User Research

Frameworks for building deep user understanding through structured research methods. Covers personas, journey mapping, interviews, usability testing, and Jobs-to-be-Done.

Research Method Selection

Choose the right method for your question:

Method When to Use Sample Size Time Output

User Interviews Early discovery, deep understanding 5-8 2-3 weeks Qualitative insights

Usability Testing Validate designs, find issues 5-10 1-2 weeks Actionable fixes

Surveys Quantify attitudes, preferences 100+ 1-2 weeks Statistical data

Card Sorting Information architecture 15-30 1 week IA recommendations

A/B Testing Compare alternatives 1000+ 2-4 weeks Statistical winner

Rule of thumb: Start with interviews (5-8 participants) to discover unknowns. Switch to surveys once you have hypotheses to validate.

Persona Quick Reference

Personas are fictional composites built from research synthesis. Keep to 3-5 max.

Persona: [Name]

Demographics

• Age: [Range]
• Role: [Job title]
• Company: [Type/size]
• Tech savviness: [Low/Medium/High]

Quote

"[Characteristic statement that captures their mindset]"

Goals

1. [Primary goal - what success looks like]
2. [Secondary goal]

Pain Points

1. [Frustration with current state]
2. [Obstacle they face]

Key Insight

[The most important thing to remember about this persona]

Incorrect — vague persona without goals:

Persona: Sarah, Age 35, Marketing Manager. Likes social media and coffee.

Correct — actionable persona with goals and pain points:

Persona: DevOps Dana Quote: "I don't have time for tools that create more work than they save." Goals: Reduce deployment failures, give devs self-service capabilities Pain Points: Alert fatigue from false positives, context-switching between 10+ tools Key Insight: Evaluates tools by "time saved vs. time invested" — needs immediate value.

Journey Map Structure

Maps the end-to-end experience for a specific persona and scenario.

Journey Map: [Journey Name]

Persona + Scenario

[Which persona | What they're trying to accomplish]

Stages: Aware → Consider → Purchase → Onboard → Use → Retain

For each stage:

• Touchpoints: [Channel/interaction point]
• Actions: [What user does]
• Emotions: [Satisfied / Neutral / Frustrated]
• Pain Points: [Friction]
• Opportunities: [How we improve]

Common B2B SaaS stages: Awareness → Evaluation → Purchase → Onboarding → Adoption → Expansion → Advocacy/Churn

JTBD Framework

People don't buy products — they hire them to do specific jobs.

JTBD Statement Format:

When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome].

Example:

When I'm preparing for a board review, I want to quickly see revenue trends, so I can answer questions confidently without scrambling for data.

Job Dimensions:

Dimension Description

Functional Practical task to accomplish

Emotional How the user wants to feel

Social How the user wants to be perceived

Opportunity Score: Importance + (Importance - Satisfaction) — scores > 10 indicate high-opportunity areas.

Empathy Map

Quick tool for building shared understanding in workshops:

+-------------------------+-------------------------------+ | SAYS | THINKS | | Direct quotes | Worries and concerns | | Questions asked | Aspirations | +-------------------------+-------------------------------+ | DOES | FEELS | | Observable actions | Emotional state | | Workarounds | Frustrations and delights | +-------------------------+-------------------------------+ | PAINS | GAINS | | Fears and obstacles | Wants and needs | +-------------------------+-------------------------------+

Interview Best Practices

Do Don't

Ask open-ended questions Ask leading questions

Ask "why" and "how" Accept surface answers

Follow interesting threads Stick rigidly to script

Take verbatim notes Paraphrase or interpret

Standard interview arc: Warm-up (5 min) → Context setting (10 min) → Deep dive (25 min) → Wrap-up (5 min)

Rules (Load On-Demand)

Read these files for detailed guidance:

• research-personas.md — Persona template, empathy map, maintenance schedule

• research-journey-mapping.md — Journey map template, service blueprints, experience curves

• research-user-interviews.md — Interview structure, usability testing, NPS/SUS, card sorting

References

• interview-guide-template.md — Ready-to-use interview guide template

• journey-map-workshop.md — Workshop facilitation guide

• user-story-workshop-guide.md — User story writing workshop

Related Skills

• ork:write-prd — Translate research insights into structured product requirements

• ork:product-frameworks — Full PM framework suite (business cases, prioritization, metrics, OKRs)

Version: 1.0.0