What is product discovery, why is it important and how to do it right?

To reduce the risk of failure, companies should invest in product research to obtain products relevant to the needs and concerns of target users.

What is Product Discovery?

Product discovery happens early in the manufacturing process, laying the groundwork for “why”, “how” and “what”. Product discovery techniques can also be used at critical moments to analyze user perceptions, create plans, and create new organizations within stakeholder groups. The purpose of this process is to understand the goals and motivations of users considering using the product so that the team can develop ideas and find solutions to users’ problems.

There are many ways to find products, depending on how well the product idea is developed, the information available, and the level of stakeholder support.

Product managers use different tools, techniques and methods to facilitate product discovery so that all stakeholders are united around the goal.

Overall framework including Lean Business Canvas, RICE Scoring Model and Impact Matrix to keep abreast of priorities and strategies.

Purpose of product discovery:

• Deeply understands the needs of target users.
• Make sure the product/idea is consistent with the issue statement and opinion.
• Create solutions for user hotspots.
• Reducing production-related risks.

Why should we conduct product discovery?

Product discovery is worth the investment as it allows the team to identify products and create features that are important to the lives of target users. In addition, the results of product discovery lay the foundation for focus, understanding and happiness to solve user problems. If you skip product discovery, you have no basis to risk and manage key features that may not be relevant to your audience or business.

“Customers know their needs and their content better than we do,” said Teresa Torres, design instructor and producer.

“Our customers are experts. So they are better than us at evaluating the suitability of our solutions.”

Insights can be gained from competitor analysis, product quality analysis, and feedback from other solutions. The goal is to create products that customers can’t live without and grow organically. If successful, your product will be in high demand and will quickly measure success.

When investing in the development of new products, it’s important to validate your idea using data gathered from user interviews, customer surveys, or focus groups before starting development. Without enough data to support your hypothesis, you run the risk of creating a product that doesn’t fit your users’ wishes. Also, because there is no real value to your target users, not having the user insights to effectively support your product can lead to slow or unusable products.

Production always carries some risk. Product management expert Marty Çağan identifies four main risks related to product management:

Cost Risk: Customers choose whether to accept the product.

Availability Risk: Whether customers can easily use the product.

Feasibility Risk: Whether we have what it takes to manufacture the product.

Business Applicability Risk: Whether the product is consistent with the rest of our business and meets the needs of our customers.

Business owners can identify and mitigate these risks by integrating product discovery into the product management process, thereby providing new product tastes for users’ products and creating good value in the business.

Product discovery process:

Product teams may use different methods and tools for product discovery, but the end goal is the same: gather your team around the goal and create a data-driven product. All models can be divided into the following categories:

Understanding and interpreting the customer context:

The Product line usually starts with considering the customer context and solutions. However, it’s best to go into product discovery with an open mind. User research, customer interviews, focus groups, product data, and competitor research can uncover new leads, hotspots, and problem solving. Understanding your potential customers and their needs can make your product a success.

Concept:

Once user needs have been identified and defined, you can move on to the next step, thinking and solutions. Members use techniques such as brainstorming, specification and storytelling to develop solutions and create competitive advantage.

Prototype and Testing:

In this phase, the team creates prototypes to identify MVP specifications and test their feasibility. Depending on what the team needs, team members will create sketches, wireframes, mockups or clickable prototypes. The product team will then verify that the product resonates with the customer.

Members can conduct A/B testing, user testing, focus groups, and beta testing products. The goal is to collect actionable and repeatable feedback towards the end of the MVP.

Tips for Good Product discovery

The key to success is a solid foundation because many things are still beyond our control. From a declining market to new competitors in this space, focusing on why, how and what you offer will help you create unique value. Conversely, being unclear about the problem or the time behind your product can be a waste of time and resources and risk not resonating with users of your product. Here are some quick tips to help you get started in the right direction:

Take a flexible approach

A willingness to challenge assumptions about your customers and their needs. There may be unmet needs or trouble spots that your competitors can’t identify, preventing them from engaging and generating potential. Test your assumptions with data and interviews with real customers and identify when design practices limit innovation. Using business knowledge and experience is essential to success, but it must be flexible to respond to changing business conditions and situations.

Build a team of key people

To find the main problem to solve, you have to start with the right team.

Product research should involve a variety of experts and stakeholders, product managers, product developers, and solution architects. When key players are in place, the discovery phase will be more efficient and enable key business and product decisions to be determined. Training with specific time blocks or clear processes and metrics will keep the team aligned with the work.

Find all solutions

Product discovery is about identifying solutions that will solve problems for your users. You should thoroughly check your products by reviewing products, results observations, one-on-one interviews, and other available tools to determine which issues and hotspots are most important to your users. This information and insights will inform your thinking and guide your immediate improvement opportunities and long-term planning.

Solution Architects help identify current state projects and future state data models and provide model solutions. Collaborating with product managers and designers to help architects determine the feasibility of designs and solutions.

Ideas from existing systems, custom development and API integration will be evaluated by the Solution Architects as part of the impact analysis work so that the group can be prioritized. Constraints or expectations must be brought forward in product discovery so that product managers can incorporate them into solutions. Wireframes, mockups, and prototypes help to understand users and processes and capture visual representations of products.

Discover products with the Pure Technology

At Pure Technology, we take an innovative approach to product discovery that is constantly evolving with market trends. Using a variety of collaboration and design tools like Miro, we spent eight weeks focusing on the target audience, breaking down user research, before problems arise, solving, and generating solutions. Once all stakeholders and team members have agreed on the configuration of the MVP, we will present a detailed schedule and delivery schedule. We work for businesses of all sizes and tailor our training to B2B and B2C offerings, from fintech to DEI.

Below is a brief summary of our methods and applications:

• Understanding the Problem
• Problem Definitions and Concepts
• Competitor Analysis
• Marketing and Unique Value
• Understanding the User
• Personal Development
• User Interview
• User Manual
• Understanding Concepts
• Problems and Predefined Features
• Feature Canvas worksheet
• Sketching
• Planning Solutions
• Solution Mapping
• Wireframing
• Visualization MVP
• Design workshops to a Style Guide
• High Accuracy Prototyping Model
• Delivery Planning
• Data Model
• Solution Architecture
• Product Specification Documentation
• Roadmap Development

Contact us to learn more about our inventory management services and how Pure Technology can improve your inventory management process.

Call us for a professional consultation

Contact Us