Gartner defines user research platforms as tools that help user experience (UX) professionals and product managers to recruit research participants, conduct evaluations, generate findings, and identify insights to digital product teams and stakeholders across disciplines. User research platforms streamline the process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about the needs, motivations and behaviors of a target audience. These platforms are primarily cloud-based SaaS offerings and can be used by any organization that designs and builds digital products for end-user consumption. For business leaders, building the wrong thing is just as risky as building the thing wrong. Software engineering teams are expensive, so dedicating the teams’ time and effort to poor product ideas or unwanted features is an enormous avoidable cost. User research platforms won’t make products perfect, but they will help teams to massively reduce the risks and costs associated with building software that frustrates users. User research platforms also make it easier for UX teams to conduct user research early in the development process using prototypes and wireframes, and to repeat it often as the product develops. UX professionals can gather and communicate insights to engineering teams sprint-by-sprint. These platforms can analyze large sets of data so that teams can more easily translate insights into compelling stories to share with stakeholders.
Gartner defines a voice of the customer (VoC) platform as one that integrate feedback collection, analysis and action into a single unified solution that helps organizations to understand and improve the customer experience. Feedback inputs extend beyond direct surveying to include other direct, and indirect and inferred sources. Voice of customer (VoC) platforms enable revenue and retention leaders to better manage the customer experience (CX) through a deep understanding of customer needs and perceptions. The resulting insights trigger recommendations and actions across the enterprise.