Hi reddit entrepreneurs,I want to share some experience I’ve had with testing digital products.I know that a lot of eager people fall in love with an idea and start to develop it immediately, spending a lot of time getting every aspect of it right, and then hoping for the best as they launch it. Sometimes it works out, but a lot of the time it doesn’t and it’s unclear why customers don’t feel as excited about the idea as the people behind it. A lot of time and energy is wasted this way.I’ve been working in customer strategy and creating and testing prototypes for a few years now, and thought it might be interesting for someone if I share some of the things I’ve learned:Spend time getting to know your users.Define who your users are (or should be), and reach out to people in your network that fit the general description. Online works ok, but in-person is a lot more direct and you can get great clarification through follow-up questions. I’ve tried everything from strangers in a certain age bracket that I’ve approached in coffee shops, to friends, to friends of friends, and customer recruitment agencies for very specific types of people.Getting the problem right is much more important than you think.Before you figure out the technical complexities of a new product or service, think about who you are creating it for, and what their underlying needs and frustrations are. No one will care about an elegant solution if it doesn’t actually solve a meaningful problem for them.Don’t wait - You need very little to get going.If you can sketch a handful of doodles on the back of a napkin, that’s enough to get user feedback on a new feature. You don’t need to code the whole interface to get initial customer validation, so don’t waste your time building something until you know for sure that it has appeal to your target market and demographic. User testing can be scrappy, fast and save you a lot of time.Build rapport.You want your test subject to like you and want to be honest with you. It can be awkward talking to new people so make them feel comfortable. Encourage them regardless of their feedback, let them know they’re doing great and to keep being honest with you, that what they’re saying is helpful.Listen.If you need to talk people into why your idea makes sense, you’ll face an uphill battle. You won't always be able to be there to convince people. Your ears are your biggest asset - What are users telling you either directly or indirectly to give you confidence in your idea?Ask open-ended questions.I like to pretend like I’m a interrogating lawyer and in a courtroom where the opposing side will give me a hard time if I ever ask leading questions (questions that lead to certain answers). Don’t ask “Do you like x?/”You like x, right?”, ask “How do you feel about x?”. If the person you’re talking to replies “Yes” or “No”, you didn’t do a good enough job asking the question.Ask follow-up questions.So they like or hate something. Great! But why? What, specifically makes or doesn’t make sense to them and what’s the underlying rationale for their response? Dig deeper, always.Distance yourself from your idea.If it’s evident that you spent a ton of time and effort building something and that you will be devastated if they say it sucks, they won’t. No one wants to be the bad guy or squander your enthusiasm for your darling business. If you instead go in saying “This is the current state of x, but we’re going to change it and we want to make sure we focus on the right things - so don’t hold anything back, your feedback will make sure we get it as good as it can be, and that’s our only priority” you stand a better chance. In order to invite more honest feedback, I sometimes lie and say I’m only doing the testing but have nothing to do with the idea itself, that I’m only talking to users on behalf of the product team, and that they won't hurt my feelings.Trust your gut.People can say something is good or bad, but feedback goes beyond just the words they say. Did they squirm uncomfortably when they said they like it? Did they love it, but seemed a little day drunk? Did you pay them a lot of money to talk to you? Think about what people tell you, but spend a little extra time thinking about why they say those things.Talk to enough people to start hearing the same things over and over again, but then that’s enough.You don’t need to talk to thousands of people in person if the first five people gave you essentially identical feedback. People differ on the exact perfect number of respondents for your research, but again, trust your intuition, and when the returns are diminishing, there’s no use in continuing the testing of the same feature. Make the necessary iterations and updates, and go out and test some more.That’s probably a good place to start. I have a lot of opinions on the subject, and I recently started a blog where I write more - designthoughts.ca/blog.I hope this is helpful, remember that the best products are never done, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions on the above, too.Thanks! see hubwealthy.com/wealthy
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