How do you prioritize and iterate on user validation findings?

1 Pitfall 1: Asking leading questions

One of the most common mistakes that product managers make when validating their ideas with users is asking leading questions. Leading questions are questions that suggest a desired answer, or influence the user's response in some way. For example, "Don't you think this feature is awesome?" or "How much would you pay for this product?" are leading questions that can bias the user's opinion and make them agree with you. To avoid this pitfall, you should ask open-ended questions that allow the user to express their thoughts and feelings without any pressure or guidance. For example, "What do you think of this feature?" or "How do you currently solve this problem?" are open-ended questions that can elicit more honest and useful feedback.

2 Pitfall 2: Validating with the wrong users

Another common pitfall that product managers face when validating their ideas is validating with the wrong users. The wrong users are users who are not your target market, who do not have the problem that you are trying to solve, or who are not representative of your user segments. For example, if you are building a product for young professionals, validating with your friends and family who are not in that demographic may not give you accurate insights. To avoid this pitfall, you should define your user personas, identify your user segments, and recruit users who match your criteria. You can use various methods to find and reach out to your potential users, such as online platforms, social media, referrals, or surveys.

3 Pitfall 3: Validating too late or too early

Another common pitfall that product managers face when validating their ideas is validating too late or too early. Validating too late means waiting until you have built a fully functional product before getting feedback from users. This can result in wasting time and resources on features that users do not want or need, or missing out on opportunities to improve your product based on user input. Validating too early means validating your idea before you have a clear problem statement, value proposition, or solution hypothesis. This can result in getting vague or irrelevant feedback, or confusing or misleading your users. To avoid this pitfall, you should validate your idea at different stages of the product development cycle, from problem discovery to solution validation to product launch. You should also use different methods of validation depending on the stage, such as interviews, surveys, prototypes, or beta tests.

4 Pitfall 4: Ignoring negative feedback

Another common pitfall that product managers face when validating their ideas is ignoring negative feedback. Negative feedback is feedback that indicates that your users are not satisfied, interested, or engaged with your product or solution. For example, negative feedback can be low ratings, high churn rates, low retention rates, or negative comments. Ignoring negative feedback can be tempting, as it can hurt your ego, challenge your assumptions, or contradict your vision. However, ignoring negative feedback can also be dangerous, as it can prevent you from learning from your mistakes, improving your product, or pivoting your strategy. To avoid this pitfall, you should embrace negative feedback, analyze it, and act on it. You should also seek out negative feedback, as it can be more valuable and actionable than positive feedback.

5 Pitfall 5: Not prioritizing or iterating on feedback

Another common pitfall that product managers face when validating their ideas is not prioritizing or iterating on feedback. Prioritizing feedback means deciding which feedback is more important, relevant, or urgent to address, and which feedback can be deferred, ignored, or discarded. Iterating on feedback means making changes to your product or solution based on the feedback, and testing those changes with your users. Not prioritizing or iterating on feedback can result in losing focus, scope creep, or stagnation. To avoid this pitfall, you should use a framework or a tool to prioritize your feedback, such as the RICE score, the Kano model, or the MoSCoW method. You should also use a feedback loop to iterate on your feedback, such as the Build-Measure-Learn cycle, the Lean Startup method, or the Agile methodology.