Research Strategy Skill

When to Activate

Activate this skill when:

• Researching technology options

• Evaluating libraries or frameworks

• Investigating best practices

• Analyzing security concerns

• Making architectural decisions

• Performing codebase analysis

Core Principles

• Research and report, don't implement

• Multiple sources beat single sources

• Document confidence levels for all findings

• Acknowledge knowledge gaps openly

• Present alternatives objectively

7-Step Research Methodology

• Define Research Questions - What exactly needs answering?

• Identify Information Sources - Where to look?

• Gather Raw Information - Collect systematically

• Cross-Reference Findings - Verify across sources

• Validate Accuracy - Check dates, authority, consensus

• Identify Gaps - What's still unknown?

• Synthesize Insights - Connect into actionable knowledge

Source Prioritization

Primary Sources (Highest priority)

• Official documentation

• Technical specifications

• API references

Authoritative Sources

• Well-maintained libraries

• Industry standards (OWASP, NIST)

• Academic papers

Community Sources

• Stack Overflow discussions

• GitHub issues/PRs

• Technical blogs

Experimental Sources (Use with caution)

• Beta features

• Draft proposals

Confidence Scoring

Assign to ALL findings:

Level Range Criteria

HIGH 90-100% Multiple authoritative sources agree, widely adopted

MEDIUM 60-89% Good documentation, some adoption, minor disagreements

LOW 30-59% Limited sources, conflicting information

SPECULATIVE <30% Educated guess, no direct sources

Research Report Structure

Research Report: [Topic]

Executive Summary

[2-3 paragraphs: key findings, recommendation, confidence]

Research Questions

1. [Question 1]
2. [Question 2]

Key Findings

Finding 1: [Title]

Confidence: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW Sources: [List with links] [Detailed explanation] Implications: [How this affects decisions]

Comparative Analysis

Best Practices

1. [Practice]: Why, Source, Adoption level

Risks and Concerns

• Risk: Severity, Likelihood, Mitigation

Knowledge Gaps

• Gap: Impact, How to address

Recommendations

[Clear, actionable recommendations with confidence levels]

Library/Framework Research Template

Overview

• Purpose: [One sentence]
• Maturity: Stable/Beta/Experimental
• Last commit: [Date]
• License: [Type]

Technical Assessment

• Performance: [Benchmarks]
• Bundle Size: [KB]
• Dependencies: [Count, quality]

Developer Experience

• Documentation: Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor
• TypeScript: Built-in/DefinitelyTyped/None
• Learning Curve: Steep/Moderate/Gentle

Verdict

Recommendation: Use/Don't Use/Conditional Confidence: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW When to Use: [Scenarios] When to Avoid: [Scenarios]

Analysis Framework

For each topic, answer:

Current State

• What exists today?

• What patterns are established?

Best Practices

• What do experts recommend?

• What anti-patterns to avoid?

Trade-offs

• What are alternatives?

• Pros/cons of each option?

Risks

• What could go wrong?

• Common pitfalls?

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

❌ Single Source Syndrome

• "According to this one article..."

• ✅ "Multiple sources agree (A, B, C)..."

❌ Premature Implementation

• "Here's the code..."

• ✅ "Implementation would follow this approach..."

❌ Missing Confidence Levels

• "This is the way."

• ✅ "HIGH confidence: Recommended by [sources]..."

❌ Outdated Information

• Using 2020 practices without checking updates

• ✅ Verify current practices, note recent changes

Research Quality Checklist

Completeness

• All questions answered

• Multiple sources consulted (minimum 2-3)

• Advantages AND disadvantages investigated

• Edge cases considered

Accuracy

• Sources are authoritative and current

• Publication dates checked

• Conflicting info acknowledged

• Assumptions stated

Actionability

• Findings translate to next steps

• Risks quantified

• Alternatives provided

• Decision criteria clear

Related Resources

See AgentUsage/research_workflow.md for complete documentation including:

• Security research template

• Detailed report examples

• Research mission template

• Quality checklists