From Interview to Code
Not every research finding needs a big rebuild. Some need a small fix. Could I, a researcher new to code, build that fix myself and get it merged into the product?
MethodsResearch went in as code: an onboarding sequence built with Claude Code and opened as a pull request for the engineer to review. 14 of my commits sit in that repository.
Key findingA change delivered in directly shippable form skips the layers of approximation between a finding and a fix.
What changedThe engineer reviewed and merged the work, and the onboarding sequence I built from the interview insights is the app's opening.
Understand + (Re)design
The storyWith the practice standing, I carried findings from my own interviews the rest of the way myself: a new onboarding sequence that I designed, built with Claude Code, and opened as a pull request. The division of labour was explicit. I directed and reviewed every change, the agent wrote at my pace, and the engineer held the merge. Research is where I expect to spend my time. When the fix is within reach, I would rather build it than describe it. From daily practice I know where trust in an agent is earned, when to take control back, and how errors get caught.