Design Research

Research and Design Process SOP

Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: 2026-01-11 Status: Active

Overview

Purpose

This process is the critical first phase before creating a design document. It ensures the user request is fully understood, the codebase is thoroughly analyzed, multiple solutions are considered, and the best approach is selected with solid foundation for design.

When to Use

ALWAYS: New features, complex refactorings, architectural changes, breaking changes SKIP: Simple bug fixes, trivial changes, explicit implementation instructions

Process Workflow

Flow Diagram

[User Request] --> [Request Understanding] --> [Repository Analysis]
                            |
                            v
              [Solution Exploration] --> [Recommendation & Decision]
                            |
                            v
                    [Design Document]

Phase Summary

Total Duration: 50-90 minutes

Key Principles

1. Conversation First - Collaborative, not automated
2. Deep Understanding - Use comprehensive approach, read ALL relevant code
3. Question Everything - Challenge assumptions, ask clarifying questions
4. Explore Alternatives - Always present multiple approaches
5. Align with Patterns - Follow existing codebase conventions
6. Document Findings - Create clear, actionable research reports
7. Platform Considerations - Consider platform-specific differences when applicable

Research Agent Responsibilities

Must Do

• Act as consultant (advise and guide)
• Be thorough (read ALL code, no assumptions)
• Be conversational (engage, ask questions, discuss)
• Be critical (question if better approaches exist)
• Be comprehensive (consider all layers)
• Be pattern-aware (identify and follow existing patterns)
• Be honest (admit uncertainty, ask for help)
• Document everything (findings, conversations, decisions)
• Consider platform differences when applicable

Must NOT Do

• Jump to implementation (no code changes during research)
• Make unilateral decisions (always collaborate)
• Skip analysis (every request deserves investigation)
• Ignore alternatives (always present multiple options)
• Assume understanding (ask clarifying questions)
• Violate architecture (respect established patterns)
• Ignore platform differences when applicable

Phase 1: Request Understanding

Objective: Fully understand what user wants to achieve Duration: 10-20 minutes

See RESEARCH_GUIDE.md for detailed steps.

Quick Checklist

• Read user request thoroughly
• Identify core objective
• Note constraints mentioned
• Flag ambiguous points
• Ask clarifying questions
• Define success criteria
• Get user confirmation

Questions to Ask

• What is user trying to achieve?
• Is this new feature, bug fix, refactoring, or optimization?
• What is the scope? (UI? State management? Routing? API?)
• Are there explicit/implicit requirements?
• Are there platform-specific requirements?

Phase 2: Repository Analysis

Objective: Deeply understand current codebase and architecture Duration: 20-40 minutes

See RESEARCH_GUIDE.md for detailed steps.

Quick Checklist

• Use Glob/Grep to find relevant files
• Read all relevant files (components, screens, Redux, navigation, tests)
• Read project rules for guidelines
• Identify existing patterns
• Map dependencies and impacts
• Find similar implementations

Search Patterns

# Find components
Glob: "src/components/**/*{name}*.*"

# Find pages/screens/views
Glob: "src/{pages,screens,views}/**/*{name}*.*"

# Find state management
Glob: "src/{store,state,redux}/**/*{name}*.*"

# Find routing/navigation
Glob: "src/{routes,navigation,router}/**/*.*"

# Find tests
Glob: "{__tests__,tests,spec}/**/*{feature}*.*"

Phase 3: Solution Exploration

Objective: Generate and evaluate multiple solution approaches Duration: 15-30 minutes

Always Create At Least 3 Alternatives

### Approach 1: Minimal Change (Simplest)
**Description**: Add feature with minimal refactoring
**Effort**: 1-2 days | **Risk**: Low
**Pros**: Quick, low risk, backward compatible
**Cons**: Doesn't address technical debt, may not be extensible

### Approach 2: Refactoring (Recommended)
**Description**: Add feature + refactor to improve architecture
**Effort**: 3-4 days | **Risk**: Medium
**Pros**: Improves code quality, follows best practices, extensible
**Cons**: More work upfront, touches more files

### Approach 3: Complete Redesign (Thorough)
**Description**: Redesign system entirely
**Effort**: 10-15 days | **Risk**: High
**Pros**: Solves underlying issues, future-proof
**Cons**: High effort and risk, many breaking changes

Trade-off Analysis

For each approach, document:

1. Alignment with Architecture - Project patterns compliance?
2. Complexity - Implementation complexity, files affected, risk?
3. Maintainability - Easy to understand/extend, technical debt?
4. Performance - Performance implications?
5. Testing - How testable? Coverage needed?
6. Migration - Rollback strategy? Backward compatibility?
7. Platform Compatibility - Works across target platforms?

Phase 4: Recommendation & Decision

Objective: Make final recommendation and get user approval Duration: 5-10 minutes

Present Final Recommendation

## Final Recommendation

### Chosen Approach: [Approach Name]

### Summary
[2-3 sentence summary]

### Why This Approach
1. [Alignment with architecture]
2. [Balances effort/quality]
3. [Follows existing patterns]
4. [Platform compatibility]

### What Will Be Changed
- Types: [files]
- Redux: [files]
- Components: [files]
- Screens: [files]
- Navigation: [files]

### Estimated Effort
- Duration: X days
- Complexity: Low/Medium/High
- Risk: Low/Medium/High

### Risks & Mitigations
| Risk | Mitigation |
|------|------------|
| {Risk} | {Strategy} |

Get User Approval

Does this approach look good to you?
- [ ] Yes, proceed to design document
- [ ] I have questions/concerns
- [ ] I prefer a different approach

Output: Create Research Report

Once approved, create feature folder and research file:

1. Create folder: /docs/ignored/<feature_name>/
2. Create subfolders: design/, development/, research/
3. Create research file: /docs/ignored/<feature_name>/research/<feature_name>_research.md

Use template: DESIGN_TEMPLATE.md

Quick Reference

Decision Criteria

Choose Minimal Approach When:

• Timeline very tight (< 2 days)
• Low complexity
• Temporary solution acceptable

Choose Refactoring Approach When:

• Moderate timeline (2-5 days)
• Medium complexity
• Quality improvement opportunity
• Reasonable effort/benefit ratio

Choose Redesign Approach When:

• Ample timeline (> 1 week)
• High complexity
• Existing design fundamentally flawed
• Long-term benefits justify cost

Troubleshooting

Related Skills

Note: Skill paths (/skill-name) work after deployment. In the template repo, skills are in domain folders.

End of SOP