SKILL.md
Research Planning
Research is how we replace assumptions with evidence. This skill structures what you need to learn before committing to a design direction.
When to Use
- The design brief identifies unknowns about users, context, or behaviour
- The team is making decisions based on assumptions rather than evidence
- A design is being created for a new audience or unfamiliar context
- Stakeholders disagree about user needs
Process
Step 1: Identify Knowledge Gaps
Review the design brief and list:
- What do we know about the people who will use this? (Evidence-backed)
- What do we assume? (Believed but unverified)
- What do we not know? (Acknowledged gaps)
Present this to the user. Assumptions and unknowns become research questions.
Step 2: Frame Research Questions
Convert gaps into answerable questions. Good research questions are:
- Specific — "How do users with screen readers navigate multi-step forms?" not "Is the form accessible?"
- Observable — focused on behaviour, not opinion
- Actionable — the answer will change a design decision
Aim for 3-5 research questions. More than that means you need to narrow scope.
Step 3: Select Methods
Match methods to questions:
| Question Type | Recommended Methods |
|---|---|
| "What do people currently do?" | Journey mapping, diary studies, contextual inquiry |
| "Why do people struggle with X?" | Usability testing, think-aloud protocols |
| "What do people need?" | Interviews, jobs-to-be-done analysis |
| "Which approach works better?" | A/B testing, preference testing, card sorting |
| "How does our offering compare?" | Competitive analysis, heuristic evaluation |
| "Who are we designing for?" | Persona development, ability spectrum mapping |
Step 4: Plan for Inclusion
Every research plan must address:
- Participant diversity — include people with disabilities, different ages, different technical literacy, different languages
- Method accessibility — ensure research methods themselves are accessible (e.g., interview formats that work for people with communication differences)
- Situational contexts — include scenarios of stress, distraction, low bandwidth, unfamiliar environments
Step 5: Write the Research Plan
# Research Plan: [Topic]
## Research Questions
1. [Question]
2. [Question]
3. [Question]
## Methods
| Method | Questions Addressed | Participants | Timeline |
|--------|-------------------|-------------|----------|
| [Method] | Q1, Q2 | [Who and how many] | [When] |
## Inclusion Considerations
[How participant diversity and method accessibility will be ensured]
## Expected Outputs
[What deliverables this research will produce — personas, journey maps, findings report]
## Decision Points
[Which design decisions this research will inform]Save to: docs/designpowers/research/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-plan.md
Step 6: User Review
Present the plan. Confirm scope, methods, and timeline are realistic.
Integration
- Called by:
design-discovery - Calls:
inclusive-personas(when persona development is a research output) - Pairs with:
design-strategy(research informs strategy)
What This Skill Does NOT Do
This skill plans research — it does not execute it. Execution happens with real people in the real world. The plan ensures that when research happens, it is structured, inclusive, and actionable.