Ux Researcher Designer

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name: ux-researcher-designer description: > UX research and design toolkit for user-centered design, including persona generation, journey mapping, usability testing, and research synthesis. Trigger: When conducting user research, creating personas, mapping user journeys, planning usability tests, or synthesizing research findings. license: Apache-2.0 metadata: author: gero-cloud version: "1.0" scope: [root] auto_invoke: "Conducting user research, creating personas, journey mapping, usability testing"

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Conducting user research or interviews
• Creating data-driven personas from user data
• Mapping customer/user journeys
• Planning usability testing sessions
• Synthesizing research findings into actionable insights
• Validating design decisions with user data
• Understanding user needs before designing features

Don't use this skill when:

• Implementing UI components (use ui-components instead)
• Creating design tokens (use ui-design-system instead)
• Creating visual designs or aesthetic implementations (use frontend-ui-ux instead)
• Writing code or technical implementation

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Relationship with Design Process

1. UX Research (this skill)
   ↓
   Define user needs, personas, journeys
   ↓
2. Design System (ui-design-system)
   ↓
   Create visual tokens and guidelines
   ↓
3. Component Implementation (ui-components)
   ↓
   Build UI using research insights and design tokens

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GeroCare Context

GeroCare is a web application for geriatric caregivers to manage:

• Resident management and profiles
• Activity logging
• Medication administration
• Team communication
• Shift scheduling

Primary Users: Healthcare workers (caregivers, nurses, administrators) working in geriatric care facilities.

Key Contexts:

• Fast-paced work environments
• Mobile usage (on-the-go access)
• Critical data accuracy requirements
• Compliance and documentation needs

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Core Capabilities

1. Persona Generation

Generate research-backed personas from user data and interviews.

2. Journey Mapping

Map user flows and identify pain points in the user journey.

3. Usability Testing

Plan and conduct usability testing sessions.

4. Research Synthesis

Transform raw research data into actionable design insights.

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Persona Generator

When to Generate Personas

Create personas when:

• Starting a new feature or product area
• Need to align team on target users
• Validating design decisions with user archetypes
• Planning user flows for specific user types

Using the Persona Generator Script

The persona_generator.py script creates data-driven personas:

# Generate persona from sample data (for testing)
python .cursor/skills/ux-researcher-designer/scripts/persona_generator.py

# Generate persona from JSON data
python .cursor/skills/ux-researcher-designer/scripts/persona_generator.py json

# Example: With custom user data
python -c "
from persona_generator import PersonaGenerator, create_sample_user_data
generator = PersonaGenerator()
persona = generator.generate_persona_from_data(create_sample_user_data())
print(generator.format_persona_output(persona))
"

Persona Data Structure

Provide user data in this format:

[
  {
    "user_id": "user_001",
    "age": 32,
    "usage_frequency": "daily",
    "features_used": ["residents", "medications", "scheduling"],
    "primary_device": "mobile",
    "usage_context": "work",
    "tech_proficiency": 6,
    "pain_points": ["slow loading", "confusing navigation"],
    "location_type": "urban"
  }
]

Interview Insights Format

Optional interview data to enrich personas:

[
  {
    "quotes": ["I need to quickly log medication while on rounds"],
    "motivations": ["Efficiency", "Accuracy"],
    "goals": ["Save time", "Reduce errors"],
    "values": ["Reliability", "Simplicity"]
  }
]

Persona Archetypes

The generator identifies four common archetypes:

1. Power User

   • Characteristics: Tech-savvy, frequent user, efficiency-focused
   • Goals: Maximize productivity, access advanced features
   • Frustrations: Slow performance, limited customization

2. Casual User

   • Characteristics: Occasional user, prefers simplicity
   • Goals: Accomplish specific tasks, minimal learning curve
   • Frustrations: Complexity, unclear navigation

3. Business User

   • Characteristics: Professional context, ROI-focused, team collaboration
   • Goals: Improve team efficiency, track metrics
   • Frustrations: Lack of reporting, poor collaboration features

4. Mobile First

   • Characteristics: Primarily mobile, on-the-go usage
   • Goals: Access anywhere, quick actions, offline capability
   • Frustrations: Poor mobile experience, desktop-only features

Persona Output Structure

Generated personas include:

• Demographics: Age range, location, occupation, tech proficiency
• Psychographics: Motivations, values, attitudes, lifestyle
• Behaviors: Usage patterns, feature preferences, interaction style
• Needs & Goals: Primary/secondary goals, functional/emotional needs
• Frustrations: Top pain points from data
• Scenarios: Typical usage scenarios with context
• Design Implications: Actionable insights for design decisions

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Journey Mapping Process

1. Identify Journey Stages

For GeroCare caregivers, typical journey stages:

Awareness → Onboarding → Daily Use → Advanced Features → Advocacy

Or for specific tasks:

Task Discovery → Access → Execute → Verify → Document

2. Map Touchpoints

For each stage, identify:

• Actions: What the user does
• Thoughts: What they're thinking
• Feelings: Emotional state
• Pain Points: Frustrations or barriers
• Opportunities: Improvement areas

3. Document Journey

Create journey map artifacts:

• User flow diagrams
• Emotion curves (high/low points)
• Pain point prioritization
• Opportunity matrices

---

Usability Testing Framework

Planning a Test

1. Define Objectives

   • What features/flows to test
   • What questions to answer
   • Success criteria

2. Recruit Participants

   • Match personas/target users
   • 5-8 participants typically sufficient
   • Mix of experience levels

3. Create Tasks

   • Realistic scenarios
   • Clear success criteria
   • Open-ended enough to reveal issues

Example tasks for GeroCare:

• "Log medication administration for Resident Smith"
• "Find schedule for next week's shifts"
• "Report an incident that happened this morning"

4. Prepare Test Environment
   • Prototype or live system
   • Screen recording setup
   • Note-taking template

Conducting Tests

1. Introduction (5 min)

   • Explain purpose
   • Set expectations
   • Get consent

2. Background Questions (5 min)

   • Understand user context
   • Experience level
   • Current workflow

3. Task Scenarios (20-30 min)

   • Present one task at a time
   • Observe without helping
   • Note pain points and successes

4. Post-Task Interview (10 min)

   • Overall impressions
   • What worked/confused
   • Suggestions

Analyzing Results

1. Categorize Issues

   • Critical (blocks completion)
   • Major (causes frustration)
   • Minor (nice to fix)

2. Find Patterns

   • Issues multiple users encountered
   • Common workarounds
   • Feature gaps

3. Prioritize Fixes

   • Impact × Frequency
   • Effort to fix
   • Business priorities

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Research Synthesis

Transforming Data to Insights

1. Quantitative Analysis

   • Usage frequency
   • Feature adoption
   • Success/completion rates
   • Time on task

2. Qualitative Analysis

   • Interview themes
   • Common quotes
   • Emotional responses
   • Unmet needs

3. Identify Patterns

   • Recurring themes
   • User segments
   • Behavioral clusters
   • Pain point categories

4. Generate Insights

   • User needs statements
   • Design implications
   • Feature opportunities
   • Prioritization recommendations

Insight Format

Structure insights as:

**Insight**: [What we learned]
**Evidence**: [Data/observations supporting it]
**Implication**: [What this means for design]
**Priority**: [High/Medium/Low]
**Recommendation**: [Specific action to take]

Example:

**Insight**: Caregivers need quick access to resident info while mobile
**Evidence**: 78% use mobile devices, frequent "on-the-go" contexts mentioned
**Implication**: Mobile-first design critical, offline capabilities needed
**Priority**: High
**Recommendation**: Prioritize mobile UX improvements, add offline sync

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Decision Trees

When to Conduct Research

Starting new feature?
├─ Yes → Need user insights?
│   ├─ Yes → Conduct research
│   │       ↓
│   │   Generate personas
│   │   Map user journey
│   │   Validate assumptions
│   │
│   └─ No → Use existing personas/insights
│
└─ No → Need to validate design?
    ├─ Yes → Usability testing
    └─ No → Review existing research

Research Method Selection

Need to understand user needs?
├─ Exploratory (new area) → User interviews, personas
│
Need to validate design?
├─ Solution-focused → Usability testing, A/B tests
│
Need to understand behavior?
├─ Observational → Analytics, session recordings
│
Need to prioritize features?
└─ Comparative → Surveys, preference tests

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GeroCare-Specific Considerations

Key User Segments

1. Primary Caregivers

   • Daily interaction with residents
   • Mobile-first usage
   • Need speed and accuracy

2. Nursing Staff

   • Medication administration focus
   • Compliance requirements
   • Need detailed documentation

3. Administrators

   • Reporting and analytics
   • Team management
   • Compliance oversight

Common Pain Points to Investigate

• Mobile responsiveness and performance
• Data entry speed and accuracy
• Offline capability needs
• Integration with existing workflows
• Training and onboarding complexity
• Information overload
• Error prevention and recovery

Contextual Factors

• Environment: Fast-paced, often interrupted
• Devices: Mixed desktop/mobile usage
• Time pressure: Quick tasks, minimal training time
• Accuracy critical: Healthcare data requires precision
• Compliance: Regulatory requirements must be met

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Resources

• Persona Generator: .cursor/skills/ux-researcher-designer/scripts/persona_generator.py
• User Research: Store research artifacts in docs/research/ (if created)
• Design Decisions: Link research insights to design tokens (ui-design-system) and component requirements (ui-components)
• UX Evaluation Plan: docs/UX_EVALUATION_PLAN.md - Comprehensive plan for UI/UX evaluation, usability testing, and accessibility auditing