Method	Best For	Time	Sample Size
User Interviews	Deep understanding, discovery	45-60 min	5-8 users
Usability Testing	Evaluating designs	30-60 min	5 users
Surveys	Quantifying behaviors	5-10 min	100+ users
Diary Studies	Long-term behaviors	1-4 weeks	10-15 users
Card Sorting	Information architecture	20-30 min	15-30 users
A/B Testing	Comparing solutions	Varies	1000+ users

1. User Interviews

Interview Structure

1. INTRODUCTION (5 min)
   - Thank them, explain purpose
   - Get consent for recording
   - "There are no wrong answers"

2. WARM-UP (5 min)
   - Background questions
   - Build rapport

3. MAIN QUESTIONS (30-40 min)
   - Core research questions
   - Follow-up probes

4. WRAP-UP (5 min)
   - "Anything else?"
   - Thank them, explain next steps

Interview Best Practices

DO:

Ask open-ended questions ("Tell me about...")
Ask about past behavior, not future intentions
Follow up with "Why?" and "How?"
Let silences happen (people will fill them)
Take notes on emotions, not just words

DON'T:

Ask leading questions ("Don't you think...")
Ask hypothetical questions ("Would you use...")
Interrupt or finish their sentences
Show your prototype too early
Try to sell or explain your solution

Sample Interview Questions

{% if phase == "discovery" %} Discovery Phase:

CONTEXT
- "Walk me through a typical day when you [do task]."
- "Tell me about the last time you [experienced problem]."
- "How do you currently handle [situation]?"

PROBLEMS
- "What's the hardest part about [task]?"
- "What frustrates you most about [current solution]?"
- "If you had a magic wand, what would you change?"

MOTIVATION
- "Why is solving this important to you?"
- "What would success look like?"
- "What happens if you don't solve this?"

{% endif %}

{% if phase == "validation" %} Validation Phase:

SOLUTION FIT
- "How does this compare to what you currently use?"
- "What would make this not work for you?"
- "What's missing that you'd need?"

ADOPTION
- "What would need to be true for you to switch?"
- "Who else would need to be involved in this decision?"
- "What concerns would your [boss/team] have?"

VALUE
- "What would you pay for this?"
- "How much time would this save you?"
- "What would you give up to have this?"

{% endif %}

2. Usability Testing

Test Plan Template

## Usability Test Plan

**Objective:** Evaluate [feature] for [goal]

**Research Questions:**
1. Can users complete [task] without assistance?
2. Where do users get confused?
3. What do users expect vs. what happens?

**Participants:**
- Number: 5
- Criteria: [user characteristics]
- Recruitment: [method]

**Tasks:**
1. [Specific task with success criteria]
2. [Another task]
3. [Another task]

**Metrics:**
- Task completion rate
- Time on task
- Errors/confusion points
- Satisfaction rating (1-5)

Running the Test

MODERATOR SCRIPT

"Thanks for helping us today. I'm going to ask you to complete
some tasks using [product]. I want to emphasize:

- We're testing the product, not you
- There are no wrong answers
- Please think out loud - tell me what you're looking at,
  what you're thinking, what you expect to happen
- I may not answer questions during the tasks because I want
  to see how the product works without help
- If you get stuck, that's valuable information for us

Do you have any questions before we start?"

DURING THE TEST
- "What are you thinking right now?"
- "What do you expect to happen?"
- "Is that what you expected?"
- "What would you do next?"

AFTER EACH TASK
- "On a scale of 1-5, how easy was that?"
- "What was confusing about that?"

Analysis Framework

Issue	Severity	Frequency	Recommendation
Users can't find X	High	4/5	Move to main nav
Confused by label	Medium	3/5	Rename to "..."
Slow loading	Low	2/5	Add loading state

Severity Ratings:

Critical: Prevents task completion
High: Causes significant delay/frustration
Medium: Noticeable but workaround exists
Low: Minor annoyance

3. Surveys

Survey Design Principles

## Good Survey Questions

LENGTH
- Keep under 5 minutes (10-15 questions max)
- Put important questions first
- Use progress indicator

QUESTION TYPES
- Single choice: When options are mutually exclusive
- Multiple choice: When multiple options can apply
- Likert scale: For measuring attitudes (5 or 7 point)
- Open-ended: Use sparingly, at the end

WORDING
- One concept per question
- Avoid jargon and acronyms
- Include "Not applicable" option
- Randomize answer order when appropriate

Sample Survey Structure

1. SCREENING (if needed)
   "Do you use [product category]?" Yes/No

2. BEHAVIOR
   "How often do you [action]?"
   - Daily
   - Weekly
   - Monthly
   - Rarely
   - Never

3. SATISFACTION
   "How satisfied are you with [aspect]?"
   1 - Very dissatisfied
   2 - Dissatisfied
   3 - Neutral
   4 - Satisfied
   5 - Very satisfied

4. IMPORTANCE
   "How important is [feature] to you?"
   1 - Not at all important
   5 - Extremely important

5. NPS
   "How likely are you to recommend [product]?"
   0-10 scale

6. OPEN-ENDED
   "What one thing would you improve?"
   [Text field]

7. DEMOGRAPHICS
   (Only if relevant to analysis)

4. Personas

Persona Template

# [Persona Name]
## [One-line description]

**Demographics:**
- Role: [Job title or life stage]
- Industry: [If B2B]
- Technical proficiency: [Low/Medium/High]

**Goals:**
- Primary: [Main goal related to your product]
- Secondary: [Supporting goals]

**Frustrations:**
- [Current pain point 1]
- [Current pain point 2]
- [Current pain point 3]

**Behaviors:**
- [How they currently solve the problem]
- [Tools they use]
- [Decision-making process]

**Quote:**
"[Representative quote from research]"

**Scenario:**
[Brief story of them using your product]

Persona Do's and Don'ts

DO:

Base on real research data
Focus on behaviors and goals
Include quotes from actual users
Update as you learn more

DON'T:

Make up demographics
Include irrelevant details (hobbies, pets)
Create too many personas (2-4 is ideal)
Treat as static documents

5. Journey Mapping

Journey Map Structure

STAGES: Awareness → Consideration → Purchase → Onboarding → Usage → Advocacy

FOR EACH STAGE:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STAGE: [Name]                                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Actions: What the user does                            │
│ Touchpoints: Where they interact with us               │
│ Thoughts: What they're thinking                        │
│ Emotions: How they feel (use emoji scale)              │
│ Pain Points: Frustrations and obstacles                │
│ Opportunities: How we can improve                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Sample Journey Map

┌────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┐
│   AWARENESS    │  CONSIDERATION │    SIGNUP      │
├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤
│ Actions:       │ Actions:       │ Actions:       │
│ - Hears about  │ - Visits site  │ - Creates acct │
│   from friend  │ - Reads docs   │ - Enters info  │
│                │ - Compares     │                │
├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤
│ Thinking:      │ Thinking:      │ Thinking:      │
│ "Is this for   │ "How does it   │ "Why do they   │
│  me?"          │  compare to X?"│  need this?"   │
├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤
│ Emotion: 😐    │ Emotion: 🤔    │ Emotion: 😤    │
├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤
│ Pain Points:   │ Pain Points:   │ Pain Points:   │
│ - Unclear what │ - Pricing not  │ - Too many     │
│   it does      │   obvious      │   form fields  │
├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤
│ Opportunities: │ Opportunities: │ Opportunities: │
│ - Clearer      │ - Add pricing  │ - Social login │
│   messaging    │   page         │ - Fewer fields │
└────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┘

6. Synthesizing Research

Affinity Mapping Process

1. GATHER
   - Print/write each observation on sticky note
   - One insight per note
   - Include quotes and observations

2. CLUSTER
   - Group similar notes together
   - Don't overthink - go with gut
   - Allow "outliers" group

3. LABEL
   - Name each cluster
   - Use participant language when possible

4. PRIORITIZE
   - Which themes appear most often?
   - Which have highest impact?

5. INSIGHTS
   - "We observed [behavior]"
   - "We believe this is because [hypothesis]"
   - "This means we should [implication]"

Research Report Template

# Research Findings: [Study Name]

## Executive Summary
[3-4 sentence overview of key findings]

## Research Questions
1. [Question 1]
2. [Question 2]

## Methodology
- **Method:** [Interviews/Surveys/etc.]
- **Participants:** [Number and criteria]
- **Duration:** [Dates]

## Key Findings

### Finding 1: [Title]
**Observation:** [What we saw/heard]
**Evidence:** [Quotes, data]
**Implication:** [What this means for the product]

### Finding 2: [Title]
[Same structure]

## Recommendations
1. [Prioritized recommendation]
2. [Another recommendation]

## Next Steps
- [Planned follow-up research]
- [Teams to share with]

Quick Reference

Research Planning Checklist

Sample Size Guidelines

Method	Minimum	Ideal	Notes
Interviews	5	8-12	Until saturation
Usability	5	5-8	5 finds 85% of issues
Surveys	100	300+	For statistical significance
Card Sorts	15	30	For clear patterns

Related Skills

product-metrics - Quantitative analysis
ux-writing - Communication design
feature-prioritization - Using research in decisions

user-research

User Research Guide

Core Philosophy

Research Methods Overview