1 min lesson

The 5–8 slide plan

Describe what "Keep it to one idea per slide and lead with the question, not the method" changes in practice.

Whether it is a whiteboard or a take-home deck, the skeleton is the same. Keep it to one idea per slide and lead with the question, not the method.

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Advanced table

Reference table

Slide: 1. Question + decision
What goes on it: The sharpened question and the roadmap call it informs
What it proves to the panel: You research toward a decision, not toward a report

Slide: 2. Method + rationale
What goes on it: The methods chosen and the alternatives you rejected
What it proves to the panel: You can defend a tradeoff, not just list techniques

Slide: 3. Participants + sampling
What goes on it: Segments, n, recruit source, screening criteria
What it proves to the panel: You can reach real professional developers, fast

Slide: 5. Analysis plan
What goes on it: Coding scheme, key metric, triangulation logic
What it proves to the panel: You decided how to analyze before you collected

Slide	What goes on it	What it proves to the panel
1. Question + decision	The sharpened question and the roadmap call it informs	You research toward a decision, not toward a report
2. Method + rationale	The methods chosen and the alternatives you rejected	You can defend a tradeoff, not just list techniques
3. Participants + sampling	Segments, n, recruit source, screening criteria	You can reach real professional developers, fast
4. Timeline	Fieldwork, analysis, readout dates	You ship on a startup clock
5. Analysis plan	Coding scheme, key metric, triangulation logic	You decided how to analyze before you collected
6. Findings → decisions	Each possible finding mapped to a product move	Your research changes what the team does
7. Risks + mitigations	Sampling bias, small n, what could invalidate it	You see your own study's failure modes

Slides 6 and 7 are where senior candidates win and juniors run out of time. Budget for them.