Onyx Studios — Matt Barham · Independent research & de-risking
Senior, independent research that tells you whether a high-stakes product decision is sound — while it's still cheap to change. Built across payments, fintech, and platforms used at national scale.
What I do, in one line
I find the expensive mistake before it's made — the one assumption your plan is quietly betting on, tested against the only people who decide: your users.
You're about to commit real engineering to a direction whose case rests on assumptions no one has put in front of an actual user.
Trust, comprehension, or regulation decide whether this lands — and "we'll find out at launch" is an expensive way to find out.
You've shipped once or twice and the metric still won't move. Running the same play harder won't change the outcome.
Diagnostic research that isolates the real constraint — not the symptom the team keeps treating.
Concept and usability research that validates the bet before engineering commits — while change is still inexpensive.
Facilitated sessions that move a divided team to a defensible, evidence-based call they can execute.
Every engagement draws on 70+ named methods and 175+ structured activities — matched to the problem, never a fixed template. How I work →
Federal benefits for millions of unbanked Americans — research that shaped the platform.
U.S. cities of moderated usability as the country re-learned to pay.
Onboarding & trust research at the launch of mainstream tap-to-pay.
Roughly 80% of what ships gets rarely or never used. The work is making sure your budget lands in the other 20% — before it's expensive to be wrong.
Bring me in while it's still cheap to change course — before the assumption becomes a launch, and the launch becomes a number that won't move.
Most of my work comes by referral.