AI & Product and Design practices 3/3
A better product process with AI: Research, Synthesis, Ideation and Content
Previously:
Intro: How does AI empower our work?
Working better together: Communication, Meetings and Workshops
04 Using AI to streamline your research
Research is crucial, but often overlooked. As a product or design specialist, you know research is key to informed decision-making. However, with limited time and often being the only one on your team in your discipline, it can be challenging to conduct comprehensive research and avoid blind spots or personal biases. This is where AI can become your invaluable research companion, not only saving time but also significantly enhancing the quality of your work by opening up your thinking to diverse perspectives in no time.
1. Create Competitor Analysis
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape and identify exemplars in the industry.
Prompt example: “Analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of our top 3 competitors.”
2. Apply Proven Frameworks
Utilise established models to structure your analysis.
Prompt example: “Use the SWOT analysis framework to evaluate our current market position.”
3. Create Artificial Users and Test Ideas With Them
Simulate user interactions to gain insights and validate concepts.
Prompt example: “Develop 3 user personas for our new fitness app and outline how they would interact with its key features.”
4. Ask for the Opinion of Different Types of Experts
Obtain diverse perspectives to ensure a well-rounded approach.
Prompt example: “Gather feedback from a UX designer, a software engineer, and a marketing specialist on this concept (explain concept/functionalities)”
5. Identify Assumptions
Make a comprehensive list of assumptions and probe for your possible blind spots
Prompt example: “What are the main assumptions I may be making in concept X?”
6. Explore Best Practices
Identify and learn from successful strategies implemented by others.
Prompt example: “Research industry-leading approaches to customer retention in the e-commerce sector.”
7. Plan Research Projects
Design a structured approach to gather and analyse data effectively.
Prompt example: “Outline a research plan to understand customer satisfaction with our new product launch.”
8. Define Research Material
Identify the information required to achieve your research objectives.
Prompt example: “Create a research plan to evaluate our employee training program with the following goals (goals). Include the research activities considering, best quantitative and/or qualitative methods and define recruitment criteria for user research.”
9. Write Unbiased Discussion Guides
Structure conversations to elicit insightful and objective feedback.
Prompt example: “Create an unbiased discussion guide with the following goals (goals) for 1:1 interview to explore user preferences for a new mobile banking app.”
Prompt example: “Please review my discussion guide and improve it to remove biases”
05. Synthesis: Turning information into action
Synthesis is where raw data transforms into actionable insights. However, consolidating scattered information and presenting it clearly for decision-making can be time-consuming. AI can streamline this process, helping you not only identify key themes and patterns but also present the information in the most effective way for various audiences and objectives.
1. Fast-Track Synthesis and Insights from Miro Boards or Unstructured Data
Quickly extract valuable information from unstructured data sources.
Example prompt: “Analyse this Miro board and summarise the key themes and action items.”
2. Prepare Action oriented Reports and summaries
Organise and present information in a clear and structured format focusing on insights that drive action
Example prompt: “Generate a report focusing on the actionable insights from this synthesis report (copy full synthesis) optimised for the audience (xx)”
3. Extract Insights
Uncover hidden connections and valuable takeaways from the information.
Example prompt: “Identify the most significant trends and patterns in this data.”
4. Adapt for Diverse Audiences
Tailor communication to resonate with different groups.
Example prompt: “Summarise the key takeaways from the Miro board in a way that is easily understandable for non-technical stakeholders.”
5. Apply Frameworks
Leverage proven models to structure your analysis and derive actionable insights.
Example prompt: “Use the SWOT analysis framework to analyse the insights gathered from the Miro board.”
6. Best Practices
Continuously improve processes and leverage industry knowledge.
Example prompt: “Best practices in presenting information from research to executives.”
06. Ideation: Fuel creativity
Ideation is the lifeblood of our products, but sometimes, the creative well runs dry. AI can act as your brainstorming partner, helping you generate new ideas, explore different perspectives, and overcome creative blocks.
1. Apply frameworks and brainstorm
Leverage proven ideation techniques and structured approaches to stimulate creative thinking.
Example prompt: “Utilise the SCAMPER framework to generate new product ideas based on our existing offerings.”
2. Start from something
Use a starting point or problem statement to focus the ideation process.
Example prompt: “Begin with the concept of a ‘smart home device’ and brainstorm innovative features and functionalities.”
3. Divergent thinking (get many ideas)
Encourage free-flowing and expansive thinking to explore a wide range of possibilities.
Example prompt: “Generate as many ideas as possible for improving customer engagement on our social media platforms, without any limitations or constraints.”
4. Get Feedback from Target Audiences
Validate ideas with potential users to ensure they resonate and meet their needs. No, this doesn’t substitute at any point talking with real humans, but can give you at least some type of divergent thinking when you’re in a rush, or to contrast real research findings.
Example prompt: “Conduct focus groups with our target customer segment to gather their reactions and feedback on the proposed new service offering.”
5. Get Feedback from Ideas from Different Specialists
Seek diverse perspectives and expertise to evaluate and refine ideas. Again, doesn’t substitute talking with real people.
Example prompt: “Share the top 5 product concepts with business experts, venture capitalists, and other designers to gather their feedback and insights.”
6. Extra ball: Naming Brainstorming
Generate a variety of potential names that capture the essence of the product or service.
Example prompt: “Brainstorm creative and memorable names for our new product line, considering its target audience and key features.”
07. Content creation: Craft compelling narratives
The good news: Lorem ipsum is FINALLY DEAD!!
Whether it’s crafting a persuasive presentation, drafting engaging website copy, or developing informative case studies, AI can help you create content that resonates with your audience and achieves your communication goals.
1. Create Storytelling Adapted for Audience:
Shape narratives to resonate with specific audiences, considering their interests and expectations.
Example prompt: “Craft a compelling narrative about our company’s journey, highlighting key milestones and values, tailored for a presentation to potential investors.”
2. Create Structure for Presentations and Documents:
Organise content effectively to enhance clarity, comprehension, and engagement.
Example prompt: “Develop a clear and logical structure for a white paper on the future of artificial intelligence, ensuring a smooth flow of information and key takeaways.”
3. Develop from a Line a Full-Fleshed Content for a Website:
Build comprehensive content from concise ideas, crafting engaging and informative narratives.
Example prompt: “Expand the tagline ‘Innovation for a Sustainable Future’ into compelling website copy that showcases our company’s commitment to environmental responsibility.”
4. Case Studies Page:
Highlight real-world examples of success to demonstrate the value and impact of your products or services.
Example prompt: “Develop a case study showcasing how our software solution helped a client streamline their operations and achieve significant cost savings.”
Disclaimer. This article is 100% created from original content, compelled by the shared experience of the product specialist at Everest. We all use a mix of AI and traditional ways and our quality of work has improved notoriously, allowing us to do better in short time projects, enhancing our outputs and the way we communicate with each other. This is only about how we use simple chat AI capabilities, there are tools and AI tool integrations on top of this and maybe soon enough we will also share that.
AI helped me write this article by polishing the text and illustrating it with nice images (after a fair bit of iteration). Thanks, Gemini and Midjourney :)
Try this at home and integrate it your way into your process. Is completely worth it.
