1 tip & 3 resources per week to improve your Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery practices in less than 5 minutes. Explore my new book on realprogressbook.com
🛠️ How to Navigate Product Discovery Like a Map
How to Navigate Product Discovery Like a MapDear Reader, “We need to complete all six Discovery phases in order." "Let's perfect that JTBD statement before we talk to users." "Our process requires detailed one-pagers before any customer interviews." Does this sound familiar? These are examples of dogmatic defaults: Teams cycling through the same tools in the same order, regardless of context. While these practices aren't harmful, blindly following them as processed often means missing faster paths to reducing uncertainty. Instead of rigid processes, think of Discovery as a path you navigate. It consists of: Entry Points: Where you begin. Shaped through (new) business goals, changes in market conditions, or other triggers. Crossroads: Pivotal „What do we need to learn next“ moments that determine the direction of a team’s moves. Articulated through research intent questions (problem space) or assumptions (solution space). Moves: The distinct methods you use to progress.Typically in the shape of qualitative or quantitative methods linked to the specific research intent question or assumption Commitments: States of informed conviction leading to clear decisions. Conviction about additional needed work to reduce uncertainty, discarding a problem or solution, or committing to and implementing a solution The key is not which method you use but how you choose your next move based on what you need to learn. When navigating Discovery Paths, constantly ask yourself: What activity maximizes uncertainty reduction while shortening the lead time to the next viable insight as much as possible? Here are the paths of a Product Team working on a financial trading app: Product Discovery isn't about following prescribed steps. It's about using evidence to reduce uncertainty about what problems are worth solving and what solutions are worth delivering. Stop waiting for perfect conditions. Start reducing uncertainty from whatever entry point you find yourself at. Did you enjoy this newsletter or have feedback? Do reply. It's motivating. I'm not a robot; I read and respond to every subscriber email I get (just ask around). If this newsletter isn't for you anymore, you can unsubscribe here. Thank you for Practicing Product, Tim PS: Thanks to Paulius Tuzikas for contributing to the "accidental" shaping of the idea of Product Discovery Paths derived from our conversation. PPS: Join me on Nov 12 for an in-person deep dive on Product Discovery practices at Product Tank Cologne. Join my In-Person Workshops in BerlinI'm excited to bring my beloved in-person workshops back to Berlin in January 2025. You can choose between 1-day workshops on Product Strategy, Product OKRs, or Product Discovery OR get the full 3-day experience for you or your team.
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As a Product Management Coach, I guide Product Teams to measure the real progress of their evidence-informed decisions. I focus on better practices to connect the dots of Product Strategy, Product OKRs, and Product Discovery. |
Product Practice Newsletter
1 tip & 3 resources per week to improve your Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery practices in less than 5 minutes. Explore my new book on realprogressbook.com
Product Practice #419 Decision Journaling YourWay to Product Sense PUBLISHED Jul 31, 2026 READ ON HERBIG.CO Dear Reader, I know, I know. You probably can't hear the term product sense anymore (welcome to the club). But I recently arrived at a non-thought-leader-y practical angle for cultivating it. "Product Sense is the ability to usually make correct product decisions, both macro & micro, even in the face of major ambiguity"- Shreyas Doshi In a recent client workshop, the topic of product...
Product Practice #418 The Essence of Every Mapping Technique PUBLISHED Jul 24, 2026 READ ON HERBIG.CO Ways we can work together 1️⃣ Order my book: Real Progress: How to Connect the Dots of Product Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery, which readers call "a practical guide you can return to again and again." 2️⃣ Join my Workshop From Staring at KPIs to Prioritizing with OKRs, in 6 Hours, for turning generic dashboard metrics into useful goals, helping you prioritize and measure your work. 3️⃣ Join...
Product Practice #417 User Outcomes are Positively Flipped User Problems PUBLISHED Jul 17, 2026 READ ON HERBIG.CO Dear Reader, Last week, I mapped how OKRs connect to the layers of an Opportunity Solution Tree. But especially the Outcome layer deserves its own issue: turning a customer problem into a team-level Key Result. I first wrote about it in 2023, before I had a name for it. Since then, the positivity flip has become one of the most-used tools in my OKR and Discovery workshops, so...