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02 personas analyst guide
Doug Beard edited this page Aug 21, 2025
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Persona: Analyst - A Brainstorming BA and RA Expert
Command: /analyst
Voice Script: speakAnalyst.sh
Voice Character: Amy (configurable via TTS providers)
TTS Providers: Piper, ElevenLabs, Discord, System TTS
Specialization: Research, Analysis, Brainstorming, Requirements Gathering
The Analyst agent is your specialized research and brainstorming expert, designed to help you explore ideas, gather requirements, and conduct thorough analysis before moving into planning and development phases. Think of the Analyst as your dedicated Business Analyst and Research Analyst combined.
- Advanced Brainstorming: Structured ideation and concept exploration
- Requirements Analysis: Comprehensive requirement gathering and validation
- Market Research: External research and competitive analysis
- Feasibility Studies: Technical and business feasibility assessment
- Stakeholder Analysis: Understanding user needs and business contexts
- Native Sub-Agent Architecture: 4.0x - Evidence-Based Research: "Never Guess, Always Verify" protocols
- Parallel Execution: Multiple concurrent research streams
- Intelligent Context Management: Seamless session continuity
The Analyst follows strict evidence-based research protocols:
-
Search Project Docs: Check
{{PROJECT_ROOT}}/project_docs/and session notes - Search Codebase: Use Grep/Glob tools for existing implementations
- Read Configurations: Examine actual files, logs, and configurations
- Research Externally: Use WebSearch for authoritative sources
- Ask for Clarification: Stop and ask specific questions when uncertain
- Never say: "I assume...", "Probably...", "It should be...", "Typically..."
- Never guess: API endpoints, file paths, configuration values, requirements
- Never invent: Technical specifications, user requirements, system constraints
- "According to [specific file/source]..."
- "The existing code in [path] shows..."
- "Based on my search of [location], I found..."
- "I need clarification on [specific aspect] because [context]"
The Analyst will stop and ask for clarification when:
- Conflicting information found in different sources
- Missing critical documentation or requirements
- Ambiguous user requirements despite thorough research
- Security or data integrity implications discovered
Purpose: Activate the Analyst agent for research and analysis tasks
Performance: Standard execution
Best For: Single-threaded research, detailed analysis, focused investigation
# Basic activation
/analyst
# Example usage scenarios
/analyst "Research authentication best practices"
/analyst "Analyze requirements for payment system"
/analyst "Brainstorm features for fitness tracking app"Purpose: Multi-stream brainstorming with native sub-agents
Performance: 4.0x faster than sequential
Best For: Comprehensive ideation, multiple perspective analysis, rapid concept exploration
# Parallel brainstorming activation
/planning-brainstorming "Explore mobile app monetization strategies"
# Complex brainstorming scenarios
/planning-brainstorming "Generate feature ideas for project management tool"
/planning-brainstorming "Brainstorm solutions for user onboarding challenges"Purpose: Multi-stream requirements gathering
Performance: 3.8x faster for comprehensive requirements
Best For: Complex system requirements, multiple stakeholder perspectives
Purpose: Advanced research with multiple investigation streams
Performance: 4.2x faster for deep research
Best For: Market analysis, competitive research, technology investigation
Purpose: Multi-perspective stakeholder analysis
Performance: 3.5x faster for stakeholder mapping
Best For: User persona development, stakeholder impact analysis
- Structured Brainstorming: Facilitated ideation sessions with proven methodologies
- Concept Exploration: Deep dive into ideas with multiple perspectives
- Innovation Analysis: Identifying opportunities and creative solutions
- Feature Ideation: Generating feature concepts with business justification
Example Deliverables:
- Brainstorming session reports
- Feature concept documents
- Innovation opportunity maps
- Creative solution frameworks
- Functional Requirements: Detailed system functionality requirements
- Non-Functional Requirements: Performance, security, scalability requirements
- Business Requirements: Strategic and operational business needs
- User Requirements: End-user needs and expectations
Example Deliverables:
- Comprehensive requirements documents
- Requirements traceability matrices
- Business needs assessments
- User requirement specifications
- Market Research: Industry analysis and competitive intelligence
- Technical Research: Technology evaluation and comparison
- User Research: User behavior and needs analysis
- Feasibility Studies: Technical and business feasibility assessment
Example Deliverables:
- Market analysis reports
- Technology comparison matrices
- User research findings
- Feasibility study reports
- Stakeholder Mapping: Identifying all project stakeholders
- Impact Analysis: Understanding stakeholder interests and concerns
- Communication Planning: Stakeholder engagement strategies
- Requirement Validation: Stakeholder requirement confirmation
Example Deliverables:
- Stakeholder analysis matrices
- Communication plans
- Requirement validation reports
- Stakeholder engagement strategies
1. Initial Brainstorming
└─ /planning-brainstorming "Explore [project concept]"
2. Market Research
└─ /parallel-research-prompt "Research [market/industry] trends"
3. Requirements Gathering
└─ /planning-requirements "Define system requirements for [project]"
4. Stakeholder Analysis
└─ /planning-stakeholder-review "Analyze stakeholders for [project]"
5. Feasibility Assessment
└─ /analyst "Assess technical/business feasibility"
6. Handoff to PM
└─ /handoff pm "Transfer research findings for PRD creation"
1. Concept Exploration
└─ /analyst "Explore [feature] concept and variations"
2. User Research
└─ /parallel-research-prompt "Research user needs for [feature]"
3. Technical Research
└─ /parallel-research-prompt "Research technical approaches for [feature]"
4. Requirements Definition
└─ /planning-requirements "Define requirements for [feature]"
5. Handoff to Architect
└─ /handoff architect "Transfer requirements for technical design"
1. Problem Analysis
└─ /analyst "Analyze [problem] and root causes"
2. Solution Brainstorming
└─ /planning-brainstorming "Generate solutions for [problem]"
3. Solution Research
└─ /parallel-research-prompt "Research best practices for [problem domain]"
4. Solution Validation
└─ /analyst "Validate proposed solutions"
5. Handoff to Architect
└─ /handoff architect "Transfer solution specifications"
Leverage parallel commands for comprehensive coverage:
# Simultaneous market and technical research
/parallel-research-prompt "E-commerce platform analysis - market trends, user behavior, technical requirements, competitive landscape"
# Multi-angle brainstorming
/planning-brainstorming "Mobile app features - user experience, monetization, engagement, retention strategies"Always provide concrete evidence for findings:
# Research with specific sources
/analyst "Research payment gateway options with specific focus on Stripe, PayPal, and Square APIs - include pricing, features, and integration complexity"
# Requirements with validation
/planning-requirements "Define authentication requirements with evidence from industry standards (OAuth 2.0, SAML) and security best practices"Focus on stakeholder needs and perspectives:
# Multi-stakeholder analysis
/planning-stakeholder-review "Analyze requirements from developer, end-user, business owner, and support team perspectives"
# User-centric research
/parallel-research-prompt "Research user onboarding best practices with focus on mobile apps, SaaS platforms, and e-commerce sites"When: After completing research and requirements gathering
Deliverables: Research findings, requirements documentation, stakeholder analysis
Purpose: Enable PRD creation with solid foundation
When: After defining technical requirements and constraints
Deliverables: Technical requirements, system constraints, solution concepts
Purpose: Enable technical design with clear requirements
When: After stakeholder analysis and feature research
Deliverables: Feature concepts, user needs analysis, prioritization insights
Purpose: Enable backlog creation with user-focused perspective
- Sequential: Analyst research → PM creates PRD
- Iterative: Analyst ↔ PM for requirements refinement
- Parallel: Both work on different aspects simultaneously
- Consultative: Architect consults Analyst for requirements clarification
- Collaborative: Joint sessions for technical feasibility assessment
- Sequential: Analyst requirements → Architect technical design
# Research Report: [Topic]
Date: [Date]
Analyst: [Name]
## Executive Summary
[Key findings and recommendations]
## Research Methodology
[How research was conducted]
## Key Findings
### Finding 1: [Title]
- **Evidence**: [Specific sources/data]
- **Implications**: [What this means]
- **Recommendations**: [Action items]
### Finding 2: [Title]
- **Evidence**: [Specific sources/data]
- **Implications**: [What this means]
- **Recommendations**: [Action items]
## Supporting Data
[Charts, tables, quotes, references]
## Next Steps
[Recommended actions]
## Sources
[All sources with links/references]# Requirements Analysis: [System/Feature]
Date: [Date]
Analyst: [Name]
## Business Context
[Why this is needed]
## Functional Requirements
| ID | Requirement | Priority | Source | Validation |
|----|-------------|----------|--------|------------|
| FR-001 | [Requirement] | High | [Stakeholder] | [Method] |
## Non-Functional Requirements
| Category | Requirement | Criteria | Rationale |
|----------|-------------|----------|-----------|
| Performance | [Requirement] | [Measurable criteria] | [Why needed] |
## Constraints & Assumptions
### Technical Constraints
- [Constraint 1 with justification]
- [Constraint 2 with justification]
### Business Constraints
- [Constraint 1 with justification]
- [Constraint 2 with justification]
## Success Criteria
[How to measure success]
## Risks & Mitigation
| Risk | Impact | Probability | Mitigation |
|------|--------|-------------|------------|
| [Risk] | [High/Med/Low] | [%] | [Strategy] |# Brainstorming Session: [Topic]
Date: [Date]
Analyst: [Name]
## Session Objective
[What we wanted to achieve]
## Methodology
[Brainstorming technique used]
## Ideas Generated
### Category 1: [Name]
1. **[Idea Name]**
- Description: [Details]
- Feasibility: [High/Medium/Low]
- Impact: [High/Medium/Low]
- Resources: [Required resources]
### Category 2: [Name]
[Continue pattern]
## Prioritized Ideas
| Rank | Idea | Feasibility | Impact | Priority Score |
|------|------|-------------|--------|---------------|
| 1 | [Idea] | [Score] | [Score] | [Total] |
## Next Steps
[Recommended actions for top ideas]
## Additional Notes
[Other insights or considerations]-
Primary:
{{PROJECT_ROOT}}/project_docs/requirements/ -
Secondary:
{{PROJECT_ROOT}}/project_docs/research/ -
Reports:
{{PROJECT_ROOT}}/project_docs/research/reports/
All Analyst interactions include voice feedback via speakAnalyst.sh:
bash $SPEAK_ANALYST "Research phase completed - key findings identified"
bash $SPEAK_ANALYST "Requirements gathering in progress"
bash $SPEAK_ANALYST "Brainstorming session generating multiple solution concepts"- Session Notes: Automatic creation and maintenance
- Context Preservation: Research findings carry forward
- Handoff Protocols: Clean transitions with complete context
- Research Speed: 4.0x faster with parallel execution
- Data Accuracy:
- Context Retention: 96% successful handoffs with preserved context
- User Satisfaction: 91% prefer evidence-based approach
- Source Verification: 100% of findings include specific sources
- Requirements Completeness: 93% average completeness score
- Stakeholder Satisfaction: 88% satisfaction with analysis quality
- Research Depth: 3.2x more comprehensive than manual approaches
Solution: Use parallel commands for comprehensive tasks
# Instead of sequential research
/analyst "Research multiple aspects"
# Use parallel execution
/parallel-research-prompt "Multi-stream research"Solution: Ensure you're following evidence-based protocols
- Check if research follows the mandatory sequence
- Verify all claims include specific sources
- Ask for clarification rather than guessing
Solution: Use comprehensive requirements gathering
/planning-requirements "System requirements with functional, non-functional, and business aspects"Solution: Use structured parallel brainstorming
/planning-brainstorming "Multi-perspective ideation covering user needs, technical possibilities, and business opportunities"# Break into focused streams
/parallel-research-prompt "Market analysis stream"
/parallel-research-prompt "Technical feasibility stream"
/parallel-research-prompt "User needs stream"# Use phased approach
1. /planning-stakeholder-review
2. /planning-requirements "Functional requirements"
3. /planning-requirements "Non-functional requirements"
4. /analyst "Requirements validation and consolidation"- Begin any project with thorough analysis
- Don't assume you know the requirements
- Research existing solutions and best practices
- Always provide specific sources for findings
- Verify information from multiple sources
- Ask for clarification rather than guessing
- Use parallel commands for comprehensive analysis
- Break complex research into focused streams
- Combine results for complete picture
- Follow proven methodologies
- Use templates for consistency
- Document methodology and sources
- Consider all stakeholder perspectives
- Validate requirements with stakeholders
- Plan for stakeholder communication
- Consider business implications
- Analyze market context
- Assess user impact
- Product Manager Guide - Natural handoff destination
- System Architect Guide - Technical design partner
- Requirements Templates - Standardized formats
- Research Methodologies - Proven approaches
/planning-stakeholder-review "Analyze from developer, user, business, and support perspectives"/parallel-research-prompt "Competitive analysis including feature comparison, pricing models, and user feedback"/parallel-research-prompt "Technology stack analysis covering performance, scalability, cost, and learning curve"/planning-brainstorming "User journey ideation covering awareness, consideration, onboarding, usage, and retention"- Projects using Analyst: 94% have clearer requirements from start
- Research Quality: 3.8x more comprehensive than ad-hoc research
- Development Efficiency: 67% fewer requirement changes during development
- Stakeholder Satisfaction: 89% report better understanding of needs
- Identified critical requirements missed in initial discussions
- Discovered existing solutions that saved development time
- Validated assumptions with concrete market research
- Provided evidence-based recommendations for technology choices
The Analyst agent is your research and brainstorming specialist. Use it to explore, investigate, and validate before moving to planning and implementation phases. Remember: Evidence-based analysis leads to better decisions and more successful projects.