Writing a user research report: tips and template slides.
Reports are one of the most common research deliverables. Their aim is to document and transfer insights to the wider organization. A report typically compiles other deliverables like mockups, personas, or journeys, making it the source of knowledge for a specific study.
When talking about reports we tend to think of a dense document covering tons of in-depth information. Yes, reports can be tedious. But they don’t have to be. In fact, they shouldn’t be. A poorly crafted report gets in the way of effectively communicating insights, which defeats the purpose of writing the report in the first place.
There are definitely other ways to share findings and choosing the right one depends on the study, outcomes, and the organization’s ways of working. However, If you are in fact writing a report, here are some best practices and tips that I have developed through years of conducting and consuming research reports. These help me convey findings in an engaging and memorable way.
The anatomy of a research report
I use a slide deck to create a ‘Slidedoc’. Tools like Keynote, Google slides, Pitch, or PowerPoint make it easy to combine detailed text and visuals in the most flexible yet structured way. Unlike word documents, slides force us to break information into digestible pieces rather than presenting it as a long scroll. Plus, a deck can easily be adapted for a presentation.
A research report can be roughly broken into three parts: Study overview, findings, and next steps. I will describe each of these in detail while sharing sample slides.
*Note that the content of all slides below is fictitious.
1. Study overview: what we did (and why)
Background
This section explains why we conducted research in the first place. Start with a one-line summary of the challenge and a detailed description. To highlight the study impact, I complement this with the underlying metrics (i.e. KPIs or UX Metrics), or objectives (i.e. OKRs). Connecting research with business drivers sets outcomes in the context of the organization’s strategy.
Keep in mind that uncovering the business impact should be a step when scoping the research. I know that framing a study in business terms is not that simple. As researchers, we are trained to identify and tackle user problems but are less familiar with recognizing business ones. There is no reason to be concerned. This is a muscle we can train. We have briefly touched this topic as part of a previous Decoding Research post.
Research scope
After setting the stage it’s time to explain the study itself. State the research goals. Follow with the objectives or research questions, which go one level deeper framing the specifics of what we set out to learn. All of these come straight out of your research plan.
You can include how the study integrates with the work of different teams by mentioning how outcomes will be utilized, which decisions will be made, and/or by whom (ie. list the stakeholders or teams involved).
Approach and participant profile
This section describes the methods used. Most readers are not researchers, so I limit the jargon and a link to the research plan for those interested in getting into the nitty-gritty. I usually make this slide more visual to illustrate the steps taken or how different methods worked together. This is also a good place to state any limitations or disclaimers that come with the approach taken.
Next comes an overview of participants. Share the number of people and the criteria considered. If you addressed different target groups or markets include the number of people per group.
2. Research findings: What we learned
Key insights or summary
This is the first slide with findings and it should contain the main learnings and takeaways. It is probably the most important slide as some people won’t read any further. Therefore, I take great care crafting these statements to make sure the message is clear, direct, and sticky. Like with any summary, this slide is created last. After completing the bulk report, I take a step back and ask myself ‘what 3–5 learnings are critical for the team to know?’. I also like to add a link to this slide directly from the table of contents for people who are just looking for the main takeaways.
I must admit that I have had studies where one summary slide is not enough. It is also fine to use two. However, if I find myself needing more slides for key insights is likely that I’m not being strict enough when identifying the most relevant learnings or not concise enough expressing their essence.
Detailed findings
The core. This section contains all learnings, in detail. At this point, slides take many different colors and shapes depending on the learnings. For instance, usability findings are usually communicated by showing each screen with the issues observed, while needs and behaviors are typically represented by personas or archetypes.
From many reports read and written, I have identified three common ways to document findings:
Descriptive slides for insights: An insight is a learning consisting of an observed behavior and its underlying motivation. Simply put, what is happening and why it’s happening. I tend to create one slide per insight using the insight statement as the headline. Many people just scan through the deck so they will get an overview of findings just by reading these titles.
The content of the slide details the learnings that support the insight, as well as any nuances, or opportunities. As a small bonus, I add recommendations, notices, or open questions to these slides, which provide the first glimpse of the next steps.
Artifact slides: Oftentimes research outcomes take the form of artifacts like archetypes, journeys, stakeholder maps, competitive analysis, etc. Some of these can be large and hard to fit into a report. A trick is to include a summarised version or high-level overview with the main conclusion and then link to the artifact file for details. Decide on the amount of content depending on the audience and how the report will be used.
Product feedback slides: Another common research outcome is product feedback. Whether it’s about the proposition, a set of concepts, or usability, I always show an image of the screen or section that the feedback relates to. This helps contextualize user input and avoid misinterpretation.
3. Next steps: What needs to happen next
Opportunities and recommendations
Close the report with clear actions that the team can take. These can be for instance product opportunities, design improvements, or open questions that require follow-up research.
Oftentimes researchers restrain from or are uncomfortable with stating recommendations. However, as an expert and the person with most knowledge about the study learnings, the team will benefit and appreciate your indications of where to go next. Of course, it is not expected that you know how to solve all the issues encountered by participants. Be conscious of your limitations and only provide well thought recommendations.
Pro tips: Taking research reports to the next level
Add quotes or video snippets
I dare to say this is not a pro tip but a best practice. Getting feedback directly from users is more powerful than simply reading about it. It’s the main reason why stakeholders should observe some of the sessions in the first place. Participant quotes or video snippets in a report bring back the richness of sessions to life.
Select quotes and video clips that capture the essence of the insight being shared. Add context by mentioning the participant type (ie. Active user, France) and the method if you used multiple ones (ie. diary study). Above all, be mindful of people’s privacy and data — don’t use names, don’t show faces, and don’t share personal information.
Make it visual
A picture speaks a thousand words. Using visuals to represent and convey findings help readers understand the information. They transform complex and intangible concepts into simple and tangible representations. Moreover, images make reports less dense, more engaging, and more memorable than plain text. This is critical to ensure insights don’t get shelved and forgotten but drip down into the organization.
To be clear, I am not suggesting adding random pictures to all slides. Selecting and crafting the right visual to illustrate a finding is key to convey the message correctly (and not every finding needs to be represented visually, that will just be overkill).
Common visual representations for insights are charts, timelines, or process steps. Sometimes I also doodle people to showcase a situation or emotion. If visual thinking is not your thing, don’t panic. There is no need to be an artist or illustrator. Look for examples or take one of Skillshare’s short courses if you want to start flexing those muscles.
Record yourself sharing the findings
Reports are dense. People don’t read. Stakeholders may miss your presentation. No problem, make a video! Tools like Loom are perfect to film yourself while going through findings (or record the video call while you present research findings to the team, killing two birds with one stone).
Share the video with the wider organization on slack and add it to your repository or intranet. As with a report’s table of content, outline the times where main topics are addressed for people looking for specific learning or topic. You can even make snippets to create a short version with highlights.
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Sharing research findings is a critical task of a researcher’s role. There is no point in conducting a great study if findings will go unutilized. Reports don’t have to be tedious. Use a Slidedoc combining text and visuals to break learnings into digestible and memorable chunks. Guide readers, contextualize findings and trigger action by following a basic structure — from Study overview to Findings, to Next steps. And increase thereader’s engagement by adding quotes, session clips, visualizing insights, or even creating a video of yourself sharing highlights.
⭐Try it yourself: Here are all the slides shared through this article. You can copy, adapt and use them! Please share your creations on our Instagram, account: decoding.research!
What are some of the tips and best practices you have developed to craft great research reports? Let us know in the comments.
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Written by Victoria Vivas and Maria Hock.
