Workbook
Make the Mission Yours
Role: Human-Centered Design Researcher
Use these activities to apply each principle to your current product, service, or project. These activities are a sample to get you started, not an exhaustive list. Adapt and expand them based on your team's context and needs. Capture your answers, share them with your team, and revisit them as you learn.
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Important: When Using AI Tools
When using AI-assisted activities, always double-check for accuracy and meaning each and every time. AI tools can help accelerate your work, but human judgment, validation, and critical thinking remain essential.
Review AI-generated content with your team, validate it against real user feedback and domain knowledge, and ensure it truly serves your mission and user outcomes before proceeding.
2) Break Down Silos
Co-plan and co-synthesize with design/eng/PM.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 2) Break Down Silos section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐Co-create the study plan with design/eng to capture feasibility and instrumentation questions.
- ☐Invite an engineer and designer to observe one session; assign note-taking roles.
- ☐Run a joint synthesis session to agree on top findings and decisions.
- ☐Schedule a 15-minute “findings to backlog” pass with PM/eng to place actions.
- ☐Review one design/eng constraint before finalizing the research scope to avoid rework.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐When AI generates research plans or study designs, have cross-functional team members (design, engineering, PM) review them together to ensure they serve users and align with mission.
- ☐Use AI to help draft research synthesis notes or findings summaries, but ensure all roles contribute their perspectives during the actual synthesis sessions.
- ☐Have AI analyze research patterns and handoff friction, then use those insights in cross-functional discussions to improve collaboration.
- ☐Use AI to help structure research collaboration sessions, but ensure human team members make decisions together about what to research and how it serves users.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Eng/design attend sessions and contribute to notes.
- ☐Findings are co-owned and reflected in backlog items.
3) User Engagement
Continuously bring fresh user signal.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 3) User Engagement section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐Run/observe at least one session weekly; capture clips for the team.
- ☐Surface the top three findings with timestamps and proposed decisions.
- ☐Keep a rolling “evidence wall” with quotes/clips linked to open questions.
- ☐Pair one finding with a proposed product/design/eng action and assign an owner.
- ☐Spot one risky assumption and design a quick validation this sprint.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐Use AI to analyze user feedback, support tickets, or usage data to identify patterns for research, but always validate AI insights through direct user engagement or observation.
- ☐Have AI generate questions for user interviews based on your research assumptions, then use those questions in real conversations with users to build genuine empathy.
- ☐Use AI to help summarize user research findings, but ensure you review the summaries and add your own observations from direct user interactions.
- ☐Have AI analyze user behavior patterns from your research data, then discuss those patterns with actual users to understand the "why" behind the behavior before finalizing findings.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Team decisions reference recent clips/quotes.
- ☐Backlog items link to specific findings.
4) Outcomes Over Outputs
Link findings to behavior change and measurement.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 4) Outcomes Over Outputs section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐For each key finding, state the expected user behavior change and how to measure it.
- ☐After a release, run a quick validation (survey/usability) to see if behavior changed.
- ☐Update the research brief with “what changed because of this finding”.
- ☐Flag one finding whose expected outcome was not met and propose a follow-up study or design change.
- ☐Attach a metric or observable signal to at least one finding in your next readout.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐When AI generates research findings or analysis summaries, define outcome metrics upfront and measure whether AI-generated insights achieve intended user outcomes, not just research completion.
- ☐Use AI to help analyze research outcome data and identify patterns, but have human team members interpret what those patterns mean for users and the mission.
- ☐Have AI help draft outcome definitions and success criteria for your research findings, but ensure the team validates them against real user needs and business goals before proceeding.
- ☐Use AI to track and report on research outcome metrics, but schedule human team reviews to discuss what the metrics mean and how to adjust research based on observed impact.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Findings include a measurement plan.
- ☐Post-release validations are documented and fed back to the team.
5) Domain Knowledge
Map journeys with front/back stage insights.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 5) Domain Knowledge section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐Create/refresh a journey map with front/back stage notes from research.
- ☐Identify domain constraints users mention (policy, process, tools) and share with eng/PM.
- ☐Highlight where backstage systems fail users in the journey map.
- ☐Add one “moments that matter” insight from this sprint’s sessions to the journey map.
- ☐Validate a recurring backstage pain with the owning team and note mitigation options.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐Use AI to help summarize domain documentation, journey maps, or ecosystem insights for research, but validate AI-generated domain knowledge through direct engagement with domain experts.
- ☐Have AI generate questions about domain constraints or ecosystem relationships for your research, then use those questions in conversations with domain experts to build deep understanding.
- ☐Use AI to help draft journey maps or service blueprints, but ensure team members review them with domain experts to verify accuracy and completeness.
- ☐Have AI analyze past research or domain-related issues, then discuss those insights with the team and domain experts to identify patterns and prevent similar problems.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Journey maps show backstage pain points and constraints.
- ☐Engineering/PM reference your maps in planning.
6) The Art of Storytelling
Use vivid stories to drive decisions.
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Learn More
For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 6) The Art of Storytelling section in the framework.
Workbook Activities (do now)
- ☐Craft a narrative brief with clips and quotes for one key insight; present it in review.
- ☐Create a before/after storyboard for a target journey.
- ☐Prepare two story versions: one for execs (impact, risk) and one for the squad (design/eng decisions).
- ☐Add a 60-second voiceover or Loom to one insight to make it easy to share.
- ☐End each readout with a clear “so what” and a proposed decision the team should take.
AI Assisted Activities
- ☐Use AI to help structure or draft research stories and narrative briefs, but refine them with real user anecdotes, emotions, and personal observations from direct user interactions.
- ☐Have AI generate different versions of research findings for different audiences (executives vs team), but ensure each version includes authentic human stories about real user impact.
- ☐Use AI to help summarize research work in presentations, but lead with human stories about real users, using AI-generated summaries as supporting material.
- ☐Have AI help draft research documentation or findings reports, but always include real user quotes, clips, or anecdotes that connect your research to human impact.
Evidence of Progress
- ☐Stakeholders recall the story and cite it in decisions.
- ☐Design/eng act on the storyboarded changes.