Idea Studies
Use Studies to validate an idea before scope hardens
Idea Studies let a product team attach a screen, prototype, or concept to one focused question, collect responses, and keep that evidence on the idea before scope hardens.
Use a study when the team is close enough to show something, but early enough that customer judgment can still change the plan. Good studies are short: one screen, one flow, one decision, or a few steps that ask for the smallest useful signal.
Studies live on an idea. The idea keeps the product question and the study keeps the evidence you collected to answer it.
They are separate from the Ideas Portal. A portal can help with customer identity or distribution in some workspaces, but a study is a targeted experiment around one decision, not a customer voting backlog.
The basic loop is: draft the study, publish it when participant access is configured, review the summary and individual responses, then write or generate conclusions before the idea moves into planning.
A completed study keeps the screen, question, target area, response count, and answer summary together before the idea moves into planning.
When to use a study
Use a study for questions like:
- Where would users click first?
- Which option do users prefer?
- What is confusing on this screen?
- Does this plan match what customers thought they were getting?
- Should this idea move forward, change shape, or stop?
Do not use a study for broad intake or ongoing voting. If customers need to submit or vote on ideas over time, use the Ideas Portal.
Build a study
Open the idea, then use its Studies workspace to create a draft. The draft is the setup surface for what participants will see and what Zentrik should measure.
A useful draft usually has:
- a clear study name
- a short study goal
- one or more participant-facing steps
- an image, screenshot, or prototype frame when the question is visual
- a heatmap target area if you need to know whether users found the intended action
- a text, single-choice, or ranking question when you need a reason or preference
Keep the study narrow. A 90-second answer is often better than a survey that tries to settle every product debate at once.
Draft setup keeps the goal, participant steps, prototype image, questions, and target areas in one idea-level workspace.
Preview and publish
Preview the study before you publish it. Check the exact screen, question text, answer options, target areas, and step order.
Draft studies can be edited. Published study content is intentionally locked so responses stay comparable. If the prompt changes materially, clone the study or create a new one instead of editing live data.
Review results
Results have three useful levels:
- Summary shows response count, clicks, target-area performance, and answer distributions.
- Responses preserves participant, account, answer, and notes context when available.
- Conclusions turns the study into a reviewable decision report.
For heatmap steps, look at where users clicked and whether they found the intended area. For question steps, read the answers before reducing the result to a count. The useful output is not just a chart; it is a better decision about the idea.
Study responses stay tied to participant, account, and answer context so the decision can move forward with traceable evidence.
Carry evidence forward
After responses arrive, generate or write conclusions on the study and attach the learning back to the idea.
Treat generated conclusions as a draft for the product team to review. The report should name what changed, what evidence supports it, and which follow-up questions still matter.
The next step should be explicit. Common outcomes are:
- refine the idea
- link the study to an opportunity
- create or update an initiative
- move the decision into a planning review
- close the idea if the evidence argues against it
The goal is to keep customer intent attached while the work moves from learning into shaping, planning, and delivery.
The Conclusions view turns the study into a reviewable decision report before evidence gets carried into the next product object.
Troubleshooting
These items are about workflow and expectations in the product, not a broken OAuth client. If something contradicts what you see in your workspace, note your workspace name and the screen, then contact us.
Publish is blocked
Check every step. Visual heatmap steps need an image. Question steps need question text, and option-based questions need at least two options.
The target area is not useful
Use target areas only when there is an intended action. If the goal is broad comprehension or preference, ask a question instead.
The study has no responses
Confirm that the study is published, the share link is available for your workspace, and the right participant path is configured. Then send it to a smaller, more relevant segment before widening the audience.
The evidence is not changing the plan
Write the decision the study was meant to inform. If the answer does not map to an idea, opportunity, or initiative, the study may be too broad.