Just how rigorous and responsible is your AI-assisted research—really?
Most teams adopting AI in research have never actually measured it. The HEARTS Scorecard is a free, 4-minute self-assessment that scores your workflow across the six HEARTS lenses and plots you on a Rigor × Responsibility map — so you can see, at a glance, where your practice is strong and where risk is quietly hiding.
No account, no pitch. You'll get your quadrant, a per-lens read, and the one lens worth fixing first.
The HEARTS Scorecard
What's the integrity of your AI-assisted research workflows?
Score one AI-assisted workflow across the six HEARTS lenses. You'll get a per-lens profile, any floor conditions to fix first, and the one lens worth focusing on next.
How this works & what it can't tell you
- You'll answer 15 questions, one at a time, across the six lenses — each on a 1–5 frequency scale (1 = Never, 5 = Always). Pick "Not sure" if you can't see it. On most questions it's left out of the math. On the four floor questions, not knowing counts as the gap.
- Each lens is the average of its questions. Your result leads with the six-lens profile, not a single score.
- Floor conditions come first. Four floor questions cover risks a strong score elsewhere can't buy back: unchecked outputs, no human review, undisclosed AI, and personal data reaching AI tools unprotected. If one is live, you'll see it before anything else.
- You'll see your profile as a spider chart and as bars. There's no overall score and no label: each lens stands on its own, and your lowest lens is the one to work on. Read the shape, not its size.
- Questions ask how often each practice actually happens — easier to answer honestly than agree/disagree.
- At the end, a few optional questions about your team help build anonymous benchmarks — used in aggregate only, and linked to you only if you ask for your results by email.
- Status: beta. HEARTS scoring is pre-validation — evidence-informed, not yet validated.
- Limitation: a self-assessment from one person's view — a structured reflection to surface blind spots, not a formal audit or a measure of research quality. For a team-level read, the HEARTS Audit walks one of your team's workflows through all six lenses. Book a free call to run it together.
Want to help build anonymous AIxUXR benchmarks? Tick the box and your answers are saved without your name or email. Leave it unticked and nothing is saved. Privacy policy
A little about you and your team
These help build anonymous AIxUXR benchmarks, so you'll be able to compare your results to similar teams down the line. Used in aggregate only — skip any you like. Saved only if you left benchmarks on at the start, and linked to you only if you later ask for your results by email.
A strong score elsewhere can't make up for these. HEARTS calls them floor conditions: until each one is fixed, the workflow isn't ready to trust.
Each point is one lens, scored 1–5. Farther from the center means done more often. Don't compare the shaded area: there's no total score.
Want this as a takeaway?
Get your profile, any floor conditions, and your focus lens by email.
What happens to your answers
If benchmarks are on, your answers and optional team details are saved to a private Google Sheet without your name or email. If you ask for your results by email, your email is saved with your results — and, if benchmarks are on, with your answers and team details — and used to send them. Resources are sent only if you tick the box above; reply "unsubscribe" anytime. Booking a call passes a short result summary to the booking form. To see or delete your data, email kaleb@heykaleb.com. Full details are in my privacy policy.
Now what?
A checklist, plus the HEARTS Pulse Check prompt that reviews your real work. Free when you join the newsletter. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Already have the Toolkit? For a behavioral read as well, paste your scores into the <my_read> slot of the Pulse Check prompt (in the Toolkit), then run it in the chat thread where you did the work. It can weigh your answers against what it sees, but what it reports back is the model's read, not your experience. Don't let it overwrite what you know.
Explore the full HEARTS framework, or see how I scored my own AI research pipeline in The ResearchOps Review.
Taking this to your manager or team? Save the image, or email yourself the results to forward. Both show your profile without your answers.
What is the HEARTS Scorecard?
The HEARTS Scorecard is a free self-assessment that measures how rigorously and responsibly a team uses AI in user research. It scores your current workflow against the six lenses of the HEARTS Framework and places you in one of four quadrants on a Rigor × Responsibility grid. It is a structured reflection to surface blind spots — not a formal audit. The HEARTS Framework, developed by Kaleb Loosbrock with the AIxUXR community.
What does it measure?
Fifteen questions across the six HEARTS lenses, each rated on a "never → always" frequency scale:
H — Human-Led & Centered: the researcher stays in control.
E — Experience-Focused: AI improves the experience for everyone it touches.
A — Amplification, Not Automation: AI amplifies judgment instead of replacing it.
R — Rigorous & Responsible: outputs are validated and bias is checked.
T — Trustworthy & Transparent: AI's role is disclosed and insights are traceable.
S — Safe, Secure & Sustainable: people are protected, data is secured, practice is sustainable.
How is it scored?
Your lenses roll up into two axes: Rigor (Human-Led, Amplification, Rigorous) and Responsibility (Experience, Trustworthy, Safe/Secure/Sustainable).
Your position on the 2x2 lands you in one of four quadrants:
Improviser (winging it on both)
Maverick (rigorous, light on safeguards)
Idealist (responsible, not yet rigorous)
Steward (rigorous and responsible).
Please note: Axis scores are directional, not definitive.
Who is it for?
UX and product researchers, research leaders, and ReOps teams adopting AI who want to move faster without losing the rigor — or the trust.
Is this an AI readiness assessment?
Not exactly. The Scorecard checks the integrity and responsibility of your current AI practice. That's one input into broader AI readiness. If you want the full picture — capability, governance, and a 90-day plan — that's the AI Readiness Analysis, and the Scorecard is the natural first step.
Frequently asked questions
What is the HEARTS Scorecard? A free, quick self-assessment of how rigorously and responsibly your team uses AI in research, scored across the six HEARTS lenses and plotted on a Rigor × Responsibility 2x2 — placing you in one of four quadrants: Improviser, Maverick, Idealist, or Steward.
How long does it take? About two to four minutes — 15 quick questions, one at a time. No account needed.
Is it free? Yes. It's free, requires no sign-up, and you can save or email your results.
What does my result mean? You land in one of four quadrants — Improviser, Maverick, Idealist, or Steward — based on your Rigor and Responsibility scores, plus a per-lens breakdown and the single lens worth focusing on next.
Is the Scorecard an audit? No. It's a self-assessment from one person's perspective — a reflection tool to surface blind spots, not a formal audit or a measure of research quality.
Who created the HEARTS Framework? The HEARTS Framework was developed by Kaleb Loosbrock with the AIxUXR community.
Cite this
The HEARTS Framework, developed by Kaleb Loosbrock with the AIxUXR community. Take the Scorecard at https://www.heykaleb.com/hearts-scorecard. Read the full framework at https://www.heykaleb.com/hearts-framework.