The FinLab Toolkit

HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN | DISCOVERY

Research Plan

90 Min

A well framed Research Plan makes sure teams are aligned on their key learning objectives, and the use of methods and tools. It helps teams map chosen methods along key lines of enquiry, identify research participants and locations, and distribute responsibilities within the team. The tool serves like a dashboard while doing research.

USE CASES

  • Create a guiding plan for a research team.
  • Use as dashboard to map progress against plan.

LIMITATIONS

A Research Plan is only as good as the discussion preceding it. It best serves as a dashboard, and has limited capacity to inform teams in terms of the kind of tools, participant profiles, lines of enquiry, etc. that ought to be used.

How to prepare for a user research session | CareerFoundry

UNDERSTANDING THE TOOL

  • The ‘Key lines of Enquiry’ are derived from the Foundation phase, where tools such as the Problem Tree, 5 Whys and the Stakeholder Map highlight information gaps, opportunities and other potential themes for research.
  • ‘Research Methods’ are the broad research techniques that the team wants to use. These tools include - Secondary Research, User Research, Observation amongst others. The choice of methods is influenced by; the nature of information needed, skills and resources available in the team, access to users, etc.
  • ‘Key Questions’ are the top 2-3 questions (per line of enquiry) that the team would like to focus the enquiry on.
  • The ‘Research Tools’ box should be used to list specific tools relevant to the Research Methods. For example, Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, Expert Interviews, Internet Search, Competition Benchmark, etc.
  • ‘Research Participants’ are users, stakeholders, and experts that the team will research with (and/or on). The actual choice of participants may depend on accessibility and availability.
  • ‘Person Responsible’ is meant to allocate responsibilities within a team.

STEP BY STEP

  1. Define lines of enquiry: List down the critical gaps in understanding — these are the major lines of enquiry. These can be taken from the Problem Tree and Stakeholder Map or emerge from a team's discussions and experiences.
  2. Identify research methodologies: Map the lines of enquiry against research methodologies. Discuss which methods to use and why.
  3. Add details: Add more detail and structure to the research plan. Discuss specific tools and their scope, the profile of participants, and responsibilities within the team.

HOW TO FOR FACILITATORS

  1. At the start: Explain the activity to the participants, and help them fill out at least one row.
  2. During the exercise: Make sure that they refer to previous tools that might have touched upon challenges and opportunities, these would help frame the key lines of enquiry.
  3. At the close: Have participants share plans and discuss how research methods tie into the lines of enquiry. Discuss confidence in using tools and help needed.

FACILITATORS QUESTION BANK

  • What are the top 2-3 research goals emerging from your plan?
  • Are all challenges and opportunities before you being addressed in the research plan? If not, what are you focusing on?
  • How are you choosing methods for each line of enquiry? Are there lines of enquiry that need to be covered through multiple methods?
  • Is the plan realistic? Will the team be able to successfully complete all the research tasks?
  • How are we planning to distribute responsibilities? Are we comfortable with what is on the template?
  • What is our documentation strategy? Are you planning to record interviews? How will you collate findings from the different research activities?

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