The Essence of Product Discovery

Product Discovery is the process by which product teams identify, evaluate, and define opportunities for their products or features before deciding to develop them. The main goal is to ensure that the company only invests in products or features that meet real user needs, offer business value, and are technologically viable.

In a saturated market, the risk of creating products without prior research is high. Product Discovery emerges as a way to minimize this risk, ensuring that the company's resources are invested correctly and that the products developed truly resonate with their target audience.

"If you have a fantastic product, but you're still trying to figure out what problem it solves, you're setting yourself up for a target." Andressa Chiara

So, instead of investing time and resources in building a product based solely on an idea or assumption, Product Discovery allows teams to validate hypotheses, understand user needs and make more assertive investment decisions. As we have often observed, one of the biggest challenges is avoiding confirmation bias, that is, looking for information that confirms a preconceived idea instead of really listening to what users have to say. It is also challenging to ensure that the entire team is aligned and committed to the findings of the process.

Common Product Discovery Steps:

Product Discovery tools and methods vary, but can include user interviews, brainstorming sessions, empathy maps, A/B testing, rapid prototyping, and many others. Choosing the right tool depends on the needs of the project and the stage of the process, and with them we typically go through the following steps:

1. Problem Definition : Identify a specific problem the user is facing or a need that is not being met.

2. User Research and Interviews : Interact with real users to understand their needs, pain points and expectations.

3. Ideation: Creative phase where several ideas for solving the identified problem are generated.

4. Prototyping : Creating early versions of the product to test and iterate quickly.

5. Validation and definition of success criteria : Establish metrics or indicators that will show whether the solution is successful, to help in the decision after users interact with the prototypes and provide feedback, helping the team to refine and improve the solution.

6. Decision : Based on the information collected, decide whether to move forward with development or revisit the idea.

Common Product Discovery Mistakes:

Product Discovery is not an isolated process, discoveries must be fluid and integrated into the product development phase, ensuring that insights and validations guide design and engineering decisions.

This means avoiding bias and ensuring that user feedback is truly taken into account, which can be challenging. Additionally, there is always a tension between spending more time on Discovery and moving into Development. Finding the right balance is key.

In addition to the challenges and mistakes mentioned, we must also keep the following precautions in mind:

1. Product Discovery and Product Development: Product Discovery and Product Development are two sides of the same coin. While Discovery focuses on “making the product right,” Development focuses on “making the product right.” The findings from the Discovery process guide development decisions, ensuring efficiency and relevance.

2. Not involving real users: Many companies base their decisions on assumptions or internal opinions, without consulting end users. This can lead to the development of products that do not meet real market needs.

3. Skipping steps: Some teams may be tempted to rush through the discovery process by skipping essential steps like user research or prototyping. This can result in inaccurate conclusions.

4. Not defining clear success criteria: Without clear metrics, it becomes difficult to measure the success of a product or know whether it met expectations.

5. Adopting a closed mindset: Being too attached to a specific idea and not being willing to “pivot” based on feedback can be detrimental. The discovery process should be flexible.

6. Confusing solutions with needs: Instead of identifying the real problem the user faces, teams can get locked into a specific solution from the start, limiting innovation.

7. Disregarding technical limitations: Ignoring technical restrictions can lead to ideas that are not feasible to implement, wasting time and resources.

8. Spike vs. Product Discovery: These are concepts used in product development, but they serve different purposes and are applied at different stages of the process. Let’s look at each of them in more detail and clarify their differences:

	SPIKE	DISCOVERY
Definition	Spike refers to a research task that aims to answer a question or resolve a technical uncertainty.	Product Discovery is the process by which teams identify, evaluate, and define product or feature opportunities before deciding to develop them.
Purpose	The main purpose of a spike is to acquire the knowledge needed to reduce uncertainty in a technical aspect of the product. This could be something related to a new technology, architecture, or a feature that the team is unsure how to implement.	The main goal of Product Discovery is to ensure that the company creates products or features that meet the needs and wants of users, provide value to the business, and are technically viable.
Features	Temporary and short-term: A spike usually has a limited duration. Focused on technical issues: Spikes are often used to address technical questions or explore solutions to technical problems. Does not produce functionality for the end user: The result of a spike could be a prototype, a report, a piece of code, or any other artifact that helps the team make a decision.	Iterative: The Discovery process is repeated until there is sufficient confidence in the decisions made. It may take longer depending on the complexity and scope of the product or feature under consideration. User-centric: Involves market research, user interviews, usability testing, and other techniques to understand user needs and wants and business value. Results in decisions about the development of a product or feature: Based on the findings, teams decide whether to move forward with development, "pivot" or abandon the idea.

Product Discovery is an essential process for developing successful products that meet both user and business needs. It will help you define the direction you will take and the scope of new products. Avoiding common pitfalls and approaching discovery with an open, user-centric mind can be the difference between a product’s success and failure.

Product Discovery is not just a business fad, but a strategic methodology that enables companies to create more relevant, efficient, and successful products in the market. Adopting this approach is an investment in customer satisfaction and long-term success.

So in today’s business world, where failure is expensive and competition is fierce, Product Discovery is more than a methodology—it’s a necessity. By focusing on user needs, companies are better positioned to create products that not only meet, but delight and retain customers. Effective implementation may require training, practice, and in some cases, a change in mindset. But the benefits, in terms of more successful products and happier customers, are immeasurable.

Bibliographic reference

CHIARA, Andressa. The Agile Product: Product Discovery: A Brief Guide to Creating a Product in an Agile Environment, Publisher: Andressa Chiara; 3rd edition, September 2018, p.4

Review: Fernanda Baqueiro