Insight Repository Software

A research and insight repository is a centralized location where organizations can store, consolidate and organize research data and findings. The repository allows organizations to store the information in a structured and searchable format, allowing easy access and sharing.

Repositories can contain various types of information, such as customer feedback, market research, user testing results, and competitive analysis. The platforms allow researchers to quickly pull information and insights from various sources. This can save time and effort in conducting research, as researchers and even stakeholders can easily find relevant studies and data without having to search multiple sources or conduct their own studies.

The repository of insights is composed of three primary levels of data:

The holistic level

The holistic level of the insights repository includes a comprehensive collection of indexed, tagged, and unified insights. These insights are derived from various research types, including user research, custom studies, qualitative and quantitative studies, and advanced research modeling studies.

Business taxonomy and meta-tags enable easy searchability of these insights, while ROI of studies, cost spending, and other factors help monitor time and resource usage.

The secondary level

The secondary level of the insights repository is designed to offer more detailed information about specific studies, product enhancements, marketing campaigns, and other initiatives. This level includes observations and nuggets of information from longitudinal tracking studies, as well as presentations and outcomes to ensure that siloed knowledge is available to everyone.

Actual data

The raw data is the third and final component of the insights repository. It includes unfiltered research data such as vendor research data, customer calls, questionnaires, and customer behavioral data. This raw search data can be used as needed for insights and analysis.

In today's fast-paced business environment, companies need to make informed decisions quickly to stay competitive. Having an insights repository can benefit businesses in numerous ways, including:

Streamlined workflows

A central repository of insights allows companies to establish streamlined and replicable workflows, making accessing and reusing important information for various purposes easier. Tagging and monitoring insights in repositories saves time and increases efficiency.

Quick access to insights

An insights repository can provide researchers, stakeholders, and insight teams with instantaneous access to important information, such as customer feedback, market trends, and industry research. This allows them to make informed decisions more quickly, giving companies a competitive edge

Real-time analytics

With the help of artificial intelligence, companies can leverage real-time analytics to monitor trends and patterns in their data. This can provide valuable insights that allow such companies to adjust their strategies accordingly.

Democratized data

Democratization of data makes insights accessible to all, regardless of their position in an organization. This fosters a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration as researchers with team members and stakeholders. Moreover, consolidated data reduces the risk of data silos and inconsistencies.

Swift turnaround for studies

Organizations can conduct studies and analysis more quickly since they can easily access relevant data and insights. This can be especially useful for businesses that need to respond quickly to changing market conditions or customer needs.

Improved transparency

Storing all insights in a central location allows organizations to track changes and ensure everyone can access the most up-to-date information. It also prevents errors and reduces the risk of miscommunication.

An insights and research repository has become an essential tool for modern businesses due to the significant challenges posed by traditional knowledge management practices. The process of gaining insights is often plagued by difficulties such as accessing past data, utilizing past research, onboarding new team members, and more.

Here are some factors that increase the need for an insight and research repository:

Data silos

Research can be conducted by various groups within an organization or outsourced to specialized researchers. The data collected is usually siloed and inaccessible to most people. This makes it difficult to analyze and understand the data. Moreover, due to tribal knowledge, it's even harder to make sense of this data.

Repeated research

The inception of insight repositories was primarily driven by repeated research that new team members often conduct. This redundancy leads to a waste of time and decreases the ROI of insights. Usually, business stakeholders become skeptical of research reports due to the recurring nature of research studies and similarities in findings. This diminishes the credibility of both the researchers and the reports.

Lack of structured research reports

There is a lack of structure in how research reports are created, stored, and shared, leading to difficulties finding and utilizing them effectively. Due to this, researchers may interpret data differently, and the insights may not align with the business problems.

Moreover, the absence of a data-driven structure in findings leads to distrust among stakeholders toward research reports.

Arbitrary workflows

Large organizations struggle to gain insights into research studies conducted at a larger scale due to the complexity of the data collected. For instance, variabilities in project intake forms and research methods make it difficult to understand processes.

Highly fragmented tools

The need for an insights repository arises due to the high fragmentation of existing market tools, including software solutions, communication and management tools, and current tech stacks. With varied and disconnected tools and solutions, it can be challenging to manage information effectively. That is because there are multiple levels of conversations and interactions across various organizational levels.

Therefore, there is a need for a centralized insights and research repository to address these challenges and provide a more streamlined solution for managing insights and research effectively.

When selecting the right insight repository solution, it's important to consider your organization's and team's specific needs. Dovetail is a powerful solution for creating actionable insights from all your UX research and storing it in a single, searchable repository.

One of the key features of Dovetail is its ability to easily organize and categorize research data from various sources, such as surveys and customer feedback. This is done by tagging and labeling data, making searching and finding relevant insights easy. Moreover, Dovetail's collaborative capabilities allow you to invite team members so you can work on research projects together, share insights, and track progress.