research-planning

Use when user needs are unclear, assumptions need validation, or the design brief identifies gaps in understanding — plans what to learn, which methods to use, and from whom

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.