A one-page research plan, written before anyone books a call.
Research without a plan produces interesting notes and no decisions. This plan starts from the decision you need to make, checks what you already know, and fits on one page.
The most common research mistake isn't a bad question; it's research that was never tied to a decision. The findings are interesting, the deck gets shared, and nothing changes.
This plan makes you write the decision first, then check what you already know before running anything new. Often the answer is already in your sales calls and support tickets, and the study you need is smaller than you thought.
How to use it
- 01Name the decision
One sentence, with a date and an owner. If there is no decision, you may not need research yet.
- 02Check what you already know
Look through recent calls, tickets and past research first. Write down what the evidence says and what is still a belief.
- 03Pick the smallest study that answers it
Five interviews, a short survey, or a look at data you already have. Match the method to the question, not the other way round.
- 04Agree what would change your mind
Before you start, write down what result would make you decide each way. It stops findings being read to fit what people already wanted.
Research plan
The decision
- What we're deciding
One sentence. - By when
- Who decides
What we already know
- What the evidence says today
With links to the calls, tickets or research it comes from. - What we believe but can't back yet
Research questions
What you want to learn, not the questions you'll ask participants.
- ________________
- ________________
- ________________
Method
- How we'll find out
Interviews, a survey, a usability test, or data we already have. - Why this method
Participants
- Who
The criteria, including who to leave out. - How many
- How we'll recruit them
Timeline
- Recruit
- Run
- Make sense of it
- Share
Outputs
- What we'll share, and with whom
- What would change our minds
The result that would make us decide each way, written before we start.
Tips and common mistakes
Look before you recruit
Sales calls, support tickets and old research often answer half the questions already. Checking first makes the new study smaller and sharper.
Research questions aren't interview questions
"Why do trial users stall in week one?" is a research question. You'd never ask a participant that directly; you'd ask them to walk you through their first week.
Share the plan before you run it
If the people who'll make the decision haven't seen the plan, they may not trust the findings. Five minutes of review up front saves an argument later.
Keep it to one page
If the plan doesn't fit, the study is probably trying to answer too many decisions at once. Split it.
Or let Corha write the plan from what you already know
Corha starts where this template does: with what your customers have already said. It marks the gaps it can't back, writes a research goal for each, and drafts the interview guide and survey, so the study you run is only the part you didn't know.
Questions about the user research plan template
- What should a user research plan include?
- The decision the research informs, what you already know, three to five research questions, the method and why, who you will talk to and how many, a timeline, and what result would change your mind.
- How long should a research plan be?
- One page is enough for most studies. If it needs more, the study is probably trying to answer several decisions at once.
- What is the difference between a research plan and a discussion guide?
- The plan says why you are doing the research and how. The discussion guide is the script you use in each session. Write the plan first; the guide follows from the research questions.
A persona built on evidence: the job, the trigger, the objections and a quote behind every line
A 30-minute interview script that asks about what customers did, not what they might do
Six questions, about two minutes, built to tell you what to fix
Job statement, job stories and the four forces, on one page
Skip the blank page.
Start with your website and Corha drafts a first picture of your customers in about a minute. Connect your calls and tickets when you want it backed by real quotes.
Try it with your own website, no account. We read the public page and keep nothing.