This document provides guidance on customer development and product validation techniques. It discusses common mistakes in product development like building something without understanding customer needs. It recommends focusing on understanding the customer, their problem, and how your solution fits. Techniques covered include customer interviews, affinity mapping customer feedback, generating insights, and testing solutions. The goal is to learn from customers early in the design process to build the right product.

1. Customer Development
Training
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2. How many products are built
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1. Have awesome idea for a product and build it.
2. What problem does
it solve?
3. Who has that problem?
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Sometimes this works.
But most times, it doesn’t.

3. How products should be built
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1. Customer
2. Their Problem
3. Your Solution

4. Solution! Lean Startup
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But what’s wrong with this?

5. Empathy.
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6. Find Your Customers
Customer Discovery Phase
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Cold call non-customers first to practice
Fewer shots, so more important than B2C to be prepared.
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Who to interview at a company?
Economic Buyer vs User
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Frame the conversation
“I’m trying to learn about the problems in the industry.”

7. Rule #1: Pull, Don’t Push
Rule #2: No Ice Cream Questions
Rule #3: No Leading Questions
Rule #4: Past Behavior --> Future Behavior
Rule #5: Actual Self vs. Ideal Self
Rule #6: No Pitching
Rule #7: “N of 1” is Not Proof
Rule #8: No Seeding.
Rule #9: Low Cognitive Load Questions
Rule #10: Stories > Statements
Part 1: The Rules
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8. So how do you get
someone telling stories?
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9. Technique #1: “5 Why’s”
Technique #2: “Tell me more.”
Interviewing Tactics
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10. Technique #1: “5 Why’s”
Technique #2: “Tell me more.”
Technique #3: “Tell me about the last time...”
Technique #4: “What do you mean by...”
Technique #5: How are you dealing with your problem now?
Technique #6: Silence is Golden
Interviewing Tactics
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11. Very interesting… why is that important?
That makes sense…
I never thought about it that way before. Can you tell me more?
That sounds important.
I’m not sure I understand…
That’s a great point.
Wow / Neat / Cool / Strange / Huh
Softening Statements
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12. Question #1: “What if they never talk about the
problem I’m trying to solve?”
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Question #2: “How do I put these into a survey?”
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Question #3: Face2Face>Skype>Phone>Email>Pigeons
F.A.Q.
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13. Because I’m working on a project…
One more tip…
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14. Split into teams of 3.
Practice time!
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15. Split into teams of 3.
Practice time!
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B
CA
Interviewer
Takes notes Interviewee

16. Travel
Problem topics...
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17. How do we organize
all this information?
Affinity Mapping
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18. Take themes from Affinity Mapping,
rewrite them as insights.
Insight Generation
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19. Rewrite insights as ACTIONABLE
“How might we…” statements.
How Might We…
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20. Choose a “How Might We”
and solve it.
Generating Solutions
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21. Desirability
DVF
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ViabilityFeasibility

22. wonful
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Zachary Cohn
Fisher Qua
zaccohn@gmail.com
fisher@back-loop.com
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