/discovery-interview-prep

name: discovery-interview-prep
description: Plan customer discovery interviews with the right goal, segment, constraints, and method. Use when preparing interviews for problem validation, churn research, or new product ideas.
intent: >-
  Guide product managers through preparing for customer discovery interviews by asking adaptive questions about research goals, customer segments, constraints, and methodologies. Use this to design effective interview plans, craft targeted questions, avoid common biases, and maximize learning from limited customer access—ensuring discovery interviews yield actionable insights rather than confirmation bias or surface-level feedback.
type: interactive
theme: discovery-research
best_for:
  - "Designing a customer discovery interview plan"
  - "Choosing the right interview methodology for your goals and constraints"
  - "Preparing for research with limited customer access"
scenarios:
  - "I need to interview 5 enterprise customers about why they churned in the last 90 days"
  - "I'm validating a new product idea with a 2-week deadline and cold outreach only"
  - "I want to understand why users aren't activating on our core feature"
estimated_time: "15-20 min"

Purpose

Guide product managers through preparing for customer discovery interviews by asking adaptive questions about research goals, customer segments, constraints, and methodologies. Use this to design effective interview plans, craft targeted questions, avoid common biases, and maximize learning from limited customer access—ensuring discovery interviews yield actionable insights rather than confirmation bias or surface-level feedback.

This is not a script generator—it's a strategic prep process that outputs a tailored interview plan with methodology, question framework, and success criteria.

Key Concepts

The Discovery Interview Prep Flow

An interactive process that: 1. Gathers product/problem context (marketing materials, assumptions) 2. Defines research goals (what you're trying to learn) 3. Identifies target customer segment and access constraints 4. Recommends interview methodology (Jobs-to-be-Done, problem validation, switch interviews, etc.) 5. Generates interview framework with questions, biases to avoid, and success metrics

Why This Works

• **Goal-driven:** Aligns interview approach to what you need to learn
• **Adaptive:** Adjusts methodology based on product stage (idea vs. existing product) and access constraints
• **Bias-aware:** Highlights common pitfalls (leading questions, confirmation bias, solution-first thinking)
• **Actionable:** Outputs interview guide ready to use

Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)

• **Not a user testing script:** Discovery = learning problems; testing = validating solutions
• **Not a sales demo:** Don't pitch—listen and learn
• **Not surveys at scale:** Deep qualitative interviews (5-10 people), not broad surveys (100+ people)

When to Use This

• Starting product discovery (validating problem space)
• Repositioning an existing product (understanding new market)
• Investigating churn or drop-off (retention interviews)
• Evaluating feature ideas before building
• Preparing for customer development sprints

When NOT to Use This

• User testing a prototype (use usability testing frameworks instead)
• Quantitative research at scale (use surveys, analytics)
• When you already know the problem (move to solution validation)

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Facilitation Source of Truth

Use [`workshop-facilitation`](../workshop-facilitation/SKILL.md) as the default interaction protocol for this skill.

It defines:

• session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess)
• one-question turns with plain-language prompts
• progress labels (for example, Context Qx/8 and Scoring Qx/5)
• interruption handling and pause/resume behavior
• numbered recommendations at decision points
• quick-select numbered response options for regular questions (include `Other (specify)` when useful)

This file defines the domain-specific assessment content. If there is a conflict, follow this file's domain logic.

Application

This interactive skill asks **up to 4 adaptive questions**, offering **3-4 enumerated options** at each step.

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Step 0: Gather Context (Before Questions)

**Agent suggests:**

Before we design your interview plan, let's gather context:

**For Your Own Product (Existing or Planned):**

• Problem hypothesis or product concept description
• Target customer segment (if known)
• Existing research (support tickets, churn data, user feedback)
• Product website or positioning materials
• Key assumptions you're trying to validate

**For Investigating an Existing Problem:**

• Customer complaints, support tickets, or churn reasons
• Hypotheses about why customers leave or struggle
• Competitive alternatives customers switch to

**If Exploring a New Problem Space:**

• Find similar products or adjacent solutions
• Copy competitor materials, customer reviews (G2, Capterra), or community discussions (Reddit, forums)
• We'll use these to frame hypotheses

**You can paste this content directly, or we can proceed with a brief description.**

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Question 1: Research Goal

**Agent asks:** "What's the primary goal of these discovery interviews? (What do you need to learn?)"

**Offer 4 enumerated options:**

1. **Problem validation** — "Confirm that a problem exists and is painful enough to solve" (for new product ideas) 2. **Jobs-to-be-Done discovery** — "Understand what customers are trying to accomplish and why current solutions fail" (for product strategy) 3. **Retention/churn investigation** — "Figure out why customers leave or don't activate" (for existing products with churn issues) 4. **Feature prioritization** — "Validate which problems/features matter most to customers" (for roadmap planning)

**Or describe your own research goal (be specific: what question are you trying to answer?).**

**User response:** [Selection or custom]

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Question