research

Gather information about users from materials, profile config, GitHub, and web search to inform portfolio content and design decisions.

$ Installer

git clone https://github.com/JacbK/persona /tmp/persona && cp -r /tmp/persona/.agent/skills/research ~/.claude/skills/persona

// tip: Run this command in your terminal to install the skill


name: research description: Gather information about users from materials, profile config, GitHub, and web search to inform portfolio content and design decisions.

Skill: Research

Gather information about the user to inform portfolio content and design.


Sources (in priority order)

1. Materials Folder

Check /materials first:

  • materials/documents/ - Resume, cover letter, bio text
  • materials/images/ - Headshot, project screenshots

2. Profile Config

Read profile.yaml for:

  • Name, contact info, social links
  • Design preferences (sliders, archetype, inspirations)
  • Content preferences (tone, focus, length)
  • Personal notes (most valuable - user's own words)

3. GitHub

If username provided or discoverable:

  • Pinned repositories
  • README files for major projects
  • Languages and contribution patterns
  • Stars, forks (real metrics)

4. Web Search

Search for:

  • "[name] software engineer [location]"
  • "[name] github"
  • "[name] projects"
  • Company mentions, blog posts, talks

5. LinkedIn

Warning: Often blocked (error 999). If blocked:

  • Skip entirely, don't retry
  • Use web search for "[name] linkedin [company]" instead
  • Check company About pages, press releases

Research Depth

Based on ai.research_depth in profile.yaml:

LevelApproach
1-3GitHub only, 1-2 search queries
4-6GitHub + web search + personal site (5-10 queries)
7-8Deep search, find hidden gems (15-20 queries)
9-10Exhaustive, find everything published (30+ queries)

What to Extract

Factual (verify these)

  • Current/past roles and companies
  • Project names and tech stacks
  • Education
  • Public metrics (GitHub stars, npm downloads)

Contextual (ask if unclear)

  • Impact and outcomes of work
  • Specific responsibilities
  • Scale (users, transactions, team size)
  • Why they made certain choices

Asking Clarifying Questions

Use the AskUserQuestion tool for:

Experience gaps:

  • "What did you work on at [Company]?"
  • "What was the impact of [Project]?"

Project details:

  • "What problem were you solving with [Project]?"
  • "How many people use it?"

Direction:

  • "What kind of role are you targeting?"
  • "What do you want to emphasize?"

Question Guidelines

  • Ask 3-5 questions at a time in logical groups
  • Be specific, not generic ("What did you do at Uber?" not "Tell me about yourself")
  • Don't ask about things clearly documented (dates, public GitHub stats)

Output

After research, you should know:

  • Who this person is and what they do
  • 3-5 key projects or achievements to highlight
  • Their career trajectory and goals
  • Their voice/tone from notes or writing samples
  • What makes them unique (the hook)

If you can't answer these, ask more questions before proceeding.