Diary Study Planby Owl-Listener

Diary Study Plan Skill.

Capture experiences that unfold between sessions rather than trying to reconstruct them in one interview.

UX Research
Study Planning

Source Review · Diary Study PlanSKILL.md

Task UX Research Produces • A longitudinal study protocol • Participant prompts and onboarding instructions • A coding framework and engagement plan Before You Start Provide the research goal, participant criteria, time span and feasible recording tools. The output is a study plan; recruitment, check-ins and participant data collection still need to be carried out.

Editorial summary · source reviewed 2026-10-07 · not a generated example

01 What It Does

Diary Study Plan: Study Behavior Over Time

Longitudinal study design with entry cadence, onboarding, capture modes, check-ins, and synthesis planning.

Source-based workflowNot an execution benchmark

The Working Approach

Diary Study Plan is for research over days or weeks. It connects the research question to a study duration, participant criteria, daily or event-triggered prompts, and a practical capture method.

The source includes onboarding, practice entries, check-ins, analysis, and attrition planning. Those operational details matter because a diary study depends on sustained participation. Suggested durations and sample sizes are starting ranges, not evidence that one schedule fits every behavior.

Expected Deliverables

A longitudinal study protocol
Participant prompts and onboarding instructions
A coding framework and engagement plan

See the Example Brief

From Brief to Review

01
Define the Longitudinal Question
Identify what changes over time and why a single session would miss it.
02
Design Entry Capture
Choose daily or event-triggered prompts and appropriate text, photo, video, or voice input.
03
Plan Support and Analysis
Schedule check-ins, prepare practice entries, and explain coding across participants and missing entries.

02 When to Use It

When to Use It

Provide the research goal, participant criteria, time span and feasible recording tools. The output is a study plan; recruitment, check-ins and participant data collection still need to be carried out.

A Good Fit

Habits and Repeated TasksObserve how experiences vary across contexts and repeated use.
In-the-Moment ContextCollect details that participants may forget in a retrospective interview.

Limits to Check

Not a One-Session TestA conventional task study may be more appropriate when behavior occurs in one sitting.
A Plan Is Not FindingsRecruitment, participation, and observed behavior still need to happen.

Bring These Inputs

Research GoalDescribe the behavior and time span of interest.
Participant CriteriaIdentify whose context matters and recruitment constraints.
Capture ConstraintsState feasible tools, participant burden, and support resources.

03 Decisions That Matter

Decisions That Matter

Cadence Follows Behavior
Event-triggered entries can be more appropriate than forcing a daily report.
Retention Is Designed
Onboarding and check-ins address the practical risk of participants dropping out.

04 Try a Focused Brief

Try a Focused Brief

The example brief below has not been tested. Check the skill’s setup before using it.

Review the Setup

Load this task's SKILL.md from the designer-skills repository in your agent's supported skill location. No universal installer command is established by the entry file.

Upstream Source File

https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designer-skills/blob/9a6930cf84a822eb458624bd11c61aac5bbdf224/design-research/skills/diary-study-plan/SKILL.md

Start With One Deliverable

Adapt the scope, source material and constraints in this brief before running the skill.

Example Brief

Use diary-study-plan to study how freelance designers collect client feedback over two weeks. Propose event-triggered entries, a practice task, participant criteria, and check-ins. Explain analysis and attrition handling without inventing participant data.

Inspect the Result

Check the actual output against these observable criteria.

Entry cadence matches the target behavior.
Participants know what and when to record.
Analysis and missing-entry handling are planned.

OpenDesign provides a local design workspace for coding agents. This listing does not mean the skill is bundled or that its external tools, credentials and software dependencies are included.

Download OpenDesign Read the Quickstart

05 Source and License

Source and License

This page describes the pinned source revision linked below. Upstream behavior and requirements can change.

Source Owner: Owl-Listener
Repository: Owl-Listener/designer-skills
Skill File: design-research/skills/diary-study-plan/SKILL.md
License: MIT
Reviewed Snapshot: 2026-10-07 · 9a6930cf84a8

Editorial Source Summary

Longitudinal study design with entry cadence, onboarding, capture modes, check-ins, and synthesis planning.

Original summary by OpenDesign, based on the linked source. Repository stars are a dated popularity signal, not skill usage or a quality score.

06 Questions Before You Start

Questions Before You Start

Must entries be daily?

No. The source explicitly allows event-triggered prompts.

Are photos or voice notes possible?

Yes. Capture methods include photo, video, text, and voice.

Does it recruit participants?

No. It helps define recruitment criteria and compensation in the study plan; recruiting and managing participants are separate work.

OpenDesign

Make Room for the Next Design Iteration.

Keep your brief, source material and design work together in a local workspace. Check the skill’s own setup before adding it to your workflow.

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