The set-up

Imagine that there are no proper ride-hailing apps around - it is 2008 when the taxi riding experience has not been disrupted yet. Our team is thinking about creating a ride-sharing app.

The team's goal is to shape the product.

A designer and a user researcher suggested the following script (the below script was generated by GPT-4 with a few prompts - it's okay to assume that it is a typical result of what a more junior researcher would produce). My job as a PM is to improve the script so that we achieve our goal - shape the best possible product of all, and there are always so many ways to prioritize user problems and solutions.

I am seeing a lot of opportunities for improvement. Both tactical and strategic. Below you can see the initial script and my constructive feedback to it.

<aside> 🚦 It could be better to scan the initial script in full first, and then read my improvements. Initial script is in black font; my comments are in purple.

</aside>

Logic Behind the Script

• Comprehensive Understanding: The script covers various aspects of transportation needs, ensuring a holistic understanding of user behavior and preferences.
• Empathy and User-Centric Design: The questions are designed to empathize with the user's experiences, aligning product development with user needs.
• Innovation and Market Fit: By exploring reactions to hypothetical features, the script helps identify opportunities for innovation that align with market demands.

<aside> 💡 [Stacy's improvements]

• Prioritization. It is of utmost importance, especially at this stage when the first version scope matters more than when the team is creating incremental improvements.

  • For example, questions like "What do you wish there was more of? / What do you like/dislike here?” are not enough, and will likely lead to wrong product decisions.
  • A few helpful principles:
    • Prioritize Outcomes (as in Jobs to be done), not features.
    • Leverage the idea of gauging Importance and Satisfaction. It will allow to see what needs (outcomes) are most unmet

• Let's start from Hypotheses. Hypotheses first, script is catered towards hypotheses. How to structure hypotheses - it's a crucially important skill. I like this framework (we could simplify it when needed)

  

• Let's aim to prioritize Segments. E.g. families? Frequent flyers (airport rides)? etc.

• We can help our Marketing/Growth team lay the groundwork for their messaging! The interviews are a huge opportunity to see the world through the lens of the user: what aspects of the "market” provokes emotions, which emotions they provoke, etc. One of the important secondary outcomes of our job is to make a snapshot of the users’ worldview. </aside>

Introduction (2-3 minutes)

• Purpose: Set the context and build a comfortable environment.
• Script:
  • "Hello, I’m [Your Name], leading user research for a new transportation service. We’re exploring innovative solutions to make urban travel more convenient and reliable. Your feedback today will be invaluable in shaping our service. Everything you share will be kept confidential and used solely for product development. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

<aside> 💡 [Stacy's improvements]

Good, but there are 2 other important things:

1. Manage expectations about time. Allow ourselves to go a bit over time if the convo becomes interesting - yet request permission for this in advance :). E.g. "This talk will take 30-40 minutes. Is this okay with you?"
2. If you might cover sensitive issues - confirm that they are in a good place: e.g. “Is it a good time and place to talk for you?”(hinting at closing the door for colleagues or kids, etc.)
3. re “Your feedback today will be invaluable in shaping our service.”: Let us have a friendlier tone of voice :)

Other points, to be used as needed:

• Say that we're recording this session.
• Manage expectations about the incentives from the sessions. Could be at the end of the talk. </aside>

Background Information (3-5 minutes)