DESIGN TEMPLATE

User Research Plan Template

Research plan: what to learn, who to talk to, session structure, and timeline.

Use this template

What's inside

Field	Details
Study	What you're researching
Method	Interviews / Usability test / Survey / Diary study
Researcher
Sessions	N planned
Dates	YYYY-MM-DD
Status	Planning

What We Want to Learn

What do users do when [situation]?
What prevents users from [goal]?
How do users currently solve [problem]?

Participants

Criteria	Include	Exclude
Who	Role or behavior that qualifies them	Who should NOT be in the study
How many	N participants
Recruitment	How you'll find them

Session Plan

Phase	Duration	What Happens
Intro	2-3 min	Explain purpose, get consent, make them comfortable
Warm-up	3-5 min	Background — their role, how they work
Core	20-30 min	The main tasks or questions
Follow-up	5 min	Dig into surprises
Wrap-up	2 min	Anything else? Thank them.

Key Tasks / Questions

"Show me how you would [task]." — what you're watching for
"Tell me about the last time you [situation]." — what you're listening for
"What would you expect to happen when [action]?" — what you're testing

Analysis

Note-taking: live notes, recording + transcript, affinity mapping
Output: research summary, highlight reel, or playback session with team

Timeline

Step	Date	Status
Plan finalized	YYYY-MM-DD	Done
Participants recruited	YYYY-MM-DD	Not Started
Sessions run	YYYY-MM-DD	Not Started
Analysis complete	YYYY-MM-DD	Not Started
Findings shared	YYYY-MM-DD	Not Started

Logistics

Detail	Answer
Location	Remote (Zoom) or in-person
Recording	Yes / No — consent needed?
Incentive	Gift card, credit, or none
Tools	Figma prototype, staging, paper
Observers	Who else should watch?

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