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Focaldata AI follows a standard end-to-end workflow, sometimes called the “happy path”. The platform generates reviewable artefacts at each stage, you approve a small set of high-impact checkpoints, and fieldwork runs with enforced guide adherence and quality controls. Iteration is expected throughout. Each stage supports a propose–review–revise loop: rather than making ad hoc changes mid-fieldwork, you revise the relevant artefact (brief, guide, or audience) and proceed again through review.

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The workflow

1

Define the decision and research intent

Clarify what decision the research will inform and what you need to learn to move forward. The highest-resolution starting point is often the decision itself, not a fully formed research plan.
2

Create a research brief

Translate your question and context into structured objectives, constraints, and success criteria. Learn more →
3

Generate a discussion guide

Design a structured conversation aligned to the objectives and any stimulus, that can be run consistently across interviews. Learn more →
4

Define the audience and assess feasibility

Specify who to speak to and check whether that audience can be recruited within budget and timeline. Learn more →
5

Confirm cost and timelines

Review indicative cost and fieldwork timing based on the audience definition and sample size. Learn more →
6

Launch

Confirm the design is coherent and ready to go live, locking key elements before fieldwork begins. Learn more →
7

Data collection

Conduct AI-moderated qualitative interviews following the approved discussion guide. Learn more →
8

Analysis and reporting

Explore transcripts, surface themes and tensions, and produce structured outputs grounded in verbatim evidence. Learn more →
Each stage builds on the previous one. Decisions made early — particularly around objectives, audience, and guide design — have a direct impact on the quality and usefulness of later outputs.

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At a glance

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Where changes go

When scope changes are required, the workflow returns to the relevant artefact stage and proceeds again through review and confirmation. This keeps changes auditable and prevents uncontrolled drift between interviews.

Human approval checkpoints

Projects advance through explicit checkpoints that concentrate judgment where it matters: validating objectives, approving the audience and screener, approving the guide, and confirming the project summary at launch.