Research Domain Overview
A four-phase Double Diamond methodology for structured discovery and validation.
The Research plugin implements the Double Diamond methodology with four phases. Each phase has a dedicated slash command that guides you through structured discovery, problem definition, solution design, and validation.
The Four Phases
| Phase | Command | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Discover | /research:discover | Explore the problem space through broad research |
| Define | /research:define | Synthesize findings into a problem statement |
| Design | /research:design | Generate and evaluate solution concepts |
| Deliver | /research:deliver | Validate and produce actionable recommendations |
The Double Diamond
The methodology follows two "diamonds" of divergent and convergent thinking:
Diamond 1 (Problem Space): Discover casts a wide net, then Define narrows to a focused problem statement.
Diamond 2 (Solution Space): Design explores multiple solutions, then Deliver validates and converges on the best approach.
Artifact Flow
Each phase reads from previous phases and writes to .metapowers/research/<topic>/:
.metapowers/research/user-onboarding-friction/
01-discover.md ← Phase 1 output
02-define.md ← Phase 2 output
03-design.md ← Phase 3 output
04-deliver.md ← Phase 4 outputQuality Gates
The plugin enforces phase ordering through quality gates:
- Soft gates check that prerequisite artifacts exist and warn if missing
- Hard gates block phases that require prior work — e.g., you cannot design solutions until the problem is defined
- You can bypass soft gates with
--skip-checkswhen needed