Talking to users is generally a good idea.
My problem is that, until very recently, I did not know how to talk to users. Even worse, I didn't know that I didn't know.
My user conversations used to look something like this:
You: "Hey! I am thinking of building feature ‘X’. What do you think of this idea?" (I’ve already made up my mind about this, but I just need your validation to convince my manager this is a good idea).
User: "This sounds great." (I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I don’t want to upset you).
You: "Feature ‘X’ would save you a lot of time, right?" (Please just say yes, I won’t leave you alone until you do).
User: "Yes." (I doubt it, but you led me to this answer so here you go).
You: "Would you use feature ‘X’ if I implemented it?" (I am asking a hypothetical question and you know what I want you to say).
User: "Well... feature ‘X’ sounds great, but can we also have a fix for ‘Y’." (Can your team fix existing bugs before coming up with new features?)
You: "Yes definitely, I will share the feedback with the team." (Fixing ‘Y’ is out of scope and my goal now is just to validate ‘X’).
After a few conversations like this, I'm convinced that I'm right. I go build the feature, and then I'm shocked when no one uses it.
I recently came across The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick, which changed the way I approach these conversations. The Mom Test is a set of rules for crafting questions that users (including your mom) can’t lie to you about. These rules are:
- Talk about their life instead of your idea.
- Ask about specifics of the past instead of opinions about the future.
- Talk less, listen more.
You should use these conversations to understand your users, not to pitch your idea. If you avoid mentioning your idea, you automatically start asking better questions.
So, instead of asking:
- What do you think about ‘X’?
- Would you use feature ‘X’ if it existed?
- Do you think ‘X’ is a good idea? (I am 100% guilty of this one)
You should ask:
- Can you walk me through your workflow?
- What did you do the last time that happened?
- Why do you bother to do that?
- What else have you tried?
- How are you dealing with this problem now?
- What are the implications of doing that?
When you ask the right questions, you start to understand your users and their needs. This is what will help you validate your idea.
And if talking to users reveals that your idea won't work, that is fine! The only thing worse than realizing your feature is bad before implementing it, is realizing it after.
Trust me, I know.