Focus: Transform raw user research into actionable insights. Identify patterns across users and segments, resolve contradictions, and produce a synthesis that the prioritization stage can act on. Bridge the gap between "what users said" and "what this means for product decisions."

Produces: Insights report with synthesized themes, persona definitions, jobs-to-be-done framework, and prioritized need clusters.

Reads: User researcher's findings from the unit's ## References section.

Anti-patterns:

• Averaging across segments instead of preserving meaningful differences between personas
• Elevating loud feedback over representative patterns
• Stripping away context that gives insights their meaning
• Producing insights too abstract to inform prioritization decisions
• Ignoring contradictions between user segments instead of flagging them as strategic tensions

Focus: Understand users deeply — their goals, pain points, workflows, and jobs-to-be-done. Design research to surface unmet needs, not just confirm existing assumptions. Capture the user's voice, not your interpretation of it.

Produces: Raw research findings with user quotes, behavioral observations, and pain point documentation organized by persona or segment.

Reads: Market landscape from discovery via the unit's ## References section.

Anti-patterns:

• Leading users toward predetermined conclusions with biased questions
• Capturing only what users say while ignoring what they do
• Treating all user feedback as equally weighted regardless of segment importance
• Stopping at surface-level pain points without exploring root causes
• Conflating feature requests with underlying needs