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)
Writing code or technical implementation

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

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

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.

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:

Power User
- Characteristics: Tech-savvy, frequent user, efficiency-focused
- Goals: Maximize productivity, access advanced features
- Frustrations: Slow performance, limited customization
Casual User
- Characteristics: Occasional user, prefers simplicity
- Goals: Accomplish specific tasks, minimal learning curve
- Frustrations: Complexity, unclear navigation
Business User
- Characteristics: Professional context, ROI-focused, team collaboration
- Goals: Improve team efficiency, track metrics
- Frustrations: Lack of reporting, poor collaboration features
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

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

Define Objectives
- What features/flows to test
- What questions to answer
- Success criteria
Recruit Participants
- Match personas/target users
- 5-8 participants typically sufficient
- Mix of experience levels
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"

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

Conducting Tests

Introduction (5 min)
- Explain purpose
- Set expectations
- Get consent
Background Questions (5 min)
- Understand user context
- Experience level
- Current workflow
Task Scenarios (20-30 min)
- Present one task at a time
- Observe without helping
- Note pain points and successes
Post-Task Interview (10 min)
- Overall impressions
- What worked/confused
- Suggestions

Analyzing Results

Categorize Issues
- Critical (blocks completion)
- Major (causes frustration)
- Minor (nice to fix)
Find Patterns
- Issues multiple users encountered
- Common workarounds
- Feature gaps
Prioritize Fixes
- Impact × Frequency
- Effort to fix
- Business priorities

Research Synthesis

Transforming Data to Insights

Quantitative Analysis
- Usage frequency
- Feature adoption
- Success/completion rates
- Time on task
Qualitative Analysis
- Interview themes
- Common quotes
- Emotional responses
- Unmet needs
Identify Patterns
- Recurring themes
- User segments
- Behavioral clusters
- Pain point categories
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

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

GeroCare-Specific Considerations

Key User Segments

Primary Caregivers
- Daily interaction with residents
- Mobile-first usage
- Need speed and accuracy
Nursing Staff
- Medication administration focus
- Compliance requirements
- Need detailed documentation
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

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

ux-researcher-designer

SKILL.md