Beyond features: Systemic UX research frameworks that drive strategic growth

In the excitement of launching a startup, it's easy to chase for the latest AI features or design moments meant to “wow” your users. But true traction doesn’t come from a fleeting delight, it comes by solving everyday needs, ensuring stability, and investigating core problems.

By adopting systemic UX research, founders can connect data, machine learning, and multidimensional value from day one. This approach leads to building systems that grow reliably, not reactively. When core needs are met and decisions are grounded in insight, sustainable growth, retention, and conversion follow naturally.

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When astronaut Bill Anders went to the moon on Apollo 8 on December 21, 1968, he reflected: “We had come all the way to the moon to study the moon, and what we really discovered was the Earth. ”Assuming we went to the moon, that’s how we would describe systemic UX research, looking out from different perspectives rather than inwards.

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Key takeaways

• Think in ecosystems, not features. Look at how every decision connects across user behaviour, tech and business goals to design for long-term growth.
• Design for the toughest users first. Solve friction for those who struggle the most to build trust and improve the overall experience for all.
• Find leverage points. Find small changes, such as clearer data flows or transparency, that can estabilize the entire ecosystem.
• Measure stability, not just revenue. Track how consistent the user experience is, how quickly trust builds, and how well the product adapts when things change.

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The systemic workflow for sustainable growth

Why systemic UX research matters for Startups

At the surface, systemic UX research helps startups reach product–market fit faster. But decisions made in isolation often backfire, creating bottlenecks, eroding trust, and triggering unintended consequences.

A systemic workflow reframes the startup as part of a larger network shaped by stakeholders, technology, regulation, and culture. Instead of optimizing a single feature, it maps how information, money, and influence interact across the system, creating lasting and scalable products and services.

Practical steps:

1. Draw a simple map of your top stakeholders and how they connect.
2. Test simple MVPs often, track results, and use quick feedback to spot and fix risks, keeping an eye on adoption and churn.
3. Pick what matters most using tools like Kano or RICE, then act quickly based on customer feedback.
4. Share updates with teams and users and show what changed because of their feedback.
5. Track industry trends and social impacts, and adjust your strategy as the market shifts.

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Pro tip: Often the most radical ideas are also the most simple and that make you wonder: “Why didn’t I think of that?”

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Buzz Me Up case and systemic strategy in action

Buzz Me Up did not enter the market with a “nice-to-have” vision or a feature-led roadmap. As a PropTech solution, it enables accessible remote building access and our strategy was explicit: design for the structural failures and stabilise a fragile ecosystem.

We applied systemic UX research methods, which revealed that the platform would operate as a multi-sided ecosystem where the value to Property Managers (B2B) would be inextricably linked to the user experience of Residents and Visitors (B2C).

Basically, user adoption is linked to the reliable access for delivery services, creating massive value for all residents. However, this growth is continuously checked by the quality constraint, where technical complexity and security worries could trigger rapid churn. This critical insight on accessibility & controllability reinforced that our commitment to inclusivity was the key to achieve structural market resilience and growth:

• More accessible access → more successful first-use → more trust → more advocacy → more adoption
• Less dependency on a single person → fewer failures → better experience → positive word of mouth → growth
• Temporary / multi-user access → fewer blocked cases → fewer complaints → fewer bans → continued growth

By focusing on identifying and solving systemic barriers in the target market, such as fragmented legacy systems and manual processes, we arrived at the conclusion that designing for older and less tech-savvy users was key to cultivate intergenerational trust and loyalty which act as the balance for the entire system.

The control over building access (via features such as multi-forwarding, time-limited guest links, and explicit approval) improved the actual access success rate, increased user trust and generated more adoption & success stories, which strengthened the perceived accessibility and controllability at scale.

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The outcome: In Buzz Me Up, we turned a vulnerable building access app into a resilient system that fails the slowest because their structure anticipates the ways trust dies.

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Looking ahead

Better innovations. Better companies. Better ecosystems.

The next era of growth won’t come from shipping new features. It’ll come from designing predictive systems that learn, predict, and evolve with your users.

The future of PropTech is driven by systemic stability, moving beyond isolated security devices to centralised management of the entire residential experience. In Buzz Me Up market sector, companies that apply systemic UX research will evolve from simple access vendors to the operating system of building access for multifamily properties. With this framework we are able to create a self-reinforcing cycle of feedback and gradually standardise property management and integrate analytics and AI. Ultimately, we can anticipate maintenance needs, streamline operations, generate long-term value and self-sustaining innovation.

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Actionable tip: In practice, leverage UX research to connect data, AI, and everyday operations, so that products stop reacting and start anticipating users actions. This shift will lead startups towards structural growth, not accidental.

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Explore the full Buzz Me Up case study or talk with our UX Research team about designing for sustainable and systemic growth.

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Friendly FAQs

What’s the difference between systemic and traditional UX research?

Traditional UX research focuses on user experience, usability, feature validation, and task optimization. Systemic UX research goes further, looking at how users, data, technology, and business goals all connect. It helps founders see how one decision affects the whole system, leading to smarter choices, resilient products, and growth that scales sustainably.

How can it accelerate product-market fit?

Systemic UX research helps you see what truly drives user value and retention. By connecting user needs, behavioral data, business strategy and mapping causal relationships, teams can identify early which problems must be solved and which features drive lasting value. This alignment streamlines iterations and accelerates decisions that link product capabilities to real market demand.

When should startups apply systemic UX research?

From day one. The earlier teams connect user needs, data and product decisions, the more scalable and stable the startup growth becomes. Early adoption helps founders design products that evolve naturally with user behavior and market shifts, reducing rework later and setting a foundation for sustainable, data-driven growth.

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