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ResearchMay 10, 20261 min read

Story Research Project — Narrative Methods in Technical Work

Research notes on using narrative and story as methodological tools in med-tech building — how personal arc maps to systems thinking without becoming a personal blog.

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Why a story research project

There's a gap between how builders experience their work and how they document it. Technical memos capture decisions. Story captures context — the constraints, dead ends, and intuitions that never make it into a README.

This project asks: can narrative method improve how technical research gets communicated without collapsing into personal branding?

Method

  • Chapter structure — discrete beats (origin, depth, operator mode, domain lens, now) instead of chronological diary entries
  • Field note tone — first person where necessary, but anchored to problems not feelings
  • Separation from blog — research positioning; not "day in my life" content

Early findings

Narrative structure helps non-technical stakeholders understand why a technical decision mattered. It's especially useful in med-tech where the path from insight to deployment is long and the "why" gets lost across handoffs.

The site you're on is itself an artifact of this research — one page ("Me") instead of redundant Story/About split.

Next

Compare narrative documentation patterns across founder portfolios, research lab sites, and clinical trial registries. Publish a structured comparison memo.