Building a Lightweight Research Repository From Session Recordings

Short answer: a research repository is a shared, searchable record of what you have learned about your users. Start with a spreadsheet. Record one row per observation, with the date, page, segment, what happened, how often, and a link. Write findings in words, because recordings are deleted when their retention period ends. Review it monthly to turn repeated observations into decisions.

Table of Contents

1. Why You Need One
2. The Smallest Useful Version
3. Observations, Findings, Decisions
4. Writing Entries That Last
5. Keeping It Alive
6. Key Takeaways

Why You Need One

• People forget. What was obvious while watching is gone in a fortnight.
• People leave. Knowledge held in one head goes with them.
• Recordings expire. On DeepSync, retention runs from 30 days on Free to up to 365 on Enterprise. After that the recording is purged and cannot be recovered (retention limits).
• Patterns need accumulation. One odd session is noise. The same thing noted five times across two months is a finding.
• Questions repeat. "Did we ever look at why people leave pricing?" should have a quick answer.
• New team members can read what has been learned instead of rediscovering it.

The Smallest Useful Version

A spreadsheet with these columns.

That is enough. Do not buy a tool until a spreadsheet has become too small.

Observations, Findings, Decisions

Keep three levels distinct.

Most repositories fail by mixing these. An observation stated as a finding overclaims. A decision with no linked findings cannot be questioned later.

A finding should link to its observations, and a decision to its findings. When someone asks why a change was made, the trail is there.

Writing Entries That Last

Write as if the recording will not exist, because it will not.

Weak: "Confusing checkout, see recording."

Strong: "Mobile, Safari. After entering the address, the user tapped Continue. An error appeared at the top of the form, off screen. They tapped Continue four more times over 20 seconds, then closed the tab. No visible feedback at any point."

Rules:

1. Describe what happened, not what you concluded. Put interpretation in a separate column.
2. Include device, browser, and source.
3. Include the count. How many of how many.
4. Use consistent tags for page, flow, and type.
5. Record positives. What works is worth knowing before a redesign removes it.
6. Leave out personal data. No names, emails, or account details. Refer to "a user" (PII masking).
7. Save a screenshot or short clip for important findings, masked, since the link will expire.
8. Date everything. A finding from before a redesign may no longer apply.

Keeping It Alive

A repository dies when adding to it is a chore.

• Log during the watching session, not afterwards.
• One line is fine. A short entry made is better than a thorough one postponed.
• Make it part of a routine: the weekly review, the founder's ten sessions (the habit).
• Monthly synthesis. Group the month's observations, promote repeats to findings, and decide.
• Close the loop. Mark findings fixed and then verified.
• Prune. Archive findings about parts of the product that no longer exist.
• One owner who keeps the tags tidy.
• Search before researching. Check whether the question was already answered.

Combine sources. Session observations sit well beside support ticket themes, interview notes, and survey answers, each tagged by source (feedback and behavior).

Tools that record automated findings help. DeepSync's Pulse keeps each day's brief as a snapshot and tracks findings through reviewed, dismissed, and resolved, with verification after a fix (Pulse). That covers detected issues. Your own observations still need writing down.

Key Takeaways

• Insights disappear unless written down; recordings expire.
• Start with a spreadsheet and consistent tags.
• Keep observations, findings, and decisions separate and linked.
• Describe what happened in words, with counts, and no personal data.

Conclusion

What your team learns about users is an asset. A spreadsheet and a habit are all it takes to stop it evaporating.

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