Colleen Pellissier Research

Market & product research consulting

Ditch the roadmap guesswork.

Senior UX and market research that gives product and marketing teams the evidence to decide with confidence, without hiring a full-time researcher.

Get a research plan See services
Led research at USG Corporation Pathstream The Mom Project Groupon ShopRunner

You work with me, start to finish

No handoffs to junior researchers. The person you hire is the person in every interview.

Findings you'll actually use

A clear, short readout your team will act on, not a 60-page deck that gathers dust.

Recommendations, not just observations

Every study ends with a point of view on what to do next, tied to your business goals.

B2B and complex journeys

From distributors and contractors to frontline workers, I research buyers and users that are hard to reach.

Services

Pick the question you need answered. Open any service to see the process.

Discovery Research

You want to know: what problems you could be solving, for whom, and in what situations.

You get: Service blueprint · Jobs to Be Done / user archetypes · What's Working & Opportunities report

Methods: Contextual inquiry / field study, ethnography, service design, in-depth interviews, surveys

Process
  • Review existing data, goals and hypotheses
  • Build and test the research plan and protocol
  • Observe and interview to understand current processes, behaviors and attitudes
  • Qualitative analysis to surface key trends and insights
  • Survey a larger sample to validate findings, as needed

Market & Competitive Research

You want to know: who your best customers are, how you stack up against the competition, and which message will land.

You get: Customer segments · Competitive landscape · Positioning & messaging recommendations

Methods: Segmentation survey, competitive analysis, in-depth interviews, message and positioning testing, market sizing

Process
  • Review existing data, goals and hypotheses
  • Map the competitive landscape and current positioning
  • Interview and survey customers and prospects
  • Analyze segments, needs and buying drivers
  • Test positioning and messages with target segments

Usability Testing

You want to know: how an existing experience is performing.

You get: Usability report and presentation

Methods: Moderated (in person or remote) or unmoderated (e.g. Optimal Workshop, UserTesting), structured or semi-structured; card sorts, tree tests, click tests, SUS score, time on task

Process
  • Review existing data, goals, baselines and hypotheses
  • Set the research plan, methods and protocol
  • Run remote or in-person testing, moderated or unmoderated
  • Mixed-methods analysis

Concept Testing

You want to know: which solution is most viable for your goals.

You get: Testing report and summary

Methods: A/B testing, fake / painted door tests, preference testing

Process
  • Review existing data, goals, baselines and hypotheses
  • Set the research plan, methods and protocol
  • Run remote or in-person testing, moderated or unmoderated

Ideation Workshops

You want to know: the different ways you could design a solution, and get buy-in along the way.

You get: Workshop summary

Formats: Inspiration workshop, journey mapping, North Star workshop

Process
  • Define the goals of the workshop
  • Interview stakeholders to see the problem from different perspectives
  • Review existing user feedback and research
  • Plan and do a run-through of the workshop
  • Facilitate

Data Analysis

You want to know: what your existing data says about current performance and behavior.

You get: Research report and presentation · Dashboard for ongoing metrics

Methods: Statistical, regression, cluster, sentiment and time-series analysis

Process
  • Review existing data, goals and hypotheses
  • Build and test the research plan and protocol
  • Query existing data to capture key insights

Voice of Customer Surveys

You want to know: how satisfied your customers are, why some leave, and whether things are improving over time.

You get: Survey results report · Benchmark you can track over time · Prioritized recommendations

Methods: Satisfaction (CSAT) and NPS surveys, churn and win/loss research, benchmark tracking, open-ended response analysis

Process
  • Define goals, audiences and key metrics
  • Design and pilot the survey
  • Field the survey and monitor responses
  • Analyze results, including open-ended comments
  • Set a baseline for future rounds

Expert Review & Research Audit

You want to know: where your experience falls short, and what you already know about customers, quickly and without a full study.

You get: Prioritized list of issues and fixes · Summary of existing insights and gaps · Recommended next research

Methods: Heuristic evaluation, accessibility review, review of existing research, analytics and customer feedback

Process
  • Agree on the experience and goals to review
  • Evaluate the experience against usability best practices
  • Review existing research, analytics and feedback
  • Prioritize findings by impact and effort

Fractional Researcher

You want: ongoing research leadership without a full-time hire.

You get: A senior researcher on your team part-time · Research roadmap · Ongoing studies and readouts

Includes: Any of the services above, research planning, insight repository setup, coaching your team to run their own research

Process
  • Meet stakeholders and review business priorities
  • Build a research roadmap tied to upcoming decisions
  • Run studies and share findings on a regular cadence
  • Set up tools and habits so research continues

Trusted by product and design leaders

Colleen has a rare knack for distilling problems into laser-focused statements you can't look away from. Her insights moved our entire product, design and engineering team forward.
Amy, SVP of Product + Design, Pathstream
“Colleen led the foundational research that defined our core user archetypes, insights that shaped product strategy, design and marketing company-wide.”
Lia, Pathstream
“Colleen quickly turns around insights that impact business strategy, design and product. She helps teams take on the hard questions and decide what's next.”
Jessica, The Mom Project
“Her generative research drove our strategic portfolio work. We rapidly evolved our offerings based on her findings.”
Rachel, HopSkipDrive

How I use AI

AI makes my research faster and more thorough. It doesn't replace talking to your customers or the judgment it takes to understand them. You get results sooner, and every insight is checked by a person.

Planning

Reviewing existing research and data quickly, and pressure-testing research plans, interview guides and survey questions for gaps and bias.

Analysis

Transcribing and organizing interviews, first-pass coding of large volumes of open-ended feedback, and spotting patterns I then verify against the source.

Reporting

Drafting summaries, pulling supporting quotes and building searchable insight libraries, so findings are easy to share and reuse.

What stays human

Every interview, observation and recommendation. Your data stays confidential, and nothing goes into an AI tool without your approval.

About me

I'm Colleen, a senior researcher with 8 years leading market and UX research across e-commerce, edtech, workforce platforms and B2B manufacturing. Most recently I led market insights at USG Corporation.

I started out as a public radio journalist, and I still work like one: ask good questions, listen closely, and report back plainly. Based in Chicago, working with teams anywhere.

Colleen smiling on a mountain trail
Me, in my natural habitat: on an adventure
Gus, a golden retriever, smiling after a swim
Gus, Research Assistant

Have a question your team can't answer yet?

Tell me what you're trying to decide and I'll suggest how to find out.

Email me

or write to criudice@gmail.com