UX Glossary | R
Research plan
Also: Study plan
A short document that states what a study will find out, how, with whom, when, and what will be done with the results.
A research plan is a one- or two-page agreement on a study before it begins. It states the objectives, the method, who will take part, the schedule and, most importantly, how the results will be used.
What goes in it
The research questions: what you need to learn, written as questions, not methods. The method and why it fits those questions. The participants: who, how many, and the criteria in the screener. The timeline and logistics. And the decision the research will inform, plus who makes it.
The test of a good plan
Can you name a decision that will change depending on the answer? If every result leads to the same action, the study is not needed. This is the question stakeholders respect most and ask least, and it is easiest to answer while the plan is still a draft.
Plan versus guide
The plan covers the whole study. A session-level document, like an interview guide or a test script, covers what happens when one participant is in the room. Write the plan first. A CSD matrix is a good way to find the questions for it.
Common mistake
Starting from the method: “we should run some interviews”. Then the plan describes an activity, the findings answer nothing in particular, and the report is filed. Start from what the team does not know.