user-research
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SKILL.md
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User Research
Help plan, execute, and synthesize user research studies.
Research Methods
| Method | Best For | Sample Size | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| User interviews | Deep understanding of needs and motivations | 5-8 | 2-4 weeks |
| Usability testing | Evaluating a specific design or flow | 5-8 | 1-2 weeks |
| Surveys | Quantifying attitudes and preferences | 100+ | 1-2 weeks |
| Card sorting | Information architecture decisions | 15-30 | 1 week |
| Diary studies | Understanding behavior over time | 10-15 | 2-8 weeks |
| A/B testing | Comparing specific design choices | Statistical significance | 1-4 weeks |
Interview Guide Structure
- Warm-up (5 min): Build rapport, explain the session
- Context (10 min): Understand their current workflow
- Deep dive (20 min): Explore the specific topic
- Reaction (10 min): Show concepts or prototypes
- Wrap-up (5 min): Anything we missed? Thank them.
Analysis Framework
- Affinity mapping: Group observations into themes
- Impact/effort matrix: Prioritize findings
- Journey mapping: Visualize the user experience over time
- Jobs to be done: Understand what users are hiring your product to do
Deliverables
- Research plan (objectives, methods, timeline, participants)
- Interview guide (questions, probes, activities)
- Synthesis report (themes, insights, recommendations)
- Highlight reel (key quotes and observations)
Source
git clone https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/design/skills/user-research/SKILL.mdView on GitHub Overview
User Research helps you plan, execute, and synthesize studies to understand user needs, motivations, and behaviors. It covers methods from interviews and usability tests to surveys and diary studies, and results in actionable deliverables such as plans, interview guides, synthesis reports, and highlight reels.
How This Skill Works
Choose the appropriate method based on goals, define participants, and run sessions according to structured guides (for example, an interview guide structure). Then analyze findings using frameworks like affinity mapping, impact/effort matrix, journey mapping, and jobs-to-be-done, producing a synthesis and actionable recommendations.
When to Use It
- Plan and execute interviews to uncover user needs and motivations.
- Evaluate a specific design or flow with usability testing.
- Quantify attitudes and preferences with surveys (100+ participants).
- Inform information architecture with card sorting or journey mapping.
- Produce deliverables (plan, interview guide, synthesis report, highlight reel) to guide product decisions.
Quick Start
- Step 1: Define research questions and recruit participants.
- Step 2: Run sessions using the appropriate method and the interview guide structure.
- Step 3: Analyze findings with affinity mapping and produce the plan, guide, and synthesis deliverables.
Best Practices
- Start with a clear research plan: objectives, methods, timeline, and participant criteria.
- Use the interview guide structure (warm-up, context, deep dive, reaction, wrap-up) to stay consistent.
- Match methods to goals: interviews for needs, usability tests for flows, surveys for metrics, card sorting for IA, diaries for behavior over time, A/B tests for choices.
- Apply analysis frameworks (affinity mapping, impact/effort, journey mapping, jobs to be done) to turn data into insights.
- Deliver concrete outputs: plan, interview guide, synthesis report, and highlight reel.
Example Use Cases
- A SaaS team plans user interviews to uncover onboarding friction.
- An e-commerce site conducts usability tests to optimize the checkout flow.
- A marketing team designs a survey to quantify feature interest across 200+ users.
- A docs site uses card sorting to reorganize information architecture.
- A product team creates a synthesis report and highlight reel after a multi-method study to inform the roadmap.
Frequently Asked Questions
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