How do we do continuous discovery weekly?
A LOT of my product management have been gained from Teresa Torres’ “Continuous Discovery Habits”! Her LinkedIn Channel is awesome. She gets me thinking on various product topics. But most recently, this topic really got me thinking how can we do continuous discovery weekly without faily. Traditionally, we need a customer to validate our assumptions and test our ideas. Depending on your industry it may be more easier in some industries than others to conduct discovery.
Internally, who are your eyes and ears to your customers?
Depending on the industry you are in, it might be hard to reach out to customers weekly. First off, your colleagues (like sales, marketing, peers etc.) might have knowledge, with which you can validate your assumptions. If there are emails and interviews i.e. any correspondence with the customers then you can use them.
Secondly, if you have a customer support team then keep in close contact with them. Read more here. Since they are getting inbound calls from the customer directly, it is one way for you to get your assumptions tested if they are willing to participate!
Thirdly, there should be a good balance between business and technical requirements. Some of our applications could turn archaic, if they are not evolved on time. So, talking to your architects or engineering managers is also another type of discovery!
Lastly, make data your friend. You know which customers use your product more than anyone else. While there might be more to why a customer might NOT use your product, data analytics be used for that conversation to be more productive!
Externally, how can you connect with your customers?
Regulated industries like financial services and healthcare are sensitive because the participants might not want their data exposed or might not trust that the company will not expose their data. That is why, it might take a lot of time to receive permission to interview customers.
Secondly, it doesn’t have to be an interview everytime. You can get information via email. We send across status to our customers and they send across their responses to the same.
Lastly, you can tap into the network of your colleagues within the company i.e. blind interviews and keep learning. You can pass on your questions to your colleagues for the same.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Finally, regardless of HOW you get it, it doesn’t matter whether you got the information internally or externally. You need to build your network and understand the experts in various areas. Getting the CORRECT information is of utmost importance. Timing is also key. Whenever you need your customers to test prototypes, you need to plan accordinglly. Weekly continuous discovery has made my life easier!