Understand Client Needs

Understand the Client’s Ultimate Goal

After reading the RCs or Wonderpad and gathering the necessary information to form an outline, revisit it with the client's ultimate goal in mind. What are they trying to achieve?

Overlooking the fact that each research project has a purpose for someone is a common error. Essentially, there is a fellow human on the other end. You should only consider the audit team when reviewing the technical requirements checklist at the end of your research. Otherwise, your main focus should be on the client.

It sounds naïve, but it has a practical implication. Focusing on the client’s needs will naturally fulfill most auditor expectations. Adding notes within the research becomes more intuitive as you aim to assist your "buddy" throughout their research journey. Coming up with relevant alternatives and helpful findings becomes a simple process when you adopt a client-focused mindset. Your research strategy will also improve when you focus on explaining your findings/barriers to the client, rather than just following standard procedures to meet audit requirements.

Take time to really understand what the client needs. Read the chat/outline several times, make sure you understand the jargon, and, if needed, verify with an RM that you have a good understanding of what is requested.

1. Make sure that the difficulty doesn’t come from awkward phrasing in the chat. Preliminary research may show you that data is available for the client’s ask but the topic is usually described using different terms, which you can focus on after briefly explaining the issue in the RS.

2. Determine if the request would become more feasible with reasonable, data-based assumptions. For example, it may happen that the client made a mistake in their submission (e.g., used the wrong term or asked for a non-existent company but you can reasonably assume how to correct it).

   <aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" width="40px" /> TIP! Sometimes, it may be helpful to “start the research from the end,” i.e., make wide assumptions of what the answer would look like and search for data confirming them. However, only include them if you can find sources linking them to the question.

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If searching for the answer to the entire ask appears unfeasible, try to break it down into smaller pieces and find data for each portion separately.

1. E.g., the client is looking for a patient journey for breast cancer. While there are no sources on the entire patient journey, you can check what are the typical stages of the patient journey and search for data on each stage individually.

Do not assume that data is unavailable simply after using ChatGPT and the first few pages of search results. Dig into sources that are related to the topic but don’t directly answer the question and see whether you can find fully relevant data upon a closer look, or if they can lead you to more accurate articles/reports.

1. When you can’t find the precise answer to the question, check if it would be more feasible with a scope expansion (e.g., a different geography, an adjacent market, etc.). Similar topics may give you ideas of how to approach your request.
2. Also, by reading into semi-relevant sources, you may find different terms to describe the topic, key organizations that publish relevant research (note that some reports that are free to download/other readily available sources may still not show in the Google search results!).

<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Be careful! While difficult topics often require creative approaches to the available sources (such as checking semi-relevant sources, making data-based assumptions, etc.), it is easy to accidentally wander too far from the client’s ask. Remember to make sure that you are actually answering the question (unless it’s impossible, in which case you need a client update methodology).

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Use ChatGPT creatively. Even if it wasn’t helpful in providing a direct answer, it can still help you by:

1. Suggesting creative strategies and types of sources to use
2. Getting you up to speed with definitions
3. In case it turns out to be a client update, suggesting what to provide for helpful findings

If you are stuck during your research, you can also do some of the following:

1. Check Wonder Resource List
2. Think if you know of any CustomGPT that could help you move forward

Take care to manage your time effectively. While we are expected to be diligent and use creative strategies to answer the question, we can’t go down the rabbit hole for too long and not have any time left to provide the findings.

1. With difficult topics, a good idea is to divide your research time by setting aside a portion for finding a direct answer. When this time runs out, you’ll know to move to a client update.

If the request requires a triangulation or assumptions, make sure to explain them in the appropriate sections.

1. It is best to write everything out as you go, as opposed to leaving it for the end, even if it goes into the Research Strategy section. When our methodology is complicated, it is likely we will forget some of the steps by the end of the work.
2. Remember that it is always safer to overexplain than to leave things unexplained. It sometimes happens that we submit a request that requires creative approaches with only a basic Research Strategy template. This may leave the client confused about how our answer is relevant to their question.

Dedicate some extra time to review your project before submitting to:

1. Check if you didn’t wander too far from the original question
2. Make sure the response is cohesive and easy to follow
3. Check if you explained all the assumptions, calculations, etc.

<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" width="40px" /> If needed, don’t hesitate to reach out to an RM to give you a second look before submitting or check your approach at an earlier stage of a project.

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Tips for Navigating Difficult Projects

Nowadays, clients want specific information, not just general facts.

Projects often require gathering fragments of information from multiple sources to draw a picture for the client. Finding the information is generally easy but organizing it in a clear and coherent way can be very challenging.