Company Context

ClipStudio is a Series B short-form video creation platform with 12M monthly active users. It serves individual creators and small business marketers through a freemium mobile app, and the company is trying to improve activation for new creators in an increasingly competitive market.

Problem

ClipStudio launched a new AI-assisted editing workflow three months ago. Adoption looks promising at the top of funnel: 38% of new users tap into the feature during their first session. However, only 11% complete and export a video using it, compared with 27% completion for the classic editor. Quantitative analytics show steep drop-off at script generation, template selection, and final export, but the team does not understand why users abandon the flow or which problems are most important to solve first.

The Head of Product asks you a direct question: What user research methods do you prefer, and why, for this situation? Your answer should not be generic. You need to recommend a practical research plan that helps the team make product decisions within one quarter.

Deliverables

1. Identify the most important user segments and jobs-to-be-done to study first.
2. Recommend a prioritized set of user research methods for diagnosing the AI editor drop-off, and explain why each method fits the problem.
3. Describe what decisions the team should be able to make from the research findings, including feature prioritization or workflow changes.
4. Define success metrics for the research program and for the product outcomes it should influence.
5. Call out key trade-offs, risks, and limitations of your chosen methods.

Constraints

• You have 6 weeks to deliver actionable findings.
• Research budget is limited to $75,000.
• Only 1 UX researcher and 1 product analyst are available part-time.
• Engineering can support lightweight instrumentation changes, but not a major rebuild before research is complete.
• Leadership expects a recommendation on whether to iterate on the AI editor, narrow its target segment, or reduce investment.