research-synthesis

anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins · updated Apr 8, 2026

MDX-style export adds YAML metadata + attribution linking explainx.ai and this canonical listing URL.

$npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill research-synthesis
0 commentsdiscussion
summary

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

skill.md

/research-synthesis

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

Synthesize user research data into actionable insights. See the user-research skill for research methods, interview guides, and analysis frameworks.

Usage

/research-synthesis $ARGUMENTS

What I Accept

  • Interview transcripts or notes
  • Survey results (CSV, pasted data)
  • Usability test recordings or notes
  • Support tickets or feedback
  • NPS/CSAT responses
  • App store reviews

Output

## Research Synthesis: [Study Name]
**Method:** [Interviews / Survey / Usability Test] | **Participants:** [X]
**Date:** [Date range] | **Researcher:** [Name]

### Executive Summary
[3-4 sentence overview of key findings]

### Key Themes

#### Theme 1: [Name]
**Prevalence:** [X of Y participants]
**Summary:** [What this theme is about]
**Supporting Evidence:**
- "[Quote]" — P[X]
- "[Quote]" — P[X]
**Implication:** [What this means for the product]

#### Theme 2: [Name]
[Same format]

### Insights → Opportunities

| Insight | Opportunity | Impact | Effort |
|---------|-------------|--------|--------|
| [What we learned] | [What we could do] | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low |

### User Segments Identified
| Segment | Characteristics | Needs | Size |
|---------|----------------|-------|------|
| [Name] | [Description] | [Key needs] | [Rough %] |

### Recommendations
1. **[High priority]** — [Why, based on which findings]
2. **[Medium priority]** — [Why]
3. **[Lower priority]** — [Why]

### Questions for Further Research
- [What we still don't know]

### Methodology Notes
[How the research was conducted, any limitations or biases to note]

If Connectors Available

If ~~user feedback is connected:

  • Pull support tickets, feature requests, and NPS responses to supplement research data
  • Cross-reference themes with real user complaints and requests

If ~~product analytics is connected:

  • Validate qualitative findings with usage data and behavioral metrics
  • Quantify the impact of identified pain points

If ~~knowledge base is connected:

  • Search for prior research studies and findings to compare against
  • Publish the synthesis to your research repository

Tips

  1. Include raw quotes — Direct participant quotes make insights credible and memorable.
  2. Separate observations from interpretations — "5 of 8 users clicked the wrong button" is an observation. "The button placement is confusing" is an interpretation.
  3. Quantify where possible — "Most users" is vague. "7 of 10 users" is specific.
how to use research-synthesis

How to use research-synthesis on Cursor

AI-first code editor with Composer

1

Prerequisites

Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:

  • Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
  • Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
  • Active project directory or workspace where you want to add research-synthesis
2

Execute installation command

Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:

$npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill research-synthesis

The skills CLI fetches research-synthesis from GitHub repository anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins and configures it for Cursor.

3

Select Cursor when prompted

The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:

◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│ • Amp
│ • Antigravity
│ • Cline
│ • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│ • Cursor
│ • Windsurf
4

Verify installation

Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:

.cursor/skills/research-synthesis

Reload or restart Cursor to activate research-synthesis. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /research-synthesis) or your agent's skill management interface.

Security & Verification Notice

We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.

Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.

List & Monetize Your Skill

Submit your Claude Code skill and start earning

GET_STARTED →

Use Cases

User Story & Requirements Generation

Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs

Example

Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios

Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage

Competitive Analysis

Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps

Example

Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities

Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days

Roadmap Prioritization

Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs

Example

Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale

Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster

Stakeholder Communication

Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations

Example

Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement

Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead

Implementation Guide

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop or compatible AI client
  • Access to product documentation and roadmap tools (Jira, Notion, etc.)
  • Understanding of product management frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
  • Stakeholder contact information and communication channels

Time Estimate

30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements

Installation Steps

  1. 1.Install product management skill
  2. 2.Start with user story generation for known feature
  3. 3.Progress to competitive analysis: research 2-3 competitors
  4. 4.Use for roadmap prioritization: apply RICE/ICE scoring
  5. 5.Draft stakeholder communications and refine based on feedback
  6. 6.Build template library for recurring PM tasks
  7. 7.Share effective prompts with product team

Common Pitfalls

  • Not validating competitive research—verify facts before sharing
  • Accepting user stories without involving engineering team
  • Over-relying on frameworks without qualitative judgment
  • Not customizing outputs to company culture and communication style
  • Skipping stakeholder validation of generated requirements

Best Practices

✓ Do

  • +Validate research and competitive analysis with real data
  • +Collaborate with engineering when generating technical requirements
  • +Customize frameworks and templates to your company context
  • +Use skill for first drafts, refine with stakeholder input
  • +Document successful prompt patterns for PM tasks
  • +Combine AI efficiency with human judgment and intuition

✗ Don't

  • Don't publish competitive analysis without fact-checking
  • Don't finalize user stories without engineering review
  • Don't make prioritization decisions solely on AI scoring
  • Don't skip customer validation of generated requirements
  • Don't ignore company-specific context and culture

💡 Pro Tips

  • Provide context: company goals, constraints, customer feedback
  • Ask for alternatives: 'Show 3 ways to prioritize this roadmap'
  • Request stakeholder-specific formatting: 'Executive summary vs. engineering spec'
  • Use skill for 70% generation + 30% customization to company needs

When to Use This

✓ Use When

Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.

✗ Avoid When

Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.

Learning Path

  1. 1Basic: user stories, feature specs, status updates
  2. 2Intermediate: competitive analysis, prioritization frameworks, PRDs
  3. 3Advanced: product strategy, go-to-market planning, OKR setting
  4. 4Expert: product vision, market positioning, business model innovation

Discussion

Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)
  • No comments yet — start the thread.
general reviews

Ratings

4.640 reviews
  • Carlos Gill· Dec 24, 2024

    I recommend research-synthesis for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.

  • Nia Farah· Dec 24, 2024

    research-synthesis reduced setup friction for our internal harness; good balance of opinion and flexibility.

  • Carlos Ramirez· Dec 20, 2024

    research-synthesis has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.

  • Soo Mehta· Dec 8, 2024

    research-synthesis fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.

  • Ganesh Mohane· Dec 4, 2024

    research-synthesis is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Ishan Smith· Nov 27, 2024

    research-synthesis is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Sakshi Patil· Nov 23, 2024

    research-synthesis fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.

  • Sophia Robinson· Nov 15, 2024

    Registry listing for research-synthesis matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

  • Sophia Li· Nov 11, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: research-synthesis is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • Yash Thakker· Nov 3, 2024

    Keeps context tight: research-synthesis is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.

showing 1-10 of 40

1 / 4