discovery-interview-prep

name	discovery-interview-prep
argument-hint	[research goal]
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.

Input

Works best with: Your research goal — what you need to learn from customers. Also useful: Customer segment, access constraints (how many interviews, by when), and any hypotheses you're carrying in.

Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.

Arriving empty-handed? That works too. The skill opens by asking your primary goal for the interviews, then narrows with follow-ups.

Example invocation: Prep interviews to understand why enterprise customers churn after 6 months — I can get 5 interviews in 2 weeks.

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)