UX Research Plan Template

WHAT'S INCLUDED

Template sections

• Research brief — project context, business question, and design hypothesis
• Research objectives — primary and secondary goals (max 3 each)
• Method selection — chosen method with rationale and trade-offs
• Participant criteria — screener questions, recruitment channel, and sample size
• Session timeline — dates, milestones, and team responsibilities
• Success metrics — how you'll know the research answered the question

HOW TO USE

Best practices

1. Start with the question, not the method. Define what decision this research needs to enable before choosing between interviews, surveys, or usability tests.
2. Limit to three objectives. More than three objectives means the study is trying to do too much. Split it into two studies.
3. Write screener questions before recruiting. A weak screener produces participants who won't give you signal. Draft it first, review it with the team.
4. Get stakeholder sign-off on the plan. Before any sessions, share this document with product and engineering. It prevents scope creep mid-study.
5. Log deviations. If reality diverges from the plan (participant no-shows, session changes), document it here. Future you will thank present you.