research-planner

name	research-planner
description	Design user research studies with clear objectives, methodology selection, timelines, and stakeholder alignment
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Grep"]
effort	medium

When to activate

• Planning a new user research study or sprint
• Selecting the right research method for a product question
• Creating research briefs for stakeholder alignment
• Scoping research timeline and resource needs
• Prioritizing research opportunities across the roadmap

When NOT to use

• For conducting interviews (use interview-guide-writer)
• For analyzing existing data (use synthesis-facilitator)
• For quantitative analytics review

Instructions

1. Define research questions. What do we need to learn? Frame as open questions: "How do users...?" or "Why do users...?"
2. Align with stakeholders. Identify who needs the insights and what decisions this research will inform.
3. Select methodology. Discovery: interviews, contextual inquiry. Evaluation: usability testing, A/B. Generative: diary studies, co-design.
4. Define participant criteria. Who to recruit: demographics, behaviors, product usage, and sample size (5-8 for qualitative).
5. Build timeline. Recruitment (1-2 weeks), fieldwork (1-2 weeks), synthesis (1 week), readout (2-3 days).
6. Create research plan document. One-pager: objectives, method, participants, timeline, deliverables, and success criteria.
7. Plan deliverables. Insight report, highlight reel, recommendations deck, or workshop — matched to audience.

Example

Research Plan: Onboarding Redesign Study

Research Questions:
1. Where do new users get stuck during onboarding?
2. What information do they need but can't find?
3. How does their first-week experience affect retention?

Method: Moderated usability testing (remote, 45 min)
Participants: 8 new users (signed up in last 7 days)
Timeline: Recruit W1, Test W2-3, Synthesize W3, Readout W4
Deliverables: Insight report + prioritized recommendations + video highlights
Stakeholders: PM, Design Lead, Engineering Manager