The real power of asking these questions and doing this work is as early as possible. It should be from the beginning in order to actually help shape where you're going. We can so quickly jump to the solutions that we don't ground ourselves really deeply in the problems overall when we're building or even trying to interpret what our customers are saying. So take a little more time to let it percolate, dig into the zoom out piece and see what's happening behind them which is why I'm aiming for here.
Our guest today is Jeanette Mellinger, Head of UX Research at BetterUp and our User Research Expert in Residence at First Round.
In today’s conversation, Jeanette unspools her tested playbook for high-quality customer interviews, with particular advice for founders in the very early days of validating an idea, including:
- The three-step framework for a thorough user-research process
- The biggest mistakes she’s noticed after working with dozens of early-stage companies
- Specific advice for structuring an interview flow and crafting better questions that unlock essential insights
You can follow Jeanette on Twitter at @jnetmell
You can email us questions directly at review@firstround.com or follow us on Twitter @firstround and @brettberson.