Plum insights
The Decision Compass
A research navigator
Eight decisions
One compass.
01 Start here

Find the right ‘question’,
before you commission an answer.

Most research selectors ask what method do you want? That's the wrong starting point. Leaders don't have method problems — they have decision problems. The Compass starts where you are: with the call you need to make.

8Decision archetypes
3Research modes
160+Live case studies
2Clicks to a recommendation

Pick the decision you're facing

See all 24 routes
A note on AI vs humans. The Compass does not treat this as a binary. Every recommendation names a mix of three modes — Scan (cast wide), Sense (go close), and Synthesise (decide). AI shows up in Scan and in the early layers of Synthesise. Trained human researchers are non-negotiable in Sense, where context, contradiction, and subtext are doing the real work.
The three modes — every recommendation is a mix

Scan — cast wide

Read the category, map competitors, sweep culture and content. AI is a force multiplier here — speed and breadth no human team can match.

Sense — go close

Sit in someone's home. Notice what isn't said. Hold contradiction without resolving it. This is where AI cannot substitute for trained researchers.

Synthesise — decide

Turn what you saw into a call a leader can act on. AI accelerates the draft; senior judgement makes the recommendation defensible.

02 Decision selected
Before you choose a route

Get clear on the question first.

    You do not need answers to all of these to continue. They are the shape of the brief that gets the best work out of us.

    One more question.

    03 Recommended route

    Mode mix
    Scan 0% Sense 0% Synthesise 0%

    What the work looks like

      Why this methodology

      Why this design.

      A research filmstrip

      How AI and humans hand off the work.

      Four scenes. Each one names who is doing the work — and what kind of judgement it takes.

      After the work

      What this helps you decide

        ← Back to recommended route
        04 Case study

        Supports

        The business decision

        Why the question was hard

        Why this methodology fit

        What was unlocked

        Why it proves the route

        05 The full map

        All twenty-four routes,
        in one place.

        Eight decisions, three qualifier variants each. The full surface of the Compass at once — for the user who already knows the shape of their question, or who wants to see the whole system before they pick.