Not sure which author you're disagreeing with?

Research before ideation always results in better products:

"We want to make a thing for users."

"WHICH users?"

"Uhhh.... managers."

"Do all managers have the same problems, or are there different kinds of people with different kinds of problems?"

"We think this group have these problems."

"You think they have these problems?"

vs

"We want to make a thing for users."

"WHICH users?"

"Programme managers at large companies who who have to coordinate the work of several teams, because we know from our research that each team chooses their own way of estimating work in progress e.g. story points and we understand that the biggest painpoint for these users is understanding how much progress has been made. Our next step will be to ideate how to solve that genuine customer problem, using the information we have now collected about exactly how they spend their day."

As for qualified researchers doing research work, my manager asked me a while back whether we should ask a designer to make our posters or whether we should design them ourselves.

I said we could do it ourselves ... if we want it to suck. I ask a designer to do design work just like I ask a plumber to fix my pipes, and I strongly encourage everyone around me to at least show me their surveys and interview scripts before sending them out.

"Would you buy this product?"

Hmmm ... I think we're going to need another draft.