teams who see the most success with Research Hub achieve specific implementation milestones within the first 60 days.

This guide will walk you through each stage of the implementation timeline, with specific tips and how-to resources to help you accomplish each milestone.

✍️ Note that throughout this process, you’ll also have access to an Implementation Manager from the User Interviews team, who’ll offer support, resources, and regular check-ins to make sure you’re on track. Typically, you’ll meet with them every two weeks during the 6-week implementation period and have dedicated time to walk through configurations and team onboarding.

Overview of the Hub implementation timeline

Weeks 1–3: Hub customization - In your first few weeks, you’ll create templates, configure branding defaults, and set communication guardrails for your team. These customization features will help you maintain brand consistency and build trust with your panel of customers, without having to provide manual oversight for every researcher on your team.
Weeks 2–5: Audience population & management - What’s a panel without panelists? In your next few weeks, you’ll work on adding participants to Hub with CSV files or opt-in forms. At this stage, it’s also helpful to set up panel management features like segments, labels, and invite rules. These features facilitate consistent, shared logistics for recruitment, and help make your panel as user-friendly as possible for every researcher on your team.
Weeks 4–6: Team launch - In the final days of implementation, you’ll work with your Implementation Manager to provide product training and enablement for your team. This way, everyone who uses your Hub panel can understand the makeup and inner workings of your panel, follow best practices to improve outcomes, and avoid mishaps like over-recruiting from certain segments.
And beyond: Ongoing considerations - Lastly, it’s important to think beyond your current projects toward a more sustainable panel investment as your team and research practice grow. After implementation, you should periodically revisit your Hub strategy and think about how to improve your efficiency and effectiveness over time.

✍️ Note that these timelines are approximate, so the implementation process can take a few weeks more or less for different teams. Generally, though, 60 days or less is the timeline we'd aim to hit to get your team up and running with Research Hub as smoothly as possible.

In the next section, we’ll provide a checklist of actions to take at each stage of the process and teach you how to take each action successfully.

⭐️ Before we start: Be sure to opt into UI’s customer feedback panel! As you’re getting to know User Interviews, we’d love to hear your feedback on what’s working, what could be improved, and what you’d like to see on our product roadmap. Fill out this form to join our feedback panel and shape the future of research recruitment.

How to implement Hub, from week one to ongoing best practices

✅ Weeks 1–3: Hub customization

In your first few weeks, aim to complete key milestones like:

Follow along with each step in the Hub Customization video below, or click on the links above for more in-depth information and FAQs.

💡 Now that your basic customizations are set up, you could start launching and managing recruiting projects if you’re ready. Some teams will be able to jump right into using Research Hub for seamless logistics, while others will need more time to organize their audience, train their team, and put stricter governance features into place. Learn more about launching your first study with Research Hub here.

✅ Weeks 2–5: Audience population and management

In the next few weeks of your Hub implementation, aim to achieve milestones like:

Follow along with each step in the Hub Audience Population and Management video below, or click on the links above for more in-depth information and FAQs.

✅ Weeks 4–6: Team launch

In the final days of implementation, it’s time to provide training and enablement materials to support your team. At this point, you can also start launching and managing projects if you haven’t already!

Follow along with each step in the Hub Team Launch video below, or click on the links above for more in-depth information and FAQs.

✅ And beyond: Ongoing considerations

After implementation, you should periodically revisit your Hub strategy and think about how to improve your panel’s maturity over time.

At User Interviews, we use the Research Hub Maturity Pyramid as a framework for understanding and improving your approach to panel management. This framework demonstrates four effective approaches (or “levels”) for panel management with Research Hub, which build on each other as your research practice matures.

Most teams begin their Research Hub engagement at one of the lower levels of the Hub pyramid, and work their way up the pyramid as their research practice grows. Finding an approach to organization and governance that works for you and your team is going to be key to maintaining the health of your panel long-term.

Both during implementation and as your engagement with Research Hub grows, ask yourself the following questions about your team’s needs:

How much time are you spending on recruitment, and which aspects of recruitment could be streamlined?
How often do you want to hear from similar groups of participants?
How often are you regularly re-contacting groups of participants to come back for follow-up studies?
Does your database consist of multiple distinct audiences, such as users of different products or participants with varying experience levels in their careers?
How many disparate data sources do you use to house user data?
What percentage of your database consists of unengaged participants or outdated user data?
How much time are your research leads or admins spending on guidance and oversight through the research process?
Do all researchers on your team need the same levels of access?

As you answer these questions, look for opportunities to improve your team’s effectiveness by taking advantage of features like opt-in forms, segments and filters, invite rules, and roles and permissions.

Reach out for more tips, guidance, and troubleshooting

Your Research Hub implementation will be the start of what we hope is the easiest, most integrated recruiting experience for your team. It’s natural to have questions when you’re learning any new product or process, so we’re here to help if you need us.

Feel free to contact your CSM directly, browse our researcher support articles, or fill out our support request form for more information.

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