Part 1 · 2 chapters · ~12 min

Discovery: Problems Worth Solving

Continuous discovery, user interviews that avoid leading questions, jobs to be done, opportunity solution trees, assumption mapping and the riskiest assumption, cheap experiments (fake doors, prototypes, concierge), and using support tickets and data as discovery inputs.

3

Outcomes, opportunities and jobs

Discovery is the work of reducing value risk before building. Teams that skip it ship features on time that move nothing.

DISCOVERY: FROM OUTCOME TO EXPERIMENT
an opportunity solution tree (Teresa Torres)
outcomereduce support contacts for letters by 50%opportunitycustomers cannot find how to get a letteropportunityletters take days to arriveopportunitybanks reject some letterssolutionself-serve in appsolutioninstant PDF generationexperimentfake door + 20 interviews
swipe the figure sideways, or tap expand for full screen
1/5
the outcome
Start from a measurable outcome the business cares about, not a feature: the Letter of Non-Indebtedness generates 249 manual support issues a month; halve them.
an outcome with a numbernot a feature request
4

Interviews and assumption tests

interviewing without leading
  1. Ask about specific past behaviour: "Tell me about the last time you needed a clearance letter." Not "Would you use…?"
  2. Follow the story: what triggered it, what they tried, what was hard, what it cost them.
  3. Do not pitch your idea; you will hear politeness, not truth.
  4. Talk to five to eight people per segment before drawing conclusions; record and share clips.
assumption typeexamplecheap test
desirabilitycustomers want letters in the appfake-door button; count taps
usabilitythey can find and download itclickable prototype, five users
feasibilitybalances are accurate in real timean engineering spike against the ledger
viabilityreceiving banks accept QR verificationcall two partner banks