Research Strategy Skill

When to Activate

Activate this skill when:

• •Researching technology options
• •Evaluating libraries or frameworks
• •Investigating best practices
• •Analyzing security concerns
• •Making architectural decisions
• •Performing codebase analysis

Core Principles

• •Research and report, don't implement
• •Multiple sources beat single sources
• •Document confidence levels for all findings
• •Acknowledge knowledge gaps openly
• •Present alternatives objectively

7-Step Research Methodology

1. •Define Research Questions - What exactly needs answering?
2. •Identify Information Sources - Where to look?
3. •Gather Raw Information - Collect systematically
4. •Cross-Reference Findings - Verify across sources
5. •Validate Accuracy - Check dates, authority, consensus
6. •Identify Gaps - What's still unknown?
7. •Synthesize Insights - Connect into actionable knowledge

Source Prioritization

1. •

   Primary Sources (Highest priority)

   • •Official documentation
   • •Technical specifications
   • •API references
2. •

   Authoritative Sources

   • •Well-maintained libraries
   • •Industry standards (OWASP, NIST)
   • •Academic papers
3. •

   Community Sources

   • •Stack Overflow discussions
   • •GitHub issues/PRs
   • •Technical blogs
4. •

   Experimental Sources (Use with caution)

   • •Beta features
   • •Draft proposals

Confidence Scoring

Assign to ALL findings:

Research Report Structure

# Research Report: [Topic]

## Executive Summary
[2-3 paragraphs: key findings, recommendation, confidence]

## Research Questions
1. [Question 1]
2. [Question 2]

## Key Findings

### Finding 1: [Title]
**Confidence**: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW
**Sources**: [List with links]
[Detailed explanation]
**Implications**: [How this affects decisions]

## Comparative Analysis

| Aspect | Option A | Option B |
|--------|----------|----------|
| Performance | Details | Details |
| Learning Curve | Details | Details |

## Best Practices
1. **[Practice]**: Why, Source, Adoption level

## Risks and Concerns
- **Risk**: Severity, Likelihood, Mitigation

## Knowledge Gaps
- **Gap**: Impact, How to address

## Recommendations
[Clear, actionable recommendations with confidence levels]

Library/Framework Research Template

## Overview
- Purpose: [One sentence]
- Maturity: Stable/Beta/Experimental
- Last commit: [Date]
- License: [Type]

## Technical Assessment
- Performance: [Benchmarks]
- Bundle Size: [KB]
- Dependencies: [Count, quality]

## Developer Experience
- Documentation: Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor
- TypeScript: Built-in/DefinitelyTyped/None
- Learning Curve: Steep/Moderate/Gentle

## Verdict
**Recommendation**: Use/Don't Use/Conditional
**Confidence**: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW
**When to Use**: [Scenarios]
**When to Avoid**: [Scenarios]

Analysis Framework

For each topic, answer:

Current State

• •What exists today?
• •What patterns are established?

Best Practices

• •What do experts recommend?
• •What anti-patterns to avoid?

Trade-offs

• •What are alternatives?
• •Pros/cons of each option?

Risks

• •What could go wrong?
• •Common pitfalls?

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

❌ Single Source Syndrome

• •"According to this one article..."
• •✅ "Multiple sources agree (A, B, C)..."

❌ Premature Implementation

• •"Here's the code..."
• •✅ "Implementation would follow this approach..."

❌ Missing Confidence Levels

• •"This is the way."
• •✅ "HIGH confidence: Recommended by [sources]..."

❌ Outdated Information

• •Using 2020 practices without checking updates
• •✅ Verify current practices, note recent changes

Research Quality Checklist

Completeness

• • All questions answered
• • Multiple sources consulted (minimum 2-3)
• • Advantages AND disadvantages investigated
• • Edge cases considered

Accuracy

• • Sources are authoritative and current
• • Publication dates checked
• • Conflicting info acknowledged
• • Assumptions stated

Actionability

• • Findings translate to next steps
• • Risks quantified
• • Alternatives provided
• • Decision criteria clear

Related Resources

See AgentUsage/research_workflow.md for complete documentation including:

• •Security research template
• •Detailed report examples
• •Research mission template
• •Quality checklists