customer-discovery

name	customer-discovery
description	Deep customer understanding through Jobs-to-be-Done analysis, globally diverse persona creation, and evidence gathering from real-world sources. Use when starting innovation projects to understand customer needs, validate assumptions, and gather market intelligence before defining solutions. First phase of systematic innovation.

Customer Discovery: Understanding the Problem Space

Purpose

Build deep, validated understanding of customer needs before jumping to solutions. Combines Jobs-to-be-Done analysis, persona creation with global diversity, and evidence gathering to create a solid foundation for innovation.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Starting a new product or service innovation project
• Validating an idea or opportunity
• Need to understand customer needs deeply
• Want to avoid building solutions based on assumptions
• Preparing for solution definition and ideation

Execution Modes

Before starting customer discovery, choose your preferred working mode:

Interactive Mode (Recommended for First-Timers)

Claude will guide you step-by-step through each phase, asking for your input and approval before proceeding.

Checkpoints:

1. After JTBD analysis → Review and approve before creating persona
2. After persona creation → Review and approve before evidence gathering
3. After evidence gathering → Review final synthesis

Use when:

• First time using this skill
• Want hands-on involvement in each step
• Need to customize outputs based on emerging insights
• Prefer iterative refinement

Autonomous Mode (For Experienced Users)

Claude will generate all three outputs (JTBD, persona, evidence) based on your initial prompt, then present complete customer discovery for your review.

Use when:

• Familiar with JTBD, personas, and evidence gathering
• Want fast first draft to iterate on
• Trust the framework to guide outputs
• Prefer batch review over step-by-step

To activate a mode, simply state it in your prompt:

Use customer-discovery skill in interactive mode for [problem space].

or

Use customer-discovery skill in autonomous mode for [problem space].

---

Three-Step Process

Step 1: Jobs-to-be-Done Analysis

Define what customers are truly hiring a product/service to accomplish in their lives.

Explore three types of jobs:

1. Functional jobs: Practical tasks and outcomes they need to accomplish
2. Emotional jobs: Feelings they want to experience or avoid
3. Social jobs: How they want to be perceived by others

Identify pains and gains:

• Pains: Current obstacles, frustrations, risks, undesired outcomes
• Gains: Desired benefits, required outcomes, unexpected delighters

Output: Job statement capturing functional, emotional, and social dimensions, plus comprehensive list of pains and gains.

For detailed methodology: Read references/jtbd-framework.md for question flows, templates, and examples.

Step 2: Persona Creation (Globally Diverse)

Bring the JTBD to life with a specific, realistic persona that represents the target customer.

CRITICAL: Create globally diverse personas - Rotate through different regions and cultural contexts. Do NOT default to US/Western markets unless product is explicitly region-specific.

Essential elements:

• Basic profile (age, occupation, location with country, life stage)
• Context including cultural factors
• Goals and motivations (linked to JTBD)
• Challenges and frustrations (from JTBD pains)
• Behaviors including local payment methods and communication preferences
• Memorable quote in authentic voice

Output: Vivid, culturally-grounded persona that team can empathize with and design for.

For detailed methodology: Read references/persona-template.md for global diversity guidelines, structure, and examples from Nigeria, Singapore, India, and more.

Step 3: Evidence Gathering

Validate assumptions and gather real-world intelligence before defining solutions.

Choose depth level:

• Quick (1 hour): 1-2 sources, high-level patterns, 3-5 findings
• Standard (3-5 hours): 3-4 sources, pattern identification, 8-12 findings [Recommended]
• Deep (8+ hours): All 5 sources, comprehensive analysis, 15-20+ findings

Five evidence sources:

1. Social media listening: Customer complaints, workarounds, discussions (enhanced with search templates)
2. Market & competitor analysis: What exists, gaps, pricing signals
3. Customer feedback & support data: Patterns in problems and requests
4. Technology & trend scanning: What's newly possible, "why now"
5. Direct customer research: Interviews, surveys, observation

Output: Synthesized findings that validate or challenge your JTBD/persona, reveal landscape, capture customer voice, and identify opportunities.

For detailed methodology: Read references/evidence-gathering.md for source selection, research questions, depth levels, social media search templates, and synthesis guides.

Workflow

Follow these steps in sequence:

1. Start with JTBD: Understand the customer's job before anything else. This is your "why."

2. Build persona: Create specific person experiencing these jobs. Ensure global diversity - don't default to Western contexts.

3. Gather evidence: Validate your understanding with real-world data. Spend 3-5 hours (not weeks).

4. Synthesize: Refine JTBD and persona based on evidence. Note gaps and opportunities.

5. Ready for next phase: Move to solution-definition (Working Backwards + Closed World mapping).

Complete Examples

For inspiration and patterns: Read references/example-outputs.md for three complete worked examples with globally diverse personas:

• Mobile micro-lending service (Nigeria - market trader)
• Remote team collaboration platform (Singapore - engineering manager with distributed Southeast Asia team)
• Affordable home solar system (Rural India - shopkeeper)

Each example shows the complete flow from JTBD through persona to evidence gathering with cultural context and local insights.

Output Format

Structure your discovery work as follows:

# Customer Discovery: [Problem Space/Opportunity]

## Jobs-to-be-Done Analysis

**Job Statement:**
"When [situation], I want to [functional job], so I can [desired outcome]. 
This helps me [emotional job] and [social job]."

**Functional Jobs:**
- [job 1]
- [job 2]
- [job 3]

**Emotional Jobs:**
- [job 1]
- [job 2]

**Social Jobs:**
- [job 1]
- [job 2]

**Pains (Current Situation):**
- [pain 1 with context]
- [pain 2 with context]
- [pain 3 with context]

**Gains (Desired):**
- [gain 1]
- [gain 2]
- [gain 3]

## Persona: [Name] - [Archetype]

**Profile:**
- Age: [age]
- Occupation: [job]
- Location: [city, country/region]
- Life stage: [situation]

**Context:**
[2-3 sentences describing daily life, responsibilities, current situation, and relevant cultural context]

**Jobs to Be Done:**
**Functional:** [from JTBD above]
**Emotional:** [from JTBD above]
**Social:** [from JTBD above]

**Goals & Motivations:**
- [goal 1]
- [goal 2]
- [goal 3]

**Pain Points & Challenges:**
- [specific pain 1 with local context]
- [specific pain 2 with local context]
- [specific pain 3 with local context]

**Behaviors:**
- **Decision-making:** [individual/family/community]
- **Information sources:** [where they learn]
- **Technology use:** [comfort level, devices]
- **Payment methods:** [how they pay]

**Quote:**
"[Memorable quote capturing their mindset]"

## Evidence Gathering: [Problem Space]

**Research Questions:**
1. [Validation question]
2. [Discovery question]
3. [Solution landscape question]

**Sources Used:**
- [Source 1 with sample size]
- [Source 2 with sample size]
- [Source 3 with sample size]

**Key Findings:**

### Validation
**Confirms:**
- [Finding 1 with evidence]
- [Finding 2 with evidence]

**Contradicts:**
- [Surprising finding 1]
- [Surprising finding 2]

### Landscape
**Existing Solutions:**
- [Solution 1: strengths, weaknesses, pricing]
- [Solution 2: strengths, weaknesses, pricing]

**Gaps & Opportunities:**
- [Unmet need 1]
- [Underserved segment 1]

### Customer Voice
**Key Quotes:**
- "[Direct customer quote 1]"
- "[Direct customer quote 2]"

**Pain Intensity:**
- Frequency: [How often]
- Severity: [Impact]
- Current coping: [What they do today]

**Willingness to Pay:**
- [Price signals from research]

### Trends & Context
**Enabling Factors:**
- [What makes this possible now]

**Headwinds:**
- [Challenges to consider]

**Implications for Solution:**
[3-5 key insights that should inform solution direction]

Tips for Success

JTBD Tips:

• Focus on the job, not product features
• All three job types matter—don't skip emotional and social
• Be specific: "30-minute commute" beats "fast transportation"
• Pains are as valuable as gains for innovation

Persona Tips:

• ALWAYS create globally diverse personas - actively resist Western/US defaults
• Make them realistic and specific with cultural context
• Include local constraints: payment methods, infrastructure, social dynamics
• Use authentic names for the region
• Quote should reflect local voice and concerns
• Test: Can the team imagine this person's actual day in their context?

Evidence Gathering Tips:

• Set time limit: 3-5 hours of research, then synthesize
• Look for patterns across multiple sources
• Include evidence from target markets, not just Western sources
• Capture customer language and direct quotes
• Note contradictions—they reveal complexity
• Balance online and offline evidence in emerging markets

Common Pitfalls

Avoid these mistakes:

• Western bias: Defaulting to US/Western Europe personas and contexts
• Skipping evidence: Relying only on assumptions without validation
• Generic personas: "Tech-savvy millennial" is useless; "Chidinma, 34, market trader in Lagos" is useful
• Ignoring emotional/social jobs: These often drive decisions more than functional
• Analysis paralysis: Don't spend weeks researching—3-5 hours is enough
• Confirmation bias: Actively seek contradicting evidence
• Jumping to solutions: Resist urge to define product before understanding problem

Global Diversity Requirements

This is critical: Unless the product/service is explicitly limited to a specific region, you MUST create globally diverse personas across different projects.

Rotate through:

• Asia-Pacific (India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia)
• Africa (Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt)
• Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia)
• Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel)
• Europe (UK, Germany, Poland, Spain, Nordics)
• North America (US, Canada) - when relevant

Consider local context:

• Infrastructure (internet, power, logistics)
• Payment systems (mobile money, cash, local apps)
• Cultural values (individualism vs. collectivism, family dynamics)
• Economic factors (income levels, price sensitivity)
• Language and literacy
• Regulatory environment

See references/persona-template.md for detailed global diversity guidelines and examples.

Next Steps

After completing customer discovery:

1. Review and validate: Share with team, test with real customers in target markets
2. Solution definition: Use solution-definition skill (Working Backwards + Closed World mapping)
3. Ideation: Generate solution ideas using ideation-powerhouse skill
4. Evaluation & validation: Rate ideas and deep-dive with critical thinking

This customer understanding is the foundation for all subsequent innovation work. Invest time here—it pays off exponentially.