Product Discovery: From Initial Idea to Continuous Innovation
What is Product Discovery?
Every product, initiative, or project begins with an idea. Product Discovery is the process of deciding what to build to ensure the right solution is created. This process involves conducting research, gathering insights into user problems, understanding what users actually need, determining whether the initiative is worth undertaking, and figuring out the best way to build it.
What is Continuous Product Discovery?
The most common form of product discovery occurs at the beginning of a project or initiative. However, successful companies practice continuous product discovery. While a project has a definite start and end, a product does not. In the digital world, products must constantly iterate and evolve to survive in a competitive landscape. This is where Continuous Product Discovery comes into play. Products are reviewed regularly, user input is analyzed frequently, and metrics are monitored to assess which improvements or changes should be prioritized to deliver value to users and meet organizational goals.
Why is Product Discovery Important?
When done right, Product Discovery ensures you build the right solution for the user’s problem. It prevents wasted time, development effort, and resources on creating a solution that fails to deliver value. Product Discovery helps you:
- Empathize: Identify with users and adopt a customer-centric mindset towards product development.
- Innovate: Generate new ideas for delivering more lovable products.
- Prioritize: Determine and invest in the features that will lead to the greatest customer satisfaction.
- Reduce risk: Invest in building the right products that customers truly need, minimizing wasted team effort.
How is Product Discovery Done?
There is no single way to do Product Discovery right, as it depends on various factors including the nature and context of the initiative and the domain. Product Discovery can include competitor research and analysis, user interviews, brainstorming sessions, prototyping, UX evaluations, user journey mapping, user testing, and more. It is crucial to organize and record the learnings and feedback collected during Product Discovery activities, as they will be used in decision-making and prioritizing the work involved.
