From insights to impact: Content design research at Atlassian

Great content doesn’t happen by accident—it’s designed, tested, and refined with real people in mind. At Atlassian, content design research is at the heart of how we create clear, useful, and meaningful content.

This is a guide to get started with your own content design research. It outlines our research approach, with tips along the way to help content designers conduct research and make smart decisions.

Plan your research

Start by defining your research goals. Create a one-page plan summarizing your objectives and assumptions. This helps align your team and get feedback so that your research is as refined and practical as possible.

It’s typical to see a research plan with these:

1. Big picture – Explain the problem from both a user and business standpoint.
2. Why it matters – This research matters, because…
3. Research question – Example: What do users find most valuable about the Confluence Standard plan?
4. Output(s) – Examples: Research findings report, guidelines, updated designs, value propositions, content principles, content patterns, etc.
5. Background – List any additional information that may be useful to stakeholders, plus list any previous research or data that relates to the research question.
6. Method – What sort of research will you conduct?
7. Timeline – When?
8. Team – Who else is involved?

Choose your method

Based on your goals, select the appropriate method for your research. Each method is good for a different thing. They can be used together, and you can create your own.

Recently, we included an unmoderated rank and stack exercise in our monthly customer survey email. The exercise asked people to rank a list of 10 value propositions from most to least valuable.

We compared the unmoderated survey results to the moderated interview data for the same exercise. Then we used the results to form a value proposition message library.

Moderated/qualitative

Moderated testing is good for uncovering user problems or understanding ‘why’ people resonate with certain content. It’s often more open-ended, and the research’s outcome can be things like guidelines, content strategy, etc.

Methods:

Unmoderated/quantitative

Unmoderated research is great for testing variations of content (e.g. “try it now vs “try it free”), validating value propositions, and pinpointing specific words and phrases that resonate with people. However, it’s not good for testing big concepts, validating entire project ideas, or uncovering real problems.

Methods:

1. Testing Content Variations: Compare different CTAs like “Setup automations” vs. “Configure automations.”
2. Validating Value Propositions: Test phrases like “Create a single source of truth” vs. “Work smarter and faster.”
3. Multiple Choice Surveys: Gather quantitative data on people’s preferences.
4. Open-Ended Response Blocks: Collect optional qualitative feedback after quantitative questions.
5. Rank and Stack: Determine which content options are clearest or what areas are most important to people.

On the Growth team at Atlassian, we recently used unmoderated research to uncover which CTAs resonated with our customers during the upgrade journey.

We showed people a modal with a blank CTA button and asked, “What do you think this CTA should say?” The results gave us a better idea of the kind of language a real person would expect and trust at this crucial point in the upgrade journey.

Create research assets – the simpler the better

The assets you’ll need will depend on the research method you’re using. For a highlight test, you could use a simple document with text that you’d use in your product. For fill-in-the-blank, you could create a clickable prototype. You can easily create assets using tools like Google Docs, Confluence, or Figma. Make sure whatever you choose is simple, so that the focus is on content clarity while you’re conducting research.

Recruit participants who reflect your actual user base

Identify your target audience and recruit participants using platforms like User Interviews or Maze. You can also use internal lists. Marketing or customer service teams often have people who are willing to talk about their experiences with the company or product.

It’s important to make sure your participants match the kind of people who would encounter your use case. For example, if you’re trying to understand how start-ups might use your product, make sure you’re targeting companies with a small number of employees. Here’s an article on how to write a good screener.

Make time to conduct the research

Before your first sessions, spend some time writing and refining a moderation guide to use while conducting interviews or tests. A moderation guide is like a script you can use during the interview. Asking clear questions will help you get answers that lead to meaningful insights.

Make sure to record your sessions so you can analyze them later. Many tools, like Dovetail, can use AI to help you transcribe and extract insights. At Atlassian, we often conduct interviews in a single week to streamline the process. During these weeks, it’s not uncommon for content designers to opt out of their meetings so they can focus 100% on the research interviews.

Analyze and share findings

Once your sessions are transcribed or organized, analyze your data and look for patterns. Look for words your users say when they talk about your product, and focus on clarifying questions they ask. For moderated interviews, a good technique is to structure your findings like this:

“Nearly all of the participants preferred x because…”

For unmoderated findings, look for insights across survey answers.

Once you have strong insights that answer your initial research question, write a report summarizing your findings. Make sure to include a few recommendations on how your research can be applied at your company. Then, you can share your findings with stakeholders through Slack, Loom, or a live session.

Conclusion

Once you get the hang of it, you can implement research into your normal work process, so that you always have a way to answer questions as they arise.

Content research isn’t just a nice-to-have; it can be foundational in creating experiences that resonate, build trust, and convert. By grounding work in real insights, we ensure every word earns its place and drives value. Great content solves problems, and research helps us understand those problems.

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