Validation Interviews
Planning Validation Interviews to Assess Feature Fit
This prompt helps teams plan and execute validation interviews focused on assessing whether a proposed feature or product concept fits the needs, priorities, and expectations of the target audience. It ensures interviews are structured to generate actionable insights for design and development decisions.
Responsible:
Product Design
Accountable, Informed or Consulted:
Design, Product, Customer Success
THE PREP
Creating effective prompts involves tailoring them with detailed, relevant information and uploading documents that provide the best context. Prompts act as a framework to guide the response, but specificity and customization ensure the most accurate and helpful results. Use these prep tips to get the most out of this prompt:
Define the feature concept and key assumptions to validate.
Identify the target audience and create a recruitment plan for interview participants.
Prepare interview scripts, prototypes, or visual aids to guide the discussion.
THE PROMPT
Help plan validation interviews to assess the fit of [specific feature or product concept]. Focus on:
Participant Recruitment: Identifying and recruiting interviewees who represent the target audience or user personas for the feature.
Objective Setting: Defining clear goals for the interview, such as understanding user priorities, validating feature assumptions, or identifying potential adoption barriers.
Interview Structure: Designing an agenda that includes warm-up questions, scenario-based questions, and feedback opportunities on the feature concept.
Exploration Techniques: Using open-ended questions to uncover user expectations, motivations, and pain points related to the feature.
Insight Capture: Outlining methods to document user feedback effectively for post-interview analysis.
Provide recommendations for structuring the interviews, including tools (e.g., Zoom, Otter.ai) and strategies for engaging participants. If additional details about the feature, audience, or business context are needed, ask clarifying questions to refine the suggestions.
Bonus Add-On Prompts
Propose methods to validate specific feature assumptions through real-world scenarios in interviews.
Suggest follow-up questions to explore unexpected feedback or responses during the interviews.
Highlight strategies to synthesize interview insights into actionable design or development changes.
Use AI responsibly by verifying its outputs, as it may occasionally generate inaccurate or incomplete information. Treat AI as a tool to support your decision-making, ensuring human oversight and professional judgment for critical or sensitive use cases.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE
Focus interviews on specific aspects of the feature, such as usability or perceived value.
Include techniques for validating willingness-to-pay or prioritization among competing features.
Propose methods to run validation interviews remotely for broader participant access.
Tailor questions for niche user groups, such as enterprise clients or power users.
Add suggestions for conducting group interviews to compare user opinions dynamically.
WHEN TO USE
During the concept stage to validate whether the feature addresses user needs.
To prioritize features or identify areas of improvement before development.
When assessing potential adoption barriers or motivational drivers.
WHEN NOT TO USE
If the feature is already finalized and no significant changes are possible.
When exploring general user behavior unrelated to specific features.