Turns synthesized research findings into a crisp stakeholder readout - so-what up front, 3-5 confidence-tagged findings each following the finding-evidence-implication rule, and owned recommendations. Use when someone says "present these research findings", "turn this study into a readout for leadership", "our research isn't landing with the product team", or needs a deck or brief that gets findings acted on. Do NOT use for building a narrative around quantitative metrics and charts - use data-story instead; for the upstream analysis that produces the findings, use interview-synthesis or research-synthesis; for slide craft itself, use slide-deck-builder.
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name: Research Readout
description: Turns synthesized research findings into a crisp stakeholder readout - so-what up front, 3-5 confidence-tagged findings each following the finding-evidence-implication rule, and owned recommendations. Use when someone says "present these research findings", "turn this study into a readout for leadership", "our research isn't landing with the product team", or needs a deck or brief that gets findings acted on. Do NOT use for building a narrative around quantitative metrics and charts - use data-story instead; for the upstream analysis that produces the findings, use interview-synthesis or research-synthesis; for slide craft itself, use slide-deck-builder.
---
# Research Readout
A readout is not a research report: its job is to transfer the minimum context stakeholders need to make a decision or change direction, then get out of the way. Most research goes unacted on not because it is wrong but because the readout is too long, too hedged, or buries the recommendations at the end - stakeholders decide in the first 60 seconds whether to stay engaged, and a sea of "mights" and "possiblys" reads as noise.
## Inputs to collect
1. The synthesized findings (from interview-synthesis, research-synthesis, or equivalent) - the readout communicates analysis, it does not perform it. If handed raw transcripts, route to synthesis first.
2. The audience and the decision on the table. A readout without a live decision becomes FYI content and dies; if no decision exists, ask what the study was supposed to unlock.
3. Study metadata: goal, method, sample size, and per-finding participant counts (needed for confidence tags).
4. Format constraint. Default by audience: async stakeholders get a deck, one finding per slide, headline in the title bar; live sessions get 20-30 minutes of findings plus 10-15 of discussion; engineering audiences get a one-page brief with a findings table.
## Operating procedure
1. **Write the so-what first.** Open with 2-3 bullets stating the most important findings and their implications for the product or business. This section is drafted first and rewritten last.
2. **Select 3-5 findings - no more.** Rank by decision impact and cut the rest to the appendix. Ten findings is a report wearing a readout's clothes.
3. **Apply the finding-evidence-implication rule to each.** Every finding must carry all three parts:
- *Finding*: what was observed, as a declarative headline.
- *Evidence*: the quotes, clips, or counts that back it - kept tight.
- *Implication*: what it means for the business, which is what earns attention. "Users cannot find the billing page" is a finding; "the navigation structure is causing cancellations because users cannot find billing, which triggers most churn calls to support" is a finding with its implication attached.
4. **Tag every finding with confidence**: High (5+ participants, consistent pattern), Medium (3-4 participants, some variation), Low (1-2 participants, or inferred). Be direct on High findings; be explicit about limitations on Low ones; never hedge uniformly.