How do I install the User Research skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add knuckles-team/user-research in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is User Research safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with User Research?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is User Research free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.

Who published User Research?

Knuckles-Team (@knuckles-team) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

User Research by knuckles-team — Agent Skill

Name: User Research
Author: Knuckles-Team

User Research

Conducting user discovery, qualitative research, and persona development to understand customer needs and pain points. Use when preparing for discovery interviews, creating customer journey maps, mapping jobs-to-be-done (JTBD), or building proto-personas.

File contents

User Research & Discovery

Systematically uncover customer insights to ensure we build products that solve real problems.

1. Discovery Interview Preparation

Before talking to users, define a structured research plan.

Interview Guide Structure:

Hypothesis: What single thing do we want to validate or invalidate?
Screener: Who is the ideal participant? (Experience, role, behavior).
Opening: Set context, assure anonymity, ask for permission to record.
Focus Areas: 3–5 broad themes to explore.
Closing: "Is there anything I should have asked but didn't?"

The Golden Rule:

Ask open-ended questions. Avoid "Would you use this?" (leading). Prefer "Tell me about the last time you tried to [action]..." (experience-based).

2. Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD)

Focus on the task the user is "hiring" the product to do, rather than their demographics.

Formula: "When I [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome]."

Functional Job: The core task.
Emotional Job: How the user wants to feel.
Social Job: How the user wants to be perceived.

3. Personas & Journey Mapping

Proto-Personas

Create lightweight, hypothesis-based profiles to align the team.

Name/Role: "Small Business owner Sam".
Top Goals: What are they trying to achieve?
Top Frustrations: What blocks them today?
Behaviors: How do they currently solve the problem?

Customer Journey Mapping

Visualize the user's experience across touchpoints.

Phases: Awareness → Discovery → Signup → Activation → Retention.
Actions: What is the user doing at each step?
Thinking/Feeling: What are the highlights and pain points?
Opportunities: Where can we improve the experience?

4. Synthesis & Artifacts

Research Memo: 1-page summary of key themes, supporting quotes, and recommended next steps.
Affinity Mapping: Grouping observations into thematic clusters to identify patterns.
Confidence Scoring: How sure are we of these insights based on the sample size/quality?

Best Practices

Interview in Pairs: One person leads, one person takes notes.
Record and Transcribe: Don't rely on memory; use exact customer quotes.
Focus on Pain: Users are great at describing problems but often bad at prescribing solutions. Focus on the pain.
Continuous Discovery: Research isn't a one-time event; aim for a regular cadence of customer conversations.

---name: user-researchdescription: Conducting user discovery, qualitative research, and persona development to understand customer needs and pain points. Use when preparing for discovery interviews, creating customer journey maps, mapping jobs-to-be-done (JTBD), or building proto-personas.license: MIT---# User Research & DiscoverySystematically uncover customer insights to ensure we build products that solve real problems.---## 1. Discovery Interview PreparationBefore talking to users, define a structured research plan.### Interview Guide Structure:- **Hypothesis**: What single thing do we want to validate or invalidate?- **Screener**: Who is the ideal participant? (Experience, role, behavior).- **Opening**: Set context, assure anonymity, ask for permission to record.- **Focus Areas**: 3–5 broad themes to explore.- **Closing**: "Is there anything I should have asked but didn't?"### The Golden Rule:Ask open-ended questions. Avoid "Would you use this?" (leading). Prefer "Tell me about the last time you tried to [action]..." (experience-based).---## 2. Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD)Focus on the **task** the user is "hiring" the product to do, rather than their demographics.**Formula**: "When I [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome]."- **Functional Job**: The core task.- **Emotional Job**: How the user wants to feel.- **Social Job**: How the user wants to be perceived.---## 3. Personas & Journey Mapping### Proto-PersonasCreate lightweight, hypothesis-based profiles to align the team.- **Name/Role**: "Small Business owner Sam".- **Top Goals**: What are they trying to achieve?- **Top Frustrations**: What blocks them today?- **Behaviors**: How do they currently solve the problem?### Customer Journey MappingVisualize the user's experience across touchpoints.- **Phases**: Awareness → Discovery → Signup → Activation → Retention.- **Actions**: What is the user doing at each step?- **Thinking/Feeling**: What are the highlights and pain points?- **Opportunities**: Where can we improve the experience?---## 4. Synthesis & Artifacts- **Research Memo**: 1-page summary of key themes, supporting quotes, and recommended next steps.- **Affinity Mapping**: Grouping observations into thematic clusters to identify patterns.- **Confidence Scoring**: How sure are we of these insights based on the sample size/quality?---## Best Practices- **Interview in Pairs**: One person leads, one person takes notes.- **Record and Transcribe**: Don't rely on memory; use exact customer quotes.- **Focus on Pain**: Users are great at describing problems but often bad at prescribing solutions. Focus on the pain.- **Continuous Discovery**: Research isn't a one-time event; aim for a regular cadence of customer conversations.

Frequently asked questions