Customer research
Choose questions for the next research round
List the decisions still open, then the questions whose answers could change them. For each question, note what guessing would risk, what you already know and which method could help. Give priority to the questions needed for the next decision; keep broader learning questions in a separate list.
A text to start with
We are planning the next round of research with [time and people available]. The decisions still open are: [decisions]. What we already know: [summary]. List questions that remain unanswered, and for each say which decision it affects, what we risk by guessing and which research method could answer it. Recommend which to keep and which to drop, with reasons.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Next-round question selection sheet
Time, people and access available: [ ] Decision still open: [ ] Who decides and by when: [ ] Unanswered question: [ ] What we already know: [ ] How different answers would change the decision: [ ] Risk of guessing: [ ] Proposed method: [ ] Participants needed: [ ] Keep or drop: [ ] Reason: [ ]
Questions that look useful but change nothing
For each question, describe how different answers could affect the decision. If you cannot make that connection, check whether it belongs in this round or in a broader research plan. GOV.UK recommends prioritizing questions and choosing activities suited to them. Check existing data and notes before collecting more. State what your proposed method can support: a survey can ask about reasons, but answers may need follow-up; an interview can document observed cases, but a small selected group cannot establish how common a pattern is across all users.
Ask another agent to check the result
Read my proposed questions beside the decisions for this round. Flag any whose relevance is unclear and ask what the answer would change. Check whether each method can produce the evidence needed, and identify any conclusion that would generalize beyond the people or behavior we will actually study.
Fit the round to your limits
Check the questions you kept against the time, people and access you have. If they do not fit, cut the lowest-risk ones first. Write the plan so each session maps to a question and each question to a decision. Tell the people who will use the results which decisions you expect to inform, and when they will hear back.