Validation Interviews
Validating Feature Relevance Through Problem-Focused Interviews
This prompt helps teams design interviews to validate whether a proposed feature effectively addresses a key user problem. It focuses on understanding user pain points, current workarounds, and the feature's potential impact on their workflows or goals.
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:
Clearly define the problem the feature aims to solve and its context within the user journey.
Identify and recruit participants directly impacted by the problem.
Prepare a list of exploratory and evaluative questions focused on user challenges.
THE PROMPT
Help plan problem-focused interviews to validate whether [specific feature or product concept] solves a critical user need. Focus on:
Participant Selection: Recruiting participants who experience the problem the feature is designed to address.
Current Behaviors: Asking users how they currently manage or workaround the issue and what challenges they face.
Feature Fit: Exploring whether the proposed feature aligns with their needs and how they perceive its potential impact.
Pain Point Prioritization: Understanding which aspects of the problem are most important to solve.
Feedback Mechanisms: Encouraging users to suggest improvements or highlight missing functionality in the feature concept.
Provide recommendations for structuring the interview, including tools (e.g., Otter.ai, Zoom) and strategies for capturing detailed feedback. If additional details about the user problem or feature goals are needed, ask clarifying questions to refine the suggestions.
Bonus Add-On Prompts
Propose methods to dig deeper into user frustrations during problem-focused interviews.
Suggest ways to identify potential barriers to adoption based on user feedback.
Highlight strategies for turning user pain points into actionable design improvements.
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 the interview on specific types of problems, such as time inefficiencies or accessibility challenges.
Include follow-up discussions on user expectations for feature enhancements.
Tailor questions to different personas, such as technical vs. non-technical users.
Add recommendations for capturing emotional responses to gauge problem severity.
Highlight scenarios to validate whether users would switch to the proposed solution.
WHEN TO USE
During early feature ideation to ensure relevance to user needs.
To identify gaps in the feature concept and improve problem alignment.
When exploring how users currently handle a specific pain point.
WHEN NOT TO USE
If the feature is unrelated to solving a user pain point or workflow issue.
When focusing solely on feature usability rather than relevance.