A customer discovery research plan that fits in two weeks

A customer discovery research plan needs three decisions before you invite anyone: the question you need answered, who can answer it and when you will review what you hear. Reserve time for recruitment, preparation and notes as well as the calls. GOV.UK's planning guidance connects those choices before setting out rounds of research.

Start with one concrete question

Here is a made-up example. You're considering software that passes repair-job details from an office to a technician. Before you prototype it, you want to understand what information technicians receive before visits and how they use it.

Talk to people who arrange repair visits and the technicians who carry them out. Ask each about a recent job: what details they sent or received, where those details were kept and what they did next. "What, if anything, did you need to clarify?" leaves room for a story in which the existing process worked well.

That question is your reason to invite these people. You are learning about their work before asking for reactions to your tool. Use the finding people guide to turn those responsibilities into a search.

If you have two weeks, book the reviews before the calls

For the repair-job example, a two-week plan could look like this:

1. Before the interview period: start finding and inviting people as soon as the question is clear. If you only start on day one, give part of the two weeks to recruitment. GOV.UK's round-planning guide includes recruitment ahead of sessions, practice and analysis time.
2. First week: prepare a few topics and hold the conversations people have agreed to. Leave time after each to expand your notes. Toward the end of the week, review what the office staff and technicians described side by side. The interview-count guide can help you decide how many conversations to plan.
3. Second week: use that review to choose the next question and anyone else to invite. Keep some time uncommitted for this, and honor every confirmed appointment. End with a final review, not more calls. Digital.gov's planning guide likewise makes room for changing availability and for reviewing each day's research.

If you have teammates, agree who arranges the calls and who joins the reviews. If you're working alone, protect those blocks. An empty calendar slot is very good at attracting meetings.

When the calendar runs ahead of recruitment, write down what is missing

In the repair example, the review date might arrive before you have spoken with a single technician. Read the office-side notes, but keep the unanswered question in view: you have heard what staff say they send, not how technicians use it.

Decide whether that missing account still matters enough to keep recruiting. If it does, change whom you invite or when you can meet. If you must stop, record the limit beside your decision. Reaching the end of two weeks does not show that people need or would buy the tool.

Once you have the question, the people and the review dates, write the invitation. For paid conversations, check the budget guide before committing to the round.