How we store, organize, and surface user research over time

Research is only as valuable as it is findable. A discovery session that lives in someone's notes, or a Confluence page nobody knows about, contributes nothing to the next design decision — even if the insight is exactly what's needed.

This repository exists so that what we learn from users accumulates over time instead of evaporating between projects. It is not a system you have to maintain perfectly. It is a consistent enough structure that anyone on the team can find relevant research without having to ask who talked to whom, or when.

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The goal is traceability, not completeness. A design decision should always be traceable to a real user need. This repository makes that possible.

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The Two-Folder Structure

The repository is organized into two distinct folders. Their separation is intentional — raw capture and synthesized insight serve different purposes and should never be mixed up.

Raw Discovery Notes - Unfiltered capture from session

• Notes from user interviews
• Session recordings or transcripts
• Observation notes from usability tests
• SME conversations and stakeholder input
• Any format is acceptable here
• Pages are named by date and session type

Synthesized Insights - Interpreted findings, ready to act on

• One page per session or per feature/topic
• Uses the User Research Insights Template
• Links directly to source notes
• Contains problems, needs, and design implications
• This is what gets referenced in design briefs

Raw Discovery Notes