Validation Interviews
Validating Product-Market Fit Through Stakeholder Interviews
This prompt helps teams design interviews to validate whether a feature or product aligns with market demands and stakeholder expectations. It focuses on understanding the broader market context, competitive landscape, and strategic value from the perspective of both users and key decision-makers.
Responsible:
Product Design
Accountable, Informed or Consulted:
Design, Product, Marketing, Strategy
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 market and competitive landscape relevant to the feature.
Identify key stakeholders and decision-makers for recruitment.
Prepare materials, such as visual aids or competitor comparisons, to guide discussions.
THE PROMPT
Help plan validation interviews to assess the product-market fit of [specific feature or product]. Focus on:
Stakeholder Identification: Defining the key groups to interview, such as end users, business decision-makers, or industry experts.
Strategic Questions: Crafting questions to explore market needs, competitive offerings, and how the feature aligns with user goals.
Scenario Exploration: Using hypothetical or real-world scenarios to test how participants would perceive and use the feature.
Adoption Indicators: Validating willingness to use or adopt the feature by understanding perceived benefits, costs, and trade-offs.
Feedback Synthesis: Creating a plan to document and analyze interview findings to guide product strategy and market positioning.
Provide specific recommendations for structuring these interviews, including tools (e.g., Dovetail, Notion) and frameworks (e.g., Jobs-to-be-Done) to analyze results. If additional details about the feature, market, or competitive context are needed, ask clarifying questions to tailor the suggestions.
Bonus Add-On Prompts
Propose methods for evaluating the feature’s perceived differentiation from competitors during interviews.
Suggest ways to probe deeper into user priorities when discussing market challenges.
Highlight frameworks to analyze feedback for refining market positioning and messaging.
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 markets or industries for targeted insights.
Include questions about pricing models or monetization strategies tied to the feature.
Propose methods for validating cross-functional alignment with internal stakeholders.
Tailor questions for different business models, such as B2B or B2C.
Add recommendations for combining qualitative interview insights with quantitative market data.
WHEN TO USE
To validate a feature’s strategic fit within a market or industry.
During market research to refine product positioning and differentiation.
To assess stakeholder alignment and ensure the feature meets broader business objectives.
WHEN NOT TO USE
If the feature has no external-facing value or market considerations.
When the primary focus is on usability rather than market fit.