Coleman Advisory  •  Fractional Research Leadership

Senior research leadership,
on retainer.

$3,000–$5,000 / MO, BY SCOPE  •  TYPICALLY 10–15 HRS  •  MONTH-TO-MONTH

For organizations with AI products, data-intensive platforms, or complex research challenges that need senior research judgment and don't have it in house yet.

I've spent the last several years building research infrastructure inside organizations that had none: a Department of Defense analytics platform used by more than 100,000 people, an Air Force IT modernization program that reached over 800,000 personnel, and a healthtech platform that grew from a few hundred users to more than 16,000 with no senior research function guiding it. Coleman Advisory is that work, sized for teams that need it now but aren't ready for a full-time hire.

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Why Coleman Advisory

The research background
behind the retainer

I hold a PhD in Psychology and Quantitative Methods, and most of my career has been spent on the unglamorous side of research: building the measurement systems and research infrastructure that hold up once a program is actually under pressure.

At the Department of Defense, I led user research for Advana, an enterprise AI and analytics platform serving more than 100,000 users. That work informed a $15 billion recompete decision. On the Air Force's EITaaS program, my research shaped provisioning strategy across nine pilot installations for a modernization effort touching more than 800,000 personnel, and I received a Commander's Commendation for that contribution.

In healthtech, I found the trust gap at onboarding that was quietly capping adoption on an AI-powered platform, work that helped it grow from a few hundred users to more than 16,000. In fintech and Web3, I've mapped friction points in a tokenized asset platform navigating both TradFi compliance and DeFi mechanics. Earlier in my career, I built a proprietary research panel from zero to over 950 participants under HIPAA-adjacent and FDIC-regulated constraints, for clients including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and M&T Bank.

I also publish Ground Truth, a research series on AI measurement and methodology. The full case studies behind all of this live on my main site if you want the detail.

Featured Resource
The Capability Measurement Tool

Answer a few questions about your product and your team, and it generates a custom research study design, built around your specific context instead of a generic template.

Try the Tool
Credentials
PhD in Psychology and Quantitative Methods
Secret Clearance (Inactive)
Recognition
U.S. Air Force Commander's Commendation, awarded for research contributions to the EITaaS program
Domain Experience
DoD / GovTech
HealthTech
FinTech / Web3
AI Enablement
Ongoing Research
Ground Truth on Substack
Capability Measurement Tool
The Offer

What you're actually
buying

A monthly retainer for senior research strategy and advisory work. Not a project engagement, and not a full-time hire. Every retainer is month-to-month, with no long-term contract required. Larger engagements are scoped separately.

$3,000–5,000
Per Month, By Scope
10–15
Typical Hours
Monthly
No Long-Term Contract

$3,000 to $5,000 per month, depending on engagement scope, typically 10 to 15 hours.

Service 01
Research Infrastructure Assessment
An honest read on what your team can and can't learn right now, and specifically what's missing before you build anything new.
Service 02
Capability Measurement Design
Study designs for what your AI product or enablement program is actually doing to the people using it, not just what the dashboard says it's doing.
Service 03
AI Product Research Strategy
A research plan tied to the product decisions actually in front of your team this quarter, not a generic roadmap template.
Service 04
Study Design Review
A second, senior set of eyes on research your team has already planned or run, before it ships and before it gets cited in a board deck.
Service 05
Team Coaching
Working sessions with your research, product, or data team on methodology, analysis, and interpreting results without overreaching them.

Every engagement starts with a conversation about which of these your organization needs most this month, or what to build if it's something these don't quite cover. Not a fixed package you have to talk yourself into.

Who This Is For

A specific kind of
gap

This Is For You If
You have an AI product, a data-intensive platform, or a research challenge that's outgrown ad hoc, and no senior research leadership yet.
You're early to mid-stage, past the "just ship it" phase, where research decisions now carry real weight.
You're a DoD-adjacent organization or contractor navigating enterprise-scale AI or IT modernization.
You're a healthtech team building AI-powered products in HIPAA-adjacent or otherwise regulated environments.
This Isn't For You If
You need a research hire embedded in your team five days a week.
You want a research report that nobody has a plan to act on.
You're earlier than product-market fit, with nothing yet to measure.
Start Here
One conversation.
Thirty minutes.

No deck, no pitch. Just a conversation about whether this is the right fit for what your team needs.

Book a 30-Minute Conversation