User Research Skill

1.1 Required fields

1.2 Optional fields

1.3 Gathering conversation

Ask these 3 questions in the welcome message:

1. What do you want to learn? (What's the core research question?)
2. What product or context is this for?
3. Do you have a preferred method? (Interviews, survey, usability test — or not sure?)

Phase 2 — Research Design

2.1 Define Research Questions

Convert the user's goal into 3–5 focused research questions:

• Start with "How", "Why", "What" — never yes/no
• Each maps to a specific area of inquiry
• Prioritize by importance

Example format:

RQ1: Why do users stop using the product after the first week?
RQ2: What alternatives are they using instead?
RQ3: How do they describe their ideal solution?

2.2 Choose Research Method

Recommend method based on user's goal. Default to interviews for open-ended discovery.

2.3 Participant Recruitment Criteria

Define:

• Demographics (age range, occupation, geography)
• Behavioral criteria (must have used X, must be Y type of user)
• Exclusion criteria (no internal employees, no competitors)
• Screener questions (3–5 questions to qualify participants)

Phase 3 — Research Artifacts

Generate the appropriate artifacts based on chosen method.

3.1 Interview Guide (for user interviews)

# Interview Guide: [Topic]
**Duration:** 45–60 minutes
**Interviewer note:** This is a guide, not a script. Follow the conversation naturally.

## Introduction (5 min)
- Thank participant, explain purpose (learning, not testing them)
- Ask permission to record
- "There are no right or wrong answers — we want to understand your experience."

## Warm-up (5 min)
- Tell me a bit about yourself and what you do day-to-day.
- How long have you been using [product/category]?

## Core Questions (30–35 min)
[Generated based on research questions — 8–12 open-ended questions]

## Probing Techniques
- "Tell me more about that."
- "Can you walk me through what happened?"
- "What were you thinking at that moment?"
- "How did that make you feel?"
- "What would ideal look like?"

## Wrap-up (5 min)
- Is there anything else you'd want us to know?
- Can we follow up if we have more questions?

3.2 Usability Test Script (for usability testing)

# Usability Test Script: [Product / Feature]
**Duration:** 30–45 minutes

## Introduction
- Explain think-aloud protocol: "Say everything you're thinking as you go."
- "We're testing the product, not you."

## Tasks
[3–5 realistic tasks based on user goals]
Task 1: "Imagine you want to [goal]. Please show me how you'd do that."
Task 2: ...

## Observation Notes
| Task | Completed? | Time | Errors | Comments |
|------|------------|------|--------|----------|

## Post-task Questions
- What was confusing or unexpected?
- What would you change?
- How does this compare to how you do it today?

3.3 Survey Template (for surveys)

Structure:

• Section 1: Screener / demographics (3–5 questions)
• Section 2: Current behavior (5–8 questions)
• Section 3: Pain points & needs (5–8 questions)
• Section 4: Reactions to concept / solution (optional, 3–5 questions)
• Section 5: Open-ended (1–2 questions)

Question types: Likert scale / multiple choice / ranking / open text Keep total under 15 questions.

Phase 4 — Analysis Frameworks

4.1 Affinity Mapping

Group raw observations/quotes into themes:

Level 1 — Raw notes (direct quotes, observations)
Level 2 — Patterns (cluster of similar notes)
Level 3 — Themes (named insight category)
Level 4 — Insight (actionable "How might we..." statement)

Output format:

## Theme: [Name]
**Insight:** Users struggle with X because Y.
**Supporting quotes:**
- "..." (P3)
- "..." (P7)
**Frequency:** 6/8 participants
**Severity:** High / Medium / Low

4.2 Persona Template

## Persona: [Name], [Age], [Role]
**Quote:** "..."
**Goals:** What they're trying to achieve
**Frustrations:** Top 3 pain points
**Behaviors:** How they currently solve the problem
**Tools they use:** ...
**Decision factors:** What makes them choose a solution

4.3 Journey Map

Stages: Awareness → Consideration → Onboarding → Regular Use → Advocacy / Churn

For each stage:

• Actions (what they do)
• Thoughts (what they're thinking)
• Feelings (emotional tone: 😊/😐/😤)
• Pain points
• Opportunities

Phase 5 — Insights Report (Markdown)

Report structure

# User Research Report: [Topic]
*Method: [Method] | Participants: [N] | Date: [Date]*

## Executive Summary
3–5 bullet points. Most important insights first.

## Research Questions
[List RQs and one-line answers]

## Key Insights
### Insight 1: [Title]
Description. Supporting evidence. Frequency.

### Insight 2: [Title]
...

## Personas
[1–3 persona profiles]

## Journey Map
[Table or narrative]

## Recommendations
| Recommendation | Priority | Rationale |
|----------------|----------|-----------|

## Methodology
- Method, participants, recruitment criteria
- Limitations and caveats
- Areas for follow-up research

Phase 6 — Excel Summary

Use openpyxl to generate user-research-[topic]-[date].xlsx

Sheet 1: Insights Summary

Sheet 2: Raw Observations

Sheet 3: Personas

Sheet 4: Recommendations

Formatting:

• Dark header: #1F3864 (white text)
• Alternate rows: #F2F7FF
• Freeze top row, auto-fit columns

Phase 7 — Delivery

1. Save report as user-research-[topic]-[date].md
2. Save Excel as user-research-[topic]-[date].xlsx
3. Deliver summary:

✅ User Research Complete: [Topic]

📄 Report: user-research-[topic]-[date].md
📊 Excel: user-research-[topic]-[date].xlsx

**Top 3 Insights:**
1. [Insight 1]
2. [Insight 2]
3. [Insight 3]

**Top Recommendations:**
1. [Rec 1] — Priority: High
2. [Rec 2] — Priority: Medium

**Next steps:**
- [ ] Share findings with product team
- [ ] Prioritize top recommendations in roadmap
- [ ] Schedule follow-up research on [open question]

Research Principles

• Separate observation from interpretation — quote directly, label inferences
• Look for patterns, not outliers — n=1 is a data point, not an insight
• Stay curious, not confirmatory — seek to understand, not validate assumptions
• Empathy first — users aren't wrong, the product is
• Always cite frequency — "6/8 participants said..." not "users feel..."