Skip to main content

Your First Project

Last updated on

This tutorial walks you through a complete research project, from planning to synthesis. By the end, you'll have hands-on experience with every major feature.

Time to complete: 20–30 minutes

What We'll Build​

We'll create a research project to evaluate an onboarding flow. The project will include:

  • 2 research questions
  • 3 hypotheses
  • 3 tasks matched to different user segments
  • 3 participants (simulated)
  • Synthesis with sticky notes and clusters

Part 1: Project Setup​

Create the Project​

  1. From the dashboard, click New Project
  2. Enter these details:
    • Name: Onboarding Flow Evaluation
    • Description: Evaluate the new user onboarding experience across user segments
    • Mode: Moderated
  3. Click Create Project

Configure Settings​

  1. Go to the Overview tab
  2. Under Research Goals, enter:

    Understand how users with different experience levels navigate the onboarding flow. Identify barriers, confusion points, and opportunities for improvement.

  3. Set the Start Date to today and End Date to two weeks from now
  4. Under Recording Settings, set:
    • Camera: Optional
    • Microphone: Required
  5. Click Save

Part 2: Define Core Research Questions​

Before recruiting or building tasks, clarify what you want to learn.

  1. Go to the Hypotheses tab
  2. Click Add Question and enter:

    RQ1: What barriers do new users encounter during onboarding?

  3. Add a second question:

    RQ2: How does prior product experience affect onboarding success?

Research questions guide your hypotheses and help you stay focused during sessions.

Part 3: Create Hypotheses​

Hypotheses are testable predictions. You'll validate or disprove them with evidence.

  1. In the Hypotheses tab

  2. Click Add Hypothesis and enter:

    Hypothesis 1:

    • Statement: Non-users will struggle to complete the profile setup step without guidance
    • Priority: High
    • Segments: Non-Users
    • How to Test: Observe task completion rate and time on profile setup task

  3. Add two more hypotheses:

    Hypothesis 2:

    • Statement: Occasional users will skip optional onboarding steps
    • Priority: Medium
    • Segments: Occasional
    • How to Test: Track which steps are skipped and ask why in follow-up

    Hypothesis 3:

    • Statement: Active users will complete onboarding faster than the estimated time
    • Priority: Low
    • Segments: Active
    • How to Test: Compare actual completion time to estimates

Part 4: Build Tasks​

Now create tasks that will test your hypotheses.

Task 1: Complete Profile Setup (Easy)​

  1. Go to the Tasks tab
  2. Click Add Task
  3. Fill in:
    • Title: Complete Profile Setup
    • Estimated Time: 3–5 minutes
    • Difficulty: Easy (targets Non-Users)
    • Objective: Successfully complete all required profile fields
    • Scenario: You've just signed up for a new account. The system is asking you to set up your profile.
    • Steps:
      1. Upload a profile photo
      2. Enter your job title
      3. Select your department
      4. Save your profile
    • Success Criteria: All required fields completed and profile saved
  4. Under Link to Hypotheses, select Hypothesis 1
  5. Click Create Task

Task 2: Navigate Onboarding Checklist (Medium)​

Create a second task:

  • Title: Navigate Onboarding Checklist
  • Estimated Time: 5–10 minutes
  • Difficulty: Medium (targets Occasional users)
  • Objective: Complete 3 of 5 onboarding checklist items
  • Scenario: You've used this product before but are setting up a new workspace.
  • Steps:
    1. Find the onboarding checklist
    2. Complete any 3 items
    3. Dismiss the checklist when finished
  • Success Criteria: At least 3 items marked complete
  • Link to Hypotheses: Hypothesis 2

Task 3: Speed Run Setup (Hard)​

Create a third task:

  • Title: Speed Run Full Setup
  • Estimated Time: 5–10 minutes
  • Difficulty: Hard (targets Active users)
  • Objective: Complete full onboarding as quickly as possible
  • Scenario: You're an experienced user setting up a new account. Complete setup efficiently.
  • Steps:
    1. Complete profile setup
    2. Configure workspace settings
    3. Invite a team member (use test@example.com)
    4. Complete onboarding checklist
  • Success Criteria: All steps completed, time recorded
  • Link to Hypotheses: Hypothesis 3

Part 5: Check Coverage​

Before recruiting, verify your tasks address your hypotheses.

  1. Go to the Coverage tab
  2. Review the coverage matrix

You should see:

  • All 3 hypotheses have linked tasks ✓
  • No segment alignment issues ✓
  • Coverage: 100%

If you see warnings, check that task difficulty matches hypothesis segments.

Part 6: Add Participants​

Add participants that match your task difficulty levels.

  1. Go to the Participants tab

  2. Add three participants:

    Participant 1 (Non-User):

    • Name: Alex Chen
    • Email: alex@example.com
    • Usage Level: Non-User
    • Role: New Employee

    Participant 2 (Occasional):

    • Name: Jordan Smith
    • Email: jordan@example.com
    • Usage Level: Occasional
    • Role: Project Manager

    Participant 3 (Active):

    • Name: Sam Rivera
    • Email: sam@example.com
    • Usage Level: Active
    • Role: Team Lead

Schedule Sessions​

For each participant:

  1. Click Edit
  2. Set an Interview Date and Time
  3. Save

Part 7: Simulate a Session​

Let's walk through what happens during and after a session.

During the Session​

In a real session, you would:

  1. Welcome the participant
  2. Explain the task scenario
  3. Ask them to think aloud
  4. Observe and take notes
  5. Ask follow-up questions
  6. Thank them and end the session

After the Session​

  1. Find Alex Chen in the Participants tab
  2. Click Edit
  3. Check Interview Completed
  4. Optionally add a recording link
  5. Save

The participant status changes to "Completed."

Part 8: Capture Observations​

Now synthesize what you observed.

  1. Go to the Synthesis tab

  2. In the sticky notes area, click Add Note

  3. Add these observations:

    Note 1 (Barrier):

    Alex couldn't find the "Skip for now" option on profile setup

    Note 2 (Quote):

    "I don't know why it needs my department—I'm just trying to get in"

    Note 3 (Insight):

    Profile photo upload took 45 seconds—longest single step

    Note 4 (Opportunity):

    Add inline help text explaining why each field is needed

Organize into Clusters​

  1. Create a cluster called "Profile Setup Friction"
  2. Drag Notes 1, 2, and 3 into the cluster
  3. Create a cluster called "Improvement Ideas"
  4. Drag Note 4 into it

Part 9: Update Hypotheses​

Based on your observations, update hypothesis status.

  1. Find Hypothesis 1 (Non-users struggle with profile setup)
  2. Click to edit
  3. Change Status to Validated
  4. Add Evidence:

    Alex (non-user) couldn't find skip option, spent 45s on photo upload, questioned why department was required. Task took 6 minutes vs. 3–5 estimate.

  5. Save

Part 10: Review Your Work​

Project Dashboard​

Go to Overview to see:

  • 3 participants (1 completed)
  • 3 tasks created
  • 3 hypotheses (1 validated)
  • Session completion rate

Synthesis Summary​

The Synthesis tab now shows:

  • 4 sticky notes organized into 2 clusters
  • Research questions guiding your inquiry
  • Hypothesis status at a glance

What You've Learned​

You've now experienced the full UserLens workflow:

PhaseWhat You Did
PlanCreated research questions and hypotheses
BuildAdded tasks linked to hypotheses
VerifyChecked coverage for gaps
RecruitAdded and scheduled participants
RunSimulated a session
SynthesizeCaptured notes, organized clusters
ValidateUpdated hypothesis with evidence

Next Steps​

Continue building your research practice:

Troubleshooting​

Tasks not appearing for participants? Check that task difficulty matches participant usage level. Easy tasks only appear for Non-Users.

Hypothesis shows "segment mismatch" warning? The linked task's difficulty doesn't align with the hypothesis segments. Edit the task or hypothesis to match.

Can't mark session complete? Make sure a session date is scheduled first.