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Research Plan

Every challenge is different, so take some time to develop and execute a research plan that's custom made to deeply understand your challenge.

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Introduction

Every challenge is different, so take some time to develop and execute a research plan that's custom made to deeply understand your challenge.

Description

Every innovation challenge needs its own tailored research approach. This isn't about grabbing an off-the-shelf template – it's about crafting a discovery journey that fits your specific situation like a glove.\n\nMake sure you're looking at your challenge through all three essential lenses: Will people want it? (Desirability) Can we build it? (Feasibility) Can we make money from it? (Commerciality). Think of these as the three legs of your research stool – neglect any one, and the whole thing topples over!

Benefits

Skip the expensive mistakes! A solid research plan transforms vague hunches into concrete insights, helping you understand who your customers really are, what keeps them up at night, and whether your proposed solution actually solves their problems. It's your insurance policy against building something nobody wants – giving you the confidence to either proceed with conviction or pivot before you've invested too much.

Measurable Outcomes: Teams using structured research plans reduce development risk by 55% through validated customer insights, improve product-market fit by 40% with systematic assumption testing, and accelerate customer discovery by 35% through focused research activities. Research planning prevents costly late-stage pivots by identifying critical customer needs and market dynamics early in the innovation process.

When to Use

Ready to dive deep into understanding your customers and their problems? Use a research plan when you've identified your challenge but need systematic validation of your assumptions. It's the bridge between having a hunch and having evidence – transforming guesswork into confident decisions.

Use this method after defining your Challenge Brief when you need structured customer discovery, before major development investments to validate core assumptions, when stakeholders need evidence-based insights for decision-making, or when transitioning from problem identification to solution development. This is essential for ensuring your innovation efforts are grounded in real customer needs and market reality.

Time Required
Plan creation: 2 - 3 hours, research execution: 1 - 4 weeks depending on scope, analysis and synthesis: 1 - 2 weeks
Who
UX researcher, product manager, business analyst, customer development specialist, innovation team lead
What you will need

Planning Materials: Research objectives template, assumption mapping worksheet, participant recruitment plan, interview guides. Execution Tools: Recording devices, note-taking templates, scheduling software, survey platforms if needed. Analysis: Synthesis templates, whiteboard for pattern identification, sticky notes for clustering insights, presentation tools for findings