Design Research

An introduction for new colleagues

We learn what users actually need, then hand it back to the team in a form they can use.

Design research runs interviews, usability tests, and diary studies for the product teams. This page is a short orientation: what we do day to day, how the week is shaped, and how to bring us a question.

01 / What we do

Three methods, one habit.

Most of our work falls into three shapes. Each one answers a different kind of question, and each takes a different amount of time to set up. Picking the right shape is half the value we add.

Method A

Interviews

One-hour conversations with five to eight participants, recruited to match a target. We send a guide in advance, record with consent, and come back with themes rather than transcripts.

Lead time~2 weeks
Method B

Usability tests

Task-based sessions on a prototype or live build. Five users usually surface the main problems. We watch where they hesitate, ask them to think aloud, and write up fixes ranked by severity.

Lead time~1 week
Method C

Diary studies

For behaviours that don't show up in a one-hour call. Participants log entries over one to two weeks, prompted by a short daily nudge. Best for habits, context, and moments that happen away from a screen.

Lead time~3 weeks
02 / Weekly rhythm

The week has a shape.

Monday is for planning together. Friday is for sharing what we learned. The days between are where the actual research happens - sessions, synthesis, and writing.

Start of week

Monday planning

  • 09:30Team standup. Each researcher names the one study that matters most this week.
  • 10:30Intake review. We triage new help requests that came in over the weekend.
  • 14:00Recruitment check. Confirm participants are booked and consented for the week.
  • 16:00Quiet planning block. Guides, scripts, and prototypes finalised before sessions begin.

End of week

Friday share-out

  • 10:00Synthesis. The team clusters notes from the week's sessions into themes.
  • 13:00Share-out. A 45-minute walkthrough for the product teams that asked the questions.
  • 14:30Findings doc published. One page per study, linked from the research archive.
  • 16:00Retro. What worked, what to change next week. Short and honest.
Tue - Thu

Fieldwork and synthesis. Sessions run in the mornings when participants are freshest; afternoons are for notes, clustering, and drafting the share-out. We hold Tuesday office hours for drop-in questions.

03 / Ask for help

Bring us a question, not a method.

The fastest way in is the intake form below. Tell us what you're trying to learn and when you need it by. We'll suggest the right method and come back with a plan.

  1. Fill in the intake form.

    Two minutes. The question and the deadline matter more than the method - we'll work that out.

  2. We triage on Monday.

    New requests are reviewed in the Monday intake block. You'll hear back by end of day Tuesday at the latest.

  3. Short kickoff call.

    Thirty minutes to align on the question, the participants, and what the team will do with the answer.

  4. Come to the share-out.

    Findings come back on the Friday share-out of the week we finish fieldwork. The doc lands in the archive the same day.

Research intake

Replies in 2 days
We'll reply in #design-research.

Request received.

We'll review it in Monday's intake block and reply in #design-research by Tuesday.

REF: DR-0000

When in doubt, just ask.

If you're not sure whether something is a research question, that's exactly the right time to bring it to us. A five-minute chat in office hours often saves a week of building the wrong thing.

Primary contact

Maya Okafor

Lead, Design Research

Slack@maya.okafor
Office hoursTue 14:00 - 15:00
Channel#design-research
04 / What I didn't ask for

What I didn't ask for

A few things on this page were invented by the AI that built it. They look real, but they are not facts I gave. Replace them before this goes anywhere.

  1. The team lead "Maya Okafor" and her Slack handle are invented.

    I never named anyone. The contact card, the name, and @maya.okafor are placeholders the AI chose.

  2. The office hours, squad size of 4, and the lead times per method are placeholders the AI chose.

    None of those specifics came from me. Treat them as draft copy, not real team data.

  3. The intake form and its "replies in 2 days" promise were added without my asking.

    The form, the badge, and the turnaround commitment were all added by the AI. I did not request them.

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