> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.focaldata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How it works

> The end-to-end journey from scoping a project to reporting

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.

## The workflow

<Steps>
  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a research brief">
    Translate your question and context into structured objectives, constraints, and success criteria. [Learn more →](/project-setup/creating-a-brief)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate a discussion guide">
    Design a structured conversation aligned to the objectives and any stimulus, that can be run consistently across interviews. [Learn more →](/project-setup/discussion-guides)
  </Step>

  <Step title="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 →](/audience-sampling/defining-your-audience)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm cost and timelines">
    Review indicative cost and fieldwork timing based on the audience definition and sample size. [Learn more →](/audience-sampling/cost-and-timelines)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Launch">
    Confirm the design is coherent and ready to go live, locking key elements before fieldwork begins. [Learn more →](/launch-fieldwork/approve-and-launch)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Data collection">
    Conduct AI-moderated qualitative interviews following the approved discussion guide. [Learn more →](/launch-fieldwork/data-collection)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Analysis and reporting">
    Explore transcripts, surface themes and tensions, and produce structured outputs grounded in verbatim evidence. [Learn more →](/data-analysis/interactive-analysis)
  </Step>
</Steps>

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.

## At a glance

| Stage           | What you're achieving                          | What you produce          |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| Define intent   | Clarify the decision this research will inform | Clear research intent     |
| Create brief    | Convert objectives into a fieldable plan       | Approved brief            |
| Generate guide  | Create the interview structure                 | Approved discussion guide |
| Define audience | Specify who to recruit and assess feasibility  | Audience specification    |
| Launch study    | Commit to fieldwork                            | Live study                |
| Data collection | Conduct interviews                             | Complete transcripts      |
| Reporting       | Produce decision-ready deliverables            | Final report              |

## 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.

<Card title="Human approval checkpoints" icon="circle-check" href="/trust-governance/guardrails">
  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.
</Card>