» Discovery is about understanding the problem space experienced by people
» When on a tight budget for discovery, mitigate bias where possible and document all the biases you see
» A relaxed participant will open up and be more honest with you
» A discovery can prompt one or more possible solutions, or tell you the problem is not worth pursuing
When companies set out to redesign a product or service, the results can sometimes be underwhelming. Instead of delivering service transformation, the team recommends only minor efficiency tweaks. If this has been happening to you, there can be many underlying causes. I’ve identified a few common problems and what you can you do about them.
Even if your product’s achieved product-market fit, you’re wrong if you think you never need to worry about it again.
» Avoid waste by by first researching “shallow” user personas then progressively elaborating as needed
» Product managers can and should conduct user research when demand outstrips the researchers available
» Connect user personas to people’s actual goals for more emotional impact
» Good interviewers listen, not talk
» User research needs to be proactive as well as reactive validation
» Some research techniques are more useful than others at different stages
» You must safeguard the welfare of your user research participants
» There are many ways to recruit participants for your research without outsourcing
» Use a simple format for sharing research findings memorably
Starting a new product manager job can be daunting, particularly if you don’t change jobs very often. I work freelance, so I find myself in a new organisation roughly every 3-6 months. Let me share with you my tips for your first few months in a new role.
» Lockdown has accelerated existing tech adoption trends
» You need to be asking different questions about product strategy now
» 25% discount available on my Product Management Masterclass
» How to make your résumé stand out from the competition
» 5 lessons from transforming culture in government
» Avoid the biases and traps of user and market research
» How to use product strategy to influence dysfunctional corporate strategy
If you recognise the symptoms such as not being allowed to talk to customers, and my personal favourite, “screw research, let’s build!”, then you may be in product management hell.
At best, organisations do a bit of user research up front and no more, then set off on their journey to create the product – they might as well have a blindfold on.
I talk about the 5 product leadership lessons I learnt about digital transformation and working with autonomous, empowered delivery teams.
