Phase 2: Define
Synthesize research findings into a clear problem statement and research plan.
Purpose
The Define phase converges broad discovery findings into a focused problem statement, "How Might We" questions, and success criteria. This is the bridge between understanding the problem and designing solutions.
Usage
/research:define <topic>Example:
/research:define user onboarding frictionPrerequisites
Requires .metapowers/research/<topic>/01-discover.md from the Discover phase. Use --skip-checks to bypass.
What It Does
- Reads the Discover phase findings
- Synthesizes themes into a core problem statement
- Generates 3-5 "How Might We" questions
- Defines measurable success criteria
- Sets scope boundaries (in/out of scope)
- Writes the problem definition to
.metapowers/research/<topic>/02-define.md
Output
Creates .metapowers/research/<topic>/02-define.md containing:
- Problem statement
- "How Might We" questions
- Success criteria with metrics
- Scope boundaries
- Research plan for the Design phase
Next Phase
After Define, proceed to Design to generate solution concepts.