Guided journey
I'm starting a new project
A project lead in their first week. There's a brief, but no PRD yet, no research done yet, and no clear sense of who the users actually are.
You're in your first week leading a new project. There's a brief from management, maybe a few decks, possibly some informal conversations. What you don't have yet: a defined product, validated users, or a documented decision about what to build.
The temptation will be to start solutioning. Resist it for two or three days. The work below is the cheapest part of the whole project — and the part with the highest leverage on everything that follows.
Steps
Provision the Knowledge Base (recommended)
One-time setup of the programme's Confluence KB structure. Optional — CLARA also creates missing parts on first use — but recommended on day 1 so the hierarchy is clean before artefacts start landing. Invocation: `use clara's setup-kb for [programme]`.
Locate prior knowledge
Find what's already been learned about this problem space across past programmes. Don't restart from zero.
Baseline the current state
Run a DASH baseline survey with users of the existing, legacy, or competitor system. These numbers become the comparator the new system's Test results will be measured against.
Generate the interview guide
Translate what you need to learn into a field-ready interview guide — questions, listening signals, and probes.
Run the field engagement
5 to 7 user or operator conversations. Identify the right people; book the time; brief the team on what to listen for.
Synthesise the research
One pass over the transcripts produces themes, friction points, the problem statement, and success criteria as a single Research-synthesis page.
Draft the PRD or operational scenario
Digital teams: PRD. Engineering teams: operational scenario plus capability spec.
Move into Design
With validated framing, named users, and a draft PRD or scenario in hand, the team is ready to start prototyping.