atk-ux-research

name	atk-ux-research
description	Conduct comprehensive UX research for America's Test Kitchen across any feature area (recipes, equipment, subscription, app experience, billing, etc.). Uses Exa Search, Firecrawl, Perplexity MCP, and Reddit JSON API to gather user feedback from app stores, Reddit, Trustpilot, BBB, and other review sources. Outputs structured research reports with quantitative metrics and qualitative themes.

America's Test Kitchen UX Research

Modular skill for conducting UX research on any ATK feature or experience area.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Researching user feedback for any ATK feature (equipment, recipes, subscription, app, etc.)
• Gathering app store reviews (iOS/Android)
• Scraping Reddit discussions about ATK
• Collecting BBB complaints and Trustpilot reviews
• Creating UX research reports with findings and recommendations
• Comparing ATK to competitors (NYT Cooking, Serious Eats, etc.)

Quick Start

# Run research on a specific feature area
python3 ~/.claude/skills/atk-ux-research/scripts/atk_research.py --feature "recipes"
python3 ~/.claude/skills/atk-ux-research/scripts/atk_research.py --feature "subscription"
python3 ~/.claude/skills/atk-ux-research/scripts/atk_research.py --feature "app experience"

Feature Areas

Feature	Description	Key Sources
equipment	Kitchen gear and product reviews	App stores, Reddit, BBB
recipes	Recipe content and usability	Reddit, App stores
subscription	Billing, pricing, cancellation	BBB, Trustpilot, Reddit
app	App stability, UX, navigation	App stores, Reddit
video	TV shows, streaming, video content	Reddit, social media
cookbooks	Physical book purchases and quality	Reddit, Trustpilot

Research Workflow

Phase 1: Data Collection

1.1 App Store Reviews

# iOS App Store
firecrawl https://apps.apple.com/us/app/americas-test-kitchen/id1365223384

# Google Play Store
firecrawl https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.americastestkitchen.groceryapp

1.2 Review Sites

# Trustpilot
firecrawl https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.americastestkitchen.com

# BBB Complaints
firecrawl https://www.bbb.org/us/ma/boston/profile/publishers-periodical/americas-test-kitchen-lp-0021-66446/complaints

1.3 Reddit (JSON API)

Reddit blocks standard scrapers. Use the .json suffix:

# Get subreddit posts
curl -s "https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericasTestKitchen/top.json?t=year&limit=25" \
  -H "User-Agent: ux-research/1.0" | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for post in data['data']['children']:
    p = post['data']
    print(f\"**{p['title']}** (score: {p['score']}, comments: {p['num_comments']})\")
    print(f\"  https://reddit.com{p['permalink']}\n\")"

# Get thread comments
curl -s "https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericasTestKitchen/comments/THREAD_ID.json?limit=50" \
  -H "User-Agent: ux-research/1.0" | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
comments = data[1]['data']['children']
for c in comments[:20]:
    if c['kind'] == 't1':
        d = c['data']
        print(f\"**{d['author']}** (score: {d['score']}):\n{d['body'][:500]}\n---\")"

# Search for feature-specific discussions
curl -s "https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/search.json?q=america%27s+test+kitchen+FEATURE&restrict_sr=0&limit=20" \
  -H "User-Agent: ux-research/1.0"

Key Subreddits:

• r/AmericasTestKitchen - Dedicated ATK community
• r/Cooking - General cooking discussions
• r/Costco - Cookbook/product finds
• r/BuyItForLife - Equipment durability
• r/AskCulinary - Recipe questions

1.4 Exa Search

# Neural search for user feedback
python3 ~/.claude/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa_search.py \
  "America's Test Kitchen FEATURE user feedback reviews" \
  --category news -n 15

# Research with citations
python3 ~/.claude/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa_research.py \
  "What do users say about America's Test Kitchen FEATURE?" \
  --sources --markdown

1.5 Perplexity MCP

mcp__perplexity__search: "America's Test Kitchen FEATURE user complaints feedback"
mcp__perplexity__get_documentation: "ATK app store reviews analysis"

Phase 2: Analysis

2.1 Quantitative Metrics

Metric	Source	How to Get
iOS Rating	App Store	Firecrawl scrape
Android Rating	Google Play	Firecrawl scrape
BBB Complaints	BBB	Count from scrape
Trustpilot Score	Trustpilot	Firecrawl scrape
Reddit Engagement	Reddit JSON	Sum scores/comments

2.2 Qualitative Themes

Code feedback into themes:

• Discoverability - Can users find the feature?
• Usability - Is it easy to use?
• Reliability - Does it work consistently?
• Value - Is it worth the price?
• Support - How are issues resolved?

2.3 Severity Classification

Severity	Criteria
Critical	Prevents core functionality, multiple sources confirm
High	Significant friction, frequent complaints
Medium	Annoyance, moderate complaint frequency
Low	Nice-to-have improvements

Phase 3: Report Generation

Use template at: ~/.claude/skills/atk-ux-research/templates/report-template.md

Report Sections

1. Executive Summary - Key findings, severity table
2. Methodology - Sources, sample sizes, limitations
3. Quantitative Overview - Ratings, complaint distribution
4. Feature Analysis - Deep dive on researched feature
5. User Pain Points - Themed complaints with evidence
6. Positive Feedback - What users appreciate
7. Recommendations - Prioritized improvements
8. Appendix - Source URLs, raw data references

Output Locations

~/Desktop/ATK-UX-Research/
├── reports/                    # Generated reports
│   └── FEATURE-YYYY-MM-DD.md
├── scraped-data/              # Raw scraped content
│   ├── app-store/
│   ├── reddit/
│   └── review-sites/
└── research-plan.md           # Active research plan

Competitor Comparison

When benchmarking, compare against:

Competitor	Focus	URL
NYT Cooking	Recipes, no equipment	cooking.nytimes.com
Serious Eats	Recipes + equipment	seriouseats.com
Wirecutter	Equipment only	nytimes.com/wirecutter
Consumer Reports	Equipment reviews	consumerreports.org
King Arthur	Baking focus	kingarthurbaking.com

Known Limitations

• Facebook Groups: Not accessible via API, requires manual research
• App Store Historical Data: Need AppFollow/Sensor Tower for trends
• Reddit Rate Limits: Use 2-second delays between requests
• Trustpilot: Limited ATK reviews (only 4 as of Jan 2026)

Environment Variables

# Required for full functionality
export EXA_API_KEY="your-key"
export FIRECRAWL_API_KEY="your-key"

Example Usage

Research Equipment Feature

# 1. Gather data
firecrawl https://apps.apple.com/us/app/americas-test-kitchen/id1365223384
firecrawl https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.americastestkitchen.com

# 2. Search Reddit
curl -s "https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericasTestKitchen/search.json?q=equipment&limit=20" \
  -H "User-Agent: ux-research/1.0"

# 3. Exa research
python3 ~/.claude/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa_research.py \
  "America's Test Kitchen equipment reviews user experience" --sources

# 4. Generate report
# Use report template and synthesize findings

Research Subscription/Billing

# Focus on BBB and cancellation complaints
firecrawl https://www.bbb.org/us/ma/boston/profile/publishers-periodical/americas-test-kitchen-lp-0021-66446/complaints

curl -s "https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericasTestKitchen/search.json?q=cancel+subscription&limit=20" \
  -H "User-Agent: ux-research/1.0"

python3 ~/.claude/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa_research.py \
  "America's Test Kitchen subscription billing complaints auto-renewal" --sources

Integration with Project

This skill outputs to the ATK-UX-Research git repository:

• ~/Desktop/ATK-UX-Research/

Commit findings after each research session.