Discovery Process

Why This Works

• De-risks product decisions: Tests assumptions before expensive builds
• Customer-centric: Grounds decisions in real customer problems, not internal opinions
• Iterative: Builds confidence progressively through small experiments
• Fast learning: Discovers "no-go" signals early, saves wasted effort

Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)

• Not waterfall research: Discovery runs continuously, not once before dev
• Not user testing: Discovery validates problems; testing validates solutions
• Not a substitute for shipping: Discovery informs delivery, doesn't replace it

When to Use This

• Exploring new product/feature areas
• Investigating retention or churn problems
• Validating strategic initiatives before roadmap commitment
• Continuous discovery (weekly customer touchpoints)

When NOT to Use This

• For well-understood problems (move to execution)
• When stakeholders have already committed to a solution (address alignment first)
• For tactical bug fixes or technical debt (no discovery needed)

Facilitation Source of Truth

When running this workflow as a guided conversation, use workshop-facilitation as the interaction protocol.

It defines:

• session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess)
• one-question turns with plain-language prompts
• progress labels (for example, Context Qx/8 and Scoring Qx/5)
• interruption handling and pause/resume behavior
• numbered recommendations at decision points
• quick-select numbered response options for regular questions (include Other (specify) when useful)

This file defines the workflow sequence and domain-specific outputs. If there is a conflict, follow this file's workflow logic.

Application

Use template.md for the full fill-in structure.

This workflow orchestrates 6 phases over 2-4 weeks, using multiple component and interactive skills.

Phase 1: Frame the Problem (Day 1-2)

Goal: Define what you're investigating, who's affected, and success criteria.

Activities

1. Run Problem Framing Canvas

• Use: skills/problem-framing-canvas/SKILL.md (interactive - MITRE)
• Participants: PM, design, engineering lead
• Duration: 120 minutes
• Output: Problem statement + "How Might We" question

2. Create Formal Problem Statement

• Use: skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md (component)
• Participants: PM
• Duration: 30 minutes
• Output: Structured problem statement with hypothesis

3. Define Proto-Personas (If Needed)

• Use: skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md (component)
• When: If target customer segment is unclear
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Output: Hypothesis-driven personas

4. Map Jobs-to-be-Done (If Needed)

• Use: skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md (component)
• When: If customer motivations are unclear
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Output: JTBD statements

Outputs from Phase 1

• Problem hypothesis: "We believe [persona] struggles with [problem] because [root cause], leading to [consequence]."
• Research questions: 3-5 questions to answer through discovery
• Success criteria: What would validate/invalidate the problem?

Decision Point 1: Do we have enough context to start research?

If YES: Proceed to Phase 2 (Research Planning)

If NO: Gather existing data first:

• Review support tickets, churn surveys, NPS feedback
• Analyze product analytics (drop-off points, usage patterns)
• Review competitor research, market trends
• Time impact: +2-3 days

Phase 2: Research Planning (Day 3)

Goal: Design research approach, recruit participants, prepare interview guide.

Activities

1. Prep Discovery Interviews

• Use: skills/discovery-interview-prep/SKILL.md (interactive)
• Participants: PM, design
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Output: Interview plan with methodology, questions, biases to avoid

2. Recruit Participants

• Target: 5-10 customers per discovery cycle (Teresa Torres: continuous discovery = 1 interview/week)
• Segment: Focus on personas from Phase 1
• Recruitment channels:
  • Existing customers (email, in-app prompts)
  • Churned customers (exit interviews)
  • Cold outreach (LinkedIn, communities)
• Incentive: $50-100 gift card or product credit
• Duration: 2-3 days (parallel with Phase 1)

3. Schedule Interviews

• Format: 45-60 min per interview (30-40 min conversation + buffer)
• Timeline: Spread across 1-2 weeks
• Recording: Get consent, record for synthesis

Outputs from Phase 2

• Interview guide: 5-7 open-ended questions (Mom Test style)
• Participant roster: 5-10 scheduled interviews
• Synthesis plan: How you'll capture and analyze insights

Phase 3: Conduct Research (Week 1-2)

Goal: Gather qualitative evidence through customer interviews.

Activities

1. Conduct Discovery Interviews

• Methodology: From skills/discovery-interview-prep/SKILL.md (Problem validation, JTBD, switch interviews, etc.)
• Participants: PM + optional observer (design, eng)
• Duration: 5-10 interviews over 1-2 weeks
• Focus areas:
  • Past behavior (not hypotheticals): "Tell me about the last time you [experienced this problem]"
  • Workarounds: "How do you currently handle this?"
  • Alternatives tried: "Have you tried other solutions? Why did you stop?"
  • Pain intensity: "How much time/money does this cost you?"

2. Take Structured Notes

• Template:
  • Participant: [Name, role, company size]
  • Context: [When/where they experience problem]
  • Actions: [What they do, step-by-step]
  • Pain points: [Frustrations, blockers]
  • Workarounds: [Current solutions]
  • Quotes: [Verbatim customer language]
  • Insights: [Patterns, surprises]

3. Review Support Tickets & Analytics (Parallel)

• Support tickets: Tag by theme (onboarding, feature confusion, bugs)
• Analytics: Identify drop-off points, feature usage, cohort behavior
• Surveys: Review NPS comments, exit surveys, feature requests

Outputs from Phase 3

• Interview transcripts: Recorded sessions + detailed notes
• Support ticket themes: Top 10 issues by frequency
• Analytics insights: Quantitative data on behavior (e.g., "60% abandon onboarding at step 3")

Decision Point 2: Have we reached saturation?

Saturation = same pain points emerge across 3+ interviews, no new insights

If YES (saturated after 5-7 interviews): Proceed to Phase 4 (Synthesis)

If NO (still learning new things): Schedule 3-5 more interviews

• Time impact: +1 week

Phase 4: Synthesize Insights (End of Week 2)

Goal: Identify patterns, prioritize pain points, map opportunities.

Activities

1. Affinity Mapping (Thematic Analysis)

• Method:
  • Write each insight/quote on sticky note
  • Group by theme (e.g., "onboarding confusion," "pricing objections," "mobile access")
  • Count frequency (how many customers mentioned each theme)
• Participants: PM, design, optional eng
• Duration: 90-120 minutes
• Output: Themed clusters with frequency counts

2. Create Customer Journey Map (Optional)

• Use: skills/customer-journey-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (interactive)
• When: If pain points span multiple phases (discover, try, buy, use, support)
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Output: Journey map with opportunities ranked by impact

3. Prioritize Pain Points

• Criteria:
  • Frequency: How many customers mentioned this?
  • Intensity: How painful is it? (time wasted, money lost, emotional frustration)
  • Strategic fit: Does solving this align with business goals?
• Method: Score each pain point (1-5) on frequency, intensity, strategic fit
• Output: Ranked list of top 3-5 pain points to address

4. Update Problem Statement

• Use: skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md (component)
• Refine based on research: Did initial hypothesis hold? Adjust if needed.
• Output: Validated problem statement

Outputs from Phase 4

• Affinity map: Themes with frequency counts
• Top 3-5 pain points: Prioritized by frequency × intensity × strategic fit
• Customer quotes: 3-5 verbatim quotes per pain point
• Validated problem statement: Refined based on evidence

Phase 5: Generate & Validate Solutions (Week 3)

Goal: Explore solution options, design experiments, validate assumptions.

Activities

1. Generate Opportunity Solution Tree

• Use: skills/opportunity-solution-tree/SKILL.md (interactive)
• Input: Top 3 pain points from Phase 4
• Participants: PM, design, engineering lead
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Output: 3 opportunities, 3 solutions per opportunity, POC recommendation

Alternative: Use Lean UX Canvas

• Use: skills/lean-ux-canvas/SKILL.md (interactive)
• When: Prefer hypothesis-driven approach over OST
• Output: Hypotheses to test, minimal experiments

2. Design Experiments

• For each solution: Define "What's the least work to learn the next most important thing?"
• Experiment types:
  • Concierge test: Manually deliver solution to 10 customers, observe
  • Prototype test: Clickable mockup, usability test with 10 users
  • Landing page test: Fake door test (show feature, measure interest)
  • A/B test: Build minimal version, test with 50% of users
• Success criteria: What metric/behavior validates hypothesis?

3. Run Experiments

• Timeline: 1-2 weeks per experiment
• Participants: PM + design (for prototypes), eng (for A/B tests)
• Output: Quantitative and qualitative validation data

Outputs from Phase 5

• Solution options: 3-9 solutions (3 per opportunity)
• Experiment results: Did hypothesis validate or invalidate?
• Customer feedback: Qualitative reactions to prototypes/concepts

Decision Point 3: Did experiments validate solution?

If YES (validated): Proceed to Phase 6 (Decide & Document)

If NO (invalidated):

• Pivot to next solution option
• Re-run experiments with adjusted approach
• Time impact: +1-2 weeks

Phase 6: Decide & Document (End of Week 3-4)

Goal: Commit to build, document decision, communicate to stakeholders.

Activities

1. Make Go/No-Go Decision

• Criteria:
  • Problem validated? (Phase 3-4)
  • Solution validated? (Phase 5)
  • Strategic fit? (aligns with business goals)
  • Feasible? (engineering capacity, technical complexity)
• Decision:
  • GO: Move to roadmap, write epics/stories
  • PIVOT: Explore alternative solution
  • KILL: De-prioritize, not worth solving now

2. Define Epic Hypotheses (If GO)

• Use: skills/epic-hypothesis/SKILL.md (component)
• Participants: PM
• Duration: 60 minutes per epic
• Output: Epic hypothesis statement with success criteria

3. Write PRD (If GO)

• Use: skills/prd-development/SKILL.md (workflow)
• Participants: PM
• Duration: 1-2 days
• Output: Structured PRD with problem, solution, success metrics

4. Communicate Findings

• Format: 30-min readout covering:
  • Problem validation (Phase 3-4 insights)
  • Solution validation (Phase 5 experiments)
  • Recommendation (GO/PIVOT/KILL)
• Participants: Execs, product leadership, key stakeholders
• Output: Alignment on next steps

Outputs from Phase 6

• Decision: GO, PIVOT, or KILL
• Epic hypotheses: (if GO) Testable epic statements
• PRD: (if GO) Formal product requirements document
• Stakeholder alignment: Exec buy-in on recommendation

Complete Workflow: End-to-End Summary

Week 1:
├─ Day 1-2: Frame the Problem
│  ├─ skills/problem-framing-canvas/SKILL.md (120 min)
│  ├─ skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md (30 min)
│  └─ [Optional] skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md, skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md
│
├─ Day 3: Research Planning
│  ├─ skills/discovery-interview-prep/SKILL.md (90 min)
│  ├─ Recruit participants (2-3 days)
│  └─ Schedule 5-10 interviews
│
└─ Day 4-5: Conduct Research (Start)
   └─ First 2-3 customer interviews

Week 2:
├─ Day 1-3: Conduct Research (Continue)
│  └─ Remaining customer interviews (3-7 more)
│
├─ Day 4-5: Synthesize Insights
│  ├─ Affinity mapping (120 min)
│  ├─ [Optional] skills/customer-journey-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (90 min)
│  ├─ Prioritize pain points
│  └─ Update problem statement
│
└─ Decision: Reached saturation? (if NO, +1 week more interviews)

Week 3:
├─ Day 1-2: Generate & Validate Solutions
│  ├─ skills/opportunity-solution-tree/SKILL.md (90 min)
│  └─ Design experiments
│
├─ Day 3-5: Run Experiments
│  ├─ Concierge tests, prototypes, or A/B tests
│  └─ Gather validation data
│
└─ Decision: Validated? (if NO, pivot to next solution, +1-2 weeks)

Week 4:
└─ Decide & Document
   ├─ Make GO/NO-GO decision
   ├─ [If GO] skills/epic-hypothesis/SKILL.md (60 min per epic)
   ├─ [If GO] skills/prd-development/SKILL.md (1-2 days)
   └─ Communicate findings (30 min readout)

Total Time Investment:

• Fast track: 3 weeks (5 interviews, 1 experiment)
• Typical: 4 weeks (7-10 interviews, 1-2 experiments)
• Thorough: 6-8 weeks (10+ interviews, multiple experiment rounds)

Examples

See examples/sample.md for a full discovery process example.

Mini example excerpt:

**Problem:** Onboarding drop-off due to jargon
**Insight:** 6/10 users quit at step 3
**Decision:** Go with guided checklist experiment

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Skipping Customer Interviews

Symptom: Rely only on analytics and support tickets, no qualitative research

Consequence: Miss "why" behind behavior, build wrong solutions

Fix: Always interview 5-10 customers per discovery cycle (even if you have data)

Pitfall 2: Asking Leading Questions

Symptom: "Would you use [feature X] if we built it?"

Consequence: Confirmation bias, customers say "yes" to be polite

Fix: Use Mom Test questions from skills/discovery-interview-prep/SKILL.md (focus on past behavior)

Pitfall 3: Not Reaching Saturation

Symptom: Interview 2-3 customers, declare discovery complete

Consequence: Small sample, not representative

Fix: Continue interviews until same patterns emerge across 3+ customers (typically 5-7 interviews minimum)

Pitfall 4: Analysis Paralysis

Symptom: Spend 6 weeks synthesizing insights, never move to solutions

Consequence: No delivery, team loses momentum

Fix: Time-box discovery to 3-4 weeks; after Phase 6, move to execution

Pitfall 5: Discovery as One-Time Activity

Symptom: Run discovery once before building, then stop

Consequence: Miss evolving customer needs, market changes

Fix: Continuous discovery (Teresa Torres): 1 customer interview per week, ongoing

References

Related Skills (Orchestrated by This Workflow)

Phase 1:

• skills/problem-framing-canvas/SKILL.md (interactive)
• skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md (component)
• skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md (component, optional)
• skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md (component, optional)

Phase 2:

• skills/discovery-interview-prep/SKILL.md (interactive)

Phase 4:

• skills/customer-journey-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (interactive, optional)

Phase 5:

• skills/opportunity-solution-tree/SKILL.md (interactive)
• skills/lean-ux-canvas/SKILL.md (interactive, alternative)

Phase 6:

• skills/epic-hypothesis/SKILL.md (component)
• skills/prd-development/SKILL.md (workflow)

External Frameworks

• Teresa Torres, Continuous Discovery Habits (2021) — Weekly customer touchpoints, OST framework
• Rob Fitzpatrick, The Mom Test (2013) — How to ask good interview questions
• Marty Cagan, Inspired (2017) — Product discovery principles

Dean's Work

• Productside Blueprint — Strategic discovery process
• [If Dean has discovery resources, link here]

Skill type: Workflow Suggested filename: discovery-process.md Suggested placement: /skills/workflows/ Dependencies: Orchestrates 10+ component and interactive skills across 6 phases