What Should Your Research Provider Do With the Results of a Project?

Once a project is completed and a report is delivered, many research providers consider their work finished. In reality, their job is only half done. It is the responsibility of the provider to make sure that the manager understands the results of the project.

Managers who are charged with business decisions are very busy and tend to devote little time to research results unless they are presented in a readily usable format. A good research provider will address the deliverable format preferences of a manager at the proposal stage of a project. Depending on the type of study, formats can include:

• brief executive summaries
• highly detailed statistical data or verbatims
• highly detailed supporting analysis
• graphic intensive electronic presentations.

By determining the formats upfront, considerable time and frustration is saved at the conclusion of the project because the manager gets what they need, immediately.

Regardless of the format, the research provider should always provide the option of presenting the results to the product management team in person. This can take the pressure off of the manager in circumstances when the results may come across as less than optimal. In addition, the provider can answer questions related to the methodology that a manager may not readily know.