From Chaos to Clarity: Setting Up a Research Request Intake Process

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader

Introduction: Without a structured intake process, research teams face constant fire drills—last-minute requests, unclear objectives, and shifting priorities. An intake process is the first step toward sanity and scalability.

Why You Need One

• Prevents wasted effort on low-priority work.

• Helps stakeholders clarify their goals.

• Allows the research team to plan resources effectively.

Building Your Intake Process

1. Create an Intake Form. Include project details, business objectives, target users, deadlines, and success criteria.

2. Define Prioritization Criteria. Examples: business impact, alignment with company goals, urgency, and team capacity.

3. Choose a Management Tool. Tools like Airtable, Asana, or Jira can track requests and status.

4. Establish a Review Cadence. Meet weekly or bi-weekly to review and approve requests.

Pro Tip:. Use the intake process as an educational tool—help stakeholders think about research earlier, not just when a deadline looms.

Conclusion. A research intake process shifts your team from reactive order-takers to proactive strategic partners.