LogoSkills

Research Report: {{research_topic}}

Executes the **Research** workflow as Creative Intelligence.

Executes the Research workflow as Creative Intelligence.

Workflow Overview#

Goal: Conduct comprehensive research and provide actionable insights

Phase: Cross-phase (supports all BMAD phases)

Agent: Creative Intelligence

Inputs: Research topic, research type, specific questions

Output: Structured research report with findings, analysis, and recommendations

Duration: 30-90 minutes

Pre-Flight#

  1. Load context per helpers.md#Combined-Config-Load
  2. Explain purpose:

    "I'll conduct comprehensive research on your topic. This produces a structured report with findings, competitive analysis (if applicable), and actionable recommendations."

Research Process#

Use TodoWrite to track: Define Scope → Select Research Type → Gather Information → Analyze Findings → Create Competitive Matrix → Extract Insights → Generate Report → Update Status

Part 1: Define Research Scope#

Ask user:

Q1: Research Topic

"What are we researching?"

Examples:

  • Market size for fitness apps
  • Competitors in project management space
  • Best practices for authentication
  • User needs for accessibility features
  • Technology options for real-time features

Store as: {{research_topic}}

Q2: Research Type

"What type of research?"

Options:

  1. Market Research - Market size, trends, growth, customer segments
  2. Competitive Research - Competitors, features, positioning, gaps
  3. Technical Research - Technologies, frameworks, best practices, patterns
  4. User Research - User needs, pain points, behaviors, journeys
  5. Mixed - Combination of above

Store as: {{research_type}}

Q3: Specific Questions

"What specific questions should this research answer?"

List 3-7 key questions to guide research.

Store as: {{research_questions}}

Q4: Constraints

"Any constraints or focus areas?"

Examples:

  • Geographic region (US market only)
  • Industry segment (B2B SaaS)
  • Technology stack (React ecosystem)
  • Budget range ($0-50K tools)

Store as: {{constraints}}

Part 2: Select Research Methods#

Based on research type, determine methods:

For Market Research:

  • WebSearch for industry reports, market analysis, trends
  • WebFetch for analyst reports and whitepapers
  • Document secondary research sources
  • Quantify market size, growth rate, segments

For Competitive Research:

  • WebSearch for competitor websites, reviews, comparisons
  • WebFetch for product pages, pricing, documentation
  • Create competitive feature matrix
  • Identify gaps and opportunities

For Technical Research:

  • WebSearch for documentation, tutorials, comparisons
  • WebFetch for official docs, GitHub repos
  • Task tool with Explore subagent for codebase research
  • Evaluate technologies against criteria

For User Research:

  • WebSearch for user forums, reviews, surveys
  • WebFetch for user studies, accessibility guidelines
  • Analyze pain points and needs
  • Map user journeys

Inform user:

"Research approach:

  • Method 1: {{method}}
  • Method 2: {{method}}
  • Method 3: {{method}}

Starting research..."

Part 3: Gather Information#

Execute research using appropriate tools.

Market Research

Use WebSearch for:

-  " { { market } }   market size 2025 " 
 -  " { { market } }   industry trends " 
 -  " { { market } }   growth projections " 
 -  " { { market } }   customer segments "

Capture:

  • Market size (TAM, SAM, SOM if available)
  • Growth rate (CAGR)
  • Key trends
  • Major players
  • Customer segments
  • Revenue models

Competitive Research

For each competitor (3-7 competitors):

Use WebSearch:

-  " { { competitor_name } }   features " 
 -  " { { competitor_name } }   pricing " 
 -  " { { competitor_name } }   reviews " 
 -  " { { competitor_name } }   vs alternatives "

Use WebFetch on:

  • Product pages
  • Pricing pages
  • Documentation
  • Feature lists
  • Customer reviews

Capture per competitor:

###  { { Competitor Name } } 

 **Overview:**  { { description } } 
 **Target Market:**  { { target } } 
 **Pricing:**  { { pricing_model } } 
 **Key Features:**
- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3

**Strengths:**
- Strength 1
- Strength 2

**Weaknesses:**
- Weakness 1
- Weakness 2

**Unique Differentiators:**  { { what_makes_them_unique } } 

 **Source:**  { { url } }

Technical Research

For each technology/framework:

Use WebSearch:

-  " { { technology } }   documentation " 
 -  " { { technology } }   best practices " 
 -  " { { technology } }   vs  { { alternative } } " 
 -  " { { technology } }   performance benchmarks "

Use WebFetch for:

  • Official documentation
  • GitHub repo (stars, issues, activity)
  • Performance comparisons
  • Community size

If researching internal codebase:

  • Use Task tool with Explore subagent
  • Search for usage patterns
  • Identify dependencies
  • Analyze architecture

Capture per technology:

###  { { Technology Name } } 

 **Purpose:**  { { what_it_does } } 
 **Maturity:**  { { stable/beta/experimental } } 
 **Community:**  { { size_indicators } } 
 **Performance:**  { { benchmarks } } 

 **Pros:**
- Pro 1
- Pro 2

**Cons:**
- Con 1
- Con 2

**Best For:**  { { use_cases } } 
 **Avoid If:**  { { anti_patterns } } 

 **Source:**  { { url } }

User Research

Use WebSearch for:

-  " { { user_type } }   pain points  { { domain } } " 
 -  " { { user_type } }   needs  { { domain } } " 
 -  " user reviews  { { related_products } } " 
 -  " accessibility requirements  { { domain } } "

Use WebFetch for:

  • User forums and discussions
  • Product reviews
  • Accessibility guidelines (WCAG, etc.)
  • User research reports

Capture:

  • User personas
  • Pain points
  • Needs and goals
  • Behavior patterns
  • Accessibility requirements
  • User journey insights

Part 4: Analyze Findings#

Synthesize all gathered information.

For each research question from Part 1:

### Q:  { { research_question } } 

 **Answer:**  { { synthesis_from_research } } 

 **Supporting Evidence:**
-  { { source_1 } } :  { { finding } } 
 -  { { source_2 } } :  { { finding } } 
 -  { { source_3 } } :  { { finding } } 

 **Confidence:** High | Medium | Low
**Gaps:**  { { what_we_still_dont_know } }

Identify patterns:

  • Common themes across sources
  • Conflicting information (note discrepancies)
  • Gaps in available information
  • Surprising findings

Part 5: Create Competitive Matrix (if applicable)#

If research type is Competitive or Mixed, create feature comparison.

Matrix format:

## Competitive Feature Matrix

| Feature | Our Product | Competitor 1 | Competitor 2 | Competitor 3 |
|---------|-------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| Feature 1 | ✓ Planned | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Feature 2 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Feature 3 | ✓ Unique | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |

Legend:
- ✓ = Available
- ✗ = Not available
- ✓ Planned = On roadmap
- ✓ Unique = Our differentiator

Pricing comparison (if applicable):

## Pricing Comparison

| Competitor | Entry Tier | Mid Tier | Enterprise | Notes |
|------------|------------|----------|------------|-------|
| Competitor 1 | $10/mo | $50/mo | Custom | Free tier available |
| Competitor 2 | $0 | $25/mo | $200/mo | Freemium model |
| Competitor 3 | $15/mo | $75/mo | Custom | 14-day trial |

Part 6: Extract Key Insights#

Identify 5-10 actionable insights from research.

Format each insight:

### Insight  { { N } } :  { { title } } 

 **Finding:**  { { what_research_revealed } } 

 **Implication:**  { { what_this_means_for_our_project } } 

 **Recommendation:**  { { what_we_should_do } } 

 **Priority:** High | Medium | Low

**Supporting Data:**  { { sources_and_specifics } }

Categorize insights:

  • Market insights
  • Competitive insights
  • Technical insights
  • User insights
  • Risk insights
  • Opportunity insights

Part 7: Generate Research Report#

Create research report per helpers.md#Apply-Variables-to-Template

Use template: research-report.md (or generate inline)

Report structure:

# Research Report:  { { research_topic } } 

 **Date:**  { { date } } 
 **Research Type:**  { { research_type } } 
 **Duration:**  { { duration } } 

 ## Executive Summary

 { { 2-3_paragraph_summary } } 

 Key findings:
- Finding 1
- Finding 2
- Finding 3

## Research Questions

 { { questions_from_part_1 } } 

 ## Methodology

**Research approach:**
-  { { method_1 } } 
 -  { { method_2 } } 
 -  { { method_3 } } 

 **Sources:**  { { count } }   sources consulted

**Time period:**  { { date_range_of_research } } 

 ## Findings

### Research Question 1:  { { question } } 
 { { answer_from_part_4 } } 

 ### Research Question 2:  { { question } } 
 { { answer_from_part_4 } } 

 [All questions...]

## Detailed Analysis

 { { If market research: } } 
 ### Market Overview
- Market Size:  { { size } } 
 - Growth Rate:  { { rate } } 
 - Key Trends:  { { trends } } 
 - Customer Segments:  { { segments } } 

 { { If competitive research: } } 
 ### Competitive Landscape
 { { competitive_matrix_from_part_5 } } 

 #### Competitor Profiles
 { { detailed_competitor_analysis_from_part_3 } } 

 #### Competitive Gaps
- Gap 1:  { { what_competitors_lack } } 
 - Gap 2:  { { opportunity_for_differentiation } } 

 { { If technical research: } } 
 ### Technology Evaluation
 { { technology_comparisons_from_part_3 } } 

 #### Recommended Technology Stack
- Technology 1:  { { rationale } } 
 - Technology 2:  { { rationale } } 

 { { If user research: } } 
 ### User Insights
- Pain Points:  { { findings } } 
 - Needs:  { { findings } } 
 - Behavior Patterns:  { { findings } } 
 - Accessibility:  { { requirements } } 

 ## Key Insights

 { { insights_from_part_6 } } 

 ## Recommendations

### Immediate Actions (Next 2 weeks)
1.  { { action_1 } } 
 2.  { { action_2 } } 

 ### Short-term (Next 1-3 months)
1.  { { action_1 } } 
 2.  { { action_2 } } 

 ### Long-term (3+ months)
1.  { { action_1 } } 
 2.  { { action_2 } } 

 ## Research Gaps

**What we still don ' t know:**
- Gap 1:  { { unanswered_question } } 
 - Gap 2:  { { area_needing_deeper_research } } 

 **Recommended follow-up research:**
- Follow-up 1
- Follow-up 2

## Sources

1.  { { source_1 } }   -  { { url } } 
 2.  { { source_2 } }   -  { { url } } 
 3.  { { source_3 } }   -  { { url } } 

 [All sources...]

## Appendix

 { { Any additional data, charts, or detailed comparisons } } 

 ---

*Generated by BMAD Method v6 - Creative Intelligence*
*Research Duration:  { { duration } }   minutes*
*Sources Consulted:  { { count } } *

Save to: {{output_folder}}/research-{{topic}}-{{date}}.md

Inform user:

✓ Research Complete!

Research Type:  { { type } } 
 Sources Consulted:  { { count } } 
 Key Insights:  { { count } } 

 Document:  { { file_path } } 

 Top 3 Insights:
1.  { { insight_1_title } } 
 2.  { { insight_2_title } } 
 3.  { { insight_3_title } } 

 Top Recommendation:  { { top_recommendation } }

Update Status#

Per helpers.md#Update-Workflow-Status

Update bmm-workflow-status.yaml:

last_workflow: research
last_workflow_date:  { { current_date } } 
 research:
  reports_completed:  { { increment_count } } 
   last_research_topic:  { { research_topic } } 
   last_research_type:  { { research_type } } 
   total_sources:  { { total_count } }

Recommend Next Steps#

Based on research type and findings:

If Market Research → Business Analyst or Product Manager

Next: Use market insights for product positioning
Run: /product-brief or /prd
Incorporate market trends and customer segments

If Competitive Research → Product Manager

Next: Define competitive differentiation
Run: /prd
Use competitive gaps to inform feature prioritization

If Technical Research → System Architect

Next: Incorporate technology recommendations
Run: /architecture
Use evaluated technologies in system design

If User Research → Product Manager or UX Designer

Next: Create user-centered requirements
Run: /prd or /create-ux-design
Use pain points and needs to inform design

If Research revealed gaps → Creative Intelligence

Next: Conduct follow-up research
Run: /research again with refined questions
Fill knowledge gaps

If Research supports hypothesis → Continue to planning

Next: Move to planning phase
Run: /prd or /tech-spec
Use research insights to inform requirements

Helper References#

  • Load config: helpers.md#Combined-Config-Load
  • Apply template: helpers.md#Apply-Variables-to-Template
  • Save document: helpers.md#Save-Output-Document
  • Update status: helpers.md#Update-Workflow-Status
  • Determine next: helpers.md#Determine-Next-Workflow

Notes for LLMs#

  • Use TodoWrite to track 8 research steps
  • Use appropriate tools: WebSearch (market/competitive), WebFetch (documentation), Task with Explore (codebase)
  • Cite all sources with URLs
  • Quantify findings when possible (market size, feature counts, etc.)
  • Create competitive matrix for competitive research
  • Note confidence level for each finding
  • Identify research gaps and recommend follow-up
  • Extract actionable insights, not just raw data
  • Provide specific recommendations with priorities
  • Use helpers.md references for all common operations
  • Format report for readability (tables, lists, sections)
  • Include executive summary for quick reference
  • Recommend logical next workflow based on research type

Remember: Research should answer specific questions with evidence-based findings and actionable recommendations. Always cite sources and quantify when possible.