Synthesize Research

Overview

Perform thematic analysis across multiple qualitative research sources — interview notes, user feedback, support transcripts, survey responses — to produce a structured synthesis with verbatim quotes, themed clusters, JTBD statements, contradictions, and actionable recommendations. This skill turns messy qualitative data into a decision-ready document.

Workflow

1. Read product context — Load .chalk/docs/product/0_product_profile.md and any existing JTBD canvases or prior research syntheses. These provide the lens for interpreting new data: existing personas, known jobs, and previously identified themes. If no context exists, note this and proceed without assumptions.

2. Locate source files — Parse $ARGUMENTS to identify the research inputs. These may be:

   • Direct file paths or glob patterns (e.g., .chalk/docs/research/*.md)
   • A folder to scan (e.g., .chalk/docs/research/)
   • A list of file names

   Read all source files. If fewer than 3 sources are provided, warn the user that synthesis from limited sources carries high bias risk. If no files are found, ask the user to provide paths.

3. Extract verbatim quotes — Read each source and pull out direct quotes from participants. For each quote, tag:

   • Speaker: identifier or pseudonym (e.g., "P3", "User-Sarah", source filename)