Customers & Research

How do I show a prototype to users without biasing their reaction?

A starting point

Hand it over, give them a goal, and shut up. Don't narrate or explain, watch where they get stuck, what they ignore, and what they say out loud. Their confusion is the data; your urge to 'help' them use it correctly is what ruins the test.

Go deeper

Watch

▶️ Video
Free Beginner

How to Talk to Users

On YC Startup Library by Eric Migicovsky (YC / founder of Pebble) ~25 min

Why we picked it

A YC partner turns 'talk to users' into a repeatable 5-question interview script you can use this afternoon. It's The Mom Test compressed into a lecture, perfect if you want the method fast before reading the book.

  • Don't pitch your idea, you'll bias every answer.
  • Anchor on the last time they hit the problem, and what they did about it.
  • If they've done nothing to solve it, the problem may not be painful enough.
Open ycombinator.com →

Read

📖 Book
Paid Beginner

The Mom Test

From momtestbook.com by Rob Fitzpatrick ~130 pages

Why we picked it

The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past behaviour, not your idea, so you can't be lied to. If a founder reads one thing before talking to a single customer, it's this.

  • Talk about their life, not your idea.
  • Ask about specifics in the past, not opinions about the future.
  • 'That's so cool, I'd totally buy it' is a compliment, not data, dig for commitment and evidence.
Open momtestbook.com →

People also ask

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