Founders, how do you do Product Research?

Question

We discussed this topic on our podcast episode and came with these insights:

Research is not a one-off event. Think of it as continuous discovery.

Research starts at your desk, don't overcomplicate it with fluff like User Diaries and Focus Groups. Remember, getting out and talking to people is crucial at some point.

Research de-risks four major risks: value, usability, feasibility, and viability. The first two (value and usability) are external risks (user-centric) and require stepping out at some point.

Research isn't always sequential or structured. Do what works best for you.

Applied research wins - means knowing when to stop. (Focus on gathering enough data to inform product design and development)

Use visualization techniques/tools. No one wants to read lengthy documents! Key highlights: industry snapshot, technology trends, key players, factors with the most investment (table stakes, must-haves), opportunities (problems with existing solutions), user profiles, and behavioral insights.

Design Sprints: The juiciest way to do everything above.

Are we missing anything?

Here's the full episode:
https://youtu.be/ACyfDCTIaS8

Eric Li · Accepted Answer

Great post! I think it's important to keep things simple when you're an early stage founder.

I'm the founder of a user research platform, yet I still guide 99% of founders to just go and have 1:1 conversations with customers.

As an early stage founder you always want to be 1) trying to build a product people love and 2) learning how you can do #1 better. Interviews are the best way to learn, because they allow you to dig deep into what's important to a customer and why. In most cases, you'll get more actionable insights in 5 interviews than across 100 surveys or tests.

These conversations don't have to be pure research interviews either. You can include discovery questions in sales calls, customer check-ins, or catch-ups with friends in your network.

Jinkal Patel · Answer

Great insights! Loved helping you on this one ;)

Answer

I read industry reports and market research to get a broader view of trends.

Gaby Korablyova · Answer

Thank you for sharing! Great episode✨

Sarah Clarck · Answer

Great episode! I appreciate the breakdown of de-risking major risks.

It’s easy to get caught up in just usability and forget about feasibility and viability.

Apurva Desai · Answer

Here are five qualitative and quantitative research tactics we employ to quickly get valuable user insights that inform better decision-making on digital projects.

Conduct online surveys. 
Interview your target audience. 
Gather insights from live features. 
Observe people using your site. 
Try some A/B tests.

Answer

One approach that works for me is building a minimum viable product (MVP) and iterating based on user feedback. It’s a hands-on way to research and develop simultaneously.

Leo Paz · Answer

When it comes to researching competitors, if you're building an AI Application theres a lot of "Ai Repositories" out there that have scraped every website with a .ai domain lol

Natha · Answer

@erictli Totally agree! I do 1:1 interviews twice a month as part of my routine. It's amazing how much I learn about our users' or potential users' pain points. Every conversation reveals something unique about their experiences. That conversations are gold for understanding what our customers really need.

Neel Patel · Answer

@digital_by_appu makes sense. Thanks for sharing :)

Neel Patel · Answer

@erictli very true. However I do believe that sometimes customers don’t know enough about the problems so can’t rely on everything they say but of course, there will be patterns.

Vaibhav · Answer

You pretty much covered the essential points. Thank you for sharing!

Eric Li · Answer

@neelptl2602 totally agree, I think you can't rely fully on research. Ultimately, it's an input into your own intuitive decisions.

Donald Sang · Answer

check out google index and do some friends survey

Neel Patel · Answer

@gaby_korablyova glad you liked. We will have discussions like this coming on the pod every week 🫡

Founders, how do you do Product Research?

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