Plan

Frame a decision

Write down what you are deciding, what you believe and what would change your mind, before the research starts.

How to do it

1. Write the decision as a question with a real choice in it.
2. List what you believe today, even the things that seem obvious.
3. Say what evidence would change your mind, now, before you look.

Tip. Deciding up front what would change your mind stops the research from only confirming what you hoped.

What you need

Nothing: this is a starting point.

What you get: Decision

A decision template has these sections:

• Decision
• Options
• What we believe
• What would change our mind
• What is riding on it

What to do next

• Frame research questions
• Write an interview script
• Build a survey

Templates that use it

• Evaluative study: Does this design work for the people who will use it?
• Exploratory study: We don’t know the problem well yet: why do people do what they do?
• Assumption-led (Lean UX): You already have an idea. What could sink it?
• Continuous discovery: A product team learning every week towards one outcome.
• Design Sprint: Five days from a big question to a prototype tested with real people.