{
 "id": "16.1",
 "title": "Research plan",
 "department": "Research and insights",
 "department_slug": "research-and-insights",
 "direction": null,
 "branded": false,
 "status": "draft",
 "owner": "Param",
 "last_verified": "Mon Oct 26",
 "holds": "What we need to learn this quarter, how, from whom",
 "urls": {
  "html": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/research-and-insights/research-plan",
  "markdown": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/research-and-insights/research-plan.md",
  "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/research-and-insights/research-plan.json"
 },
 "other_directions": [],
 "tldr": {
  "headline": "Ten questions to answer before pricing, and none asked yet",
  "points": [
   {
    "icon": "book",
    "text": "Nothing on the plan has run; what we know comes from code, not people."
   },
   {
    "icon": "chat",
    "text": "Questions 1 to 3 go first, on the weekly partner call."
   },
   {
    "icon": "people",
    "text": "Five real partners to hear from; Cozy and Zenant are our own test brands."
   },
   {
    "icon": "clock",
    "text": "Ask the same two or three questions for six weeks so answers compare."
   },
   {
    "icon": "money",
    "text": "Ask Param before any paid probe; treg is for data only."
   }
  ],
  "stat": {
   "value": "0 of 10",
   "label": "questions answered today"
  },
  "decide": "Which three questions go first?",
  "mood": "waiting"
 },
 "sources": [
  "brand-directions/book/content/d2.js:916-1144, section d-12 what-we-know, what-we-dont, how-we-test",
  "brand-directions/book/content/b.js:329-349 b-5 alternatives; b.js:502-523 b-8 find-out; b.js:664-685 b-10 partnership-goals",
  "brand-directions/_research/product-audit.md:7, 322-335",
  "brew origin/main a559de6: feed-service.js:1262-1275, feed-service.js:2056",
  "memory: brew-live-stores, brew-model-compare-2026-10-20, ape-consumer-research, no-spend-while-building, treg-usage-rules",
  "handbook: product/jobs-to-be-done.md, product/personas.md, product/design-partner-program.md, product/partner-feedback-log.md"
 ],
 "open_questions": [
  "**Which three questions go first?** Proposal: 1, 2 and 3, all on the weekly call slot.",
  "**May design partners be asked to test, and how often?** Proposal: one 30 minute session each in November, inside the weekly call.",
  "**Who runs the calls?** Proposal: Param runs them, Sai or Arvind takes notes into the library the same day.",
  "**Run the model bake off?** Proposal: first the fair rerun of five Plays on Pro, about $1, then the bake off, about $5 to $10.",
  "**Is India first?** Proposal: run the India counts first and keep global open until they are in."
 ],
 "parts": {
  "Answer": "What we must learn from the five design partners before pricing and launch, how and from whom; nothing on this plan has been run yet, so the call it settles is which questions go first.",
  "Today": "| What is true now | Source |\n|---|---|\n| No research plan has been agreed or run; the old book drafted test scripts for a brand audition | [src: brand-directions/book/content/d2.js:916-1144] |\n| No Brew partner call or interview has a dated record | [src: handbook research-and-insights/interview-and-call-library.md] |\n| Five real partner prospects: Arata, Nutrova, Mana, Puma India, Scrubroom; Cozy and Zenant are our test brands | [src: memory brew-live-stores] |\n| What we know about the build comes from code, not from people: an audit of origin/main b68aa9f on 25 Oct | [src: brand-directions/_research/product-audit.md:7] |\n| Eight sizing questions are written and none is answered | [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:502-523] |\n| Six outcomes the design partnership must answer are written and none is met | [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:664-685] |\n| Eight usability questions, each with a test, none run | [src: brand-directions/book/content/d2.js d-12 what-we-dont] |\n| One model study was run on 20 Oct, 54 pairs of Arata Plays, and its inputs were not equal | [src: memory brew-model-compare-2026-10-20] |\n| The product keeps hearts, saves, Not for me and written card notes per brand | [src: brew/feed-service.js:2056] [src: brew/feed-service.js:416-417] |\n| An engine view lists time to feed, return days, card action rate, approvals and card feedback per brand | [src: brew/feed-service.js:1262-1275] |\n| Our old voice interview product, APE, still runs at oldsu.joinsquareup.com; it has never run a study for Brew | [src: memory ape-consumer-research] |\n| Paid probes need Param's yes first, and treg is for data only | [src: memory no-spend-while-building] [src: memory treg-usage-rules] |",
  "Tomorrow": "The questions for this quarter, ranked as a proposal.\n\n| # | Question | Method | From whom | Version | Tag |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| 1 | Is the main job right, said in their words? | Two questions on the weekly partner call | One decider at each of the five | v1 | New |\n| 2 | Do founders get what it does in five seconds? | The instant understanding test in [Usability tests](/research-and-insights/usability-tests) | Five founders or marketers | v1 | New |\n| 3 | Where does a new person stop between paste and first hand off? | Script 1, timed | Five people new to the product | v1 | New |\n| 4 | Do brands hire us for the Plays documents or for the feed and drafts? | Count Plays PDF opens against jams for four weeks | Our own logs | v1 | New |\n| 5 | What do they use and pay for marketing help now? | One question on the first call | The five | v1 | New |\n| 6 | Which picks get handed off, by area and source? | Logs, then ask why on the call | The five | v1 | New |\n| 7 | What does one brand cost us per week? | Our own cost logs per brand | Our logs | v1 | New |\n| 8 | How many own brand stores in India run ads and show reviews? | Desk counts, see [Market and category research](/research-and-insights/market-and-category-research) | Public sources | v1 | New |\n| 9 | Which model writes the best Plays? | Blind bake off: the same five Plays on Opus, Pro, Flash and two open models | Scored by our team | v1 | New |\n| 10 | Which country after India? | The same counts for the next candidates | Public sources | v2 | New |",
  "How we do it": "1. Give each question an owner, a method, the partner and a start date before it starts.\n2. Ask on the weekly partner call proposed in the [design partner program](/product/design-partner-program); keep the same two or three questions for six weeks so answers compare.\n3. Log every call the same day in the [interview and call library](/research-and-insights/interview-and-call-library) and every partner item in the [feedback log](/product/partner-feedback-log).\n4. Write each finding in the [insight repository](/research-and-insights/insight-repository) with its evidence and what it changed.\n5. Quote a partner only with permission. Never invent a quote, a person or a finding.\n6. Ask Param before any paid probe, and check the treg balance live before blaming it.",
  "Numbers": "| Metric | Definition | Where measured | Status |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Questions answered | Questions on this plan with a sourced answer | This page | Proposed; 0 of 10 today |\n| Partners heard | Partners with a logged call in the week | Interview and call library | Proposed; 0 today |\n| Days to answer | Days from a question's start to its finding | Insight repository | Proposed |",
  "Open": "1. **Which three questions go first?** Proposal: 1, 2 and 3, all on the weekly call slot.\n2. **May design partners be asked to test, and how often?** Proposal: one 30 minute session each in November, inside the weekly call.\n3. **Who runs the calls?** Proposal: Param runs them, Sai or Arvind takes notes into the library the same day.\n4. **Run the model bake off?** Proposal: first the fair rerun of five Plays on Pro, about $1, then the bake off, about $5 to $10.\n5. **Is India first?** Proposal: run the India counts first and keep global open until they are in."
 }
}