Conducting Research for a New Product

Before the research

Understand the product

The first step in conducting successful research is to understand the product you are building, your users and the problem you are trying to solve. Understanding your users is key. You need to know who your customers are, what they want and how they behave. You also need to understand their needs and motivations. Once you have done this, you can start thinking about how you can design your product to meet those needs.

Identify and talk with different key stakeholders.

• Locate and talk to people who will be using the product.
• Talk to experts in the field, such as product managers or designers.
• Talk to people in your industry who have used similar products before and can tell you what worked for them, and what did not work for them.
• Talk to people who will have to manage the product, like engineering or legal.

During the Research

Observe your users while you interact with them

Words are powerful, and it is easy to get caught up in the idea that what people say is more important than what they do. But it is worth remembering that actions speak louder than words—especially when you are trying to understand how people will respond to your product.

To get a better sense of what consumers want and expect from your new product, observe their behaviour instead of just listening to them talk about it.

Understand your projected customers' goals and needs.

Ask “your users” what they hope to achieve by using your product or service (e.g., "I want to save money"). You can also interview users who have already used a similar product to find out how satisfied they are with it—and what features could be improved upon next time around! A lot goes into creating something new. So when designing something new from scratch—especially if it involves technology or software development—it helps if someone else has done this before because then we'll know what kind of pitfalls might come up along our journey towards making something great happen here today!

Ask users for more than just their feedback about the product.

You should also ask users for more than just their feedback about the product. For example, if you are designing a new product for grocery store shoppers who want to use online shopping tools instead of going through checkout lines on busy days at their local stores (or even just when they have time), then asking these questions might give insight into why some people prefer using those tools versus waiting in line:

• Do users prefer using these tools? How often do they use them? If not frequently enough—or if too much—what would change if that was possible?
• What do users think makes more sense: having multiple accounts or having one account tied directly back into loyalty programs like Amex Platinum Card® where points are earned every time purchases are made with this card; is there anything else here worth considering before moving forward with implementing those ideas?

Conclusion

Conducting research for a new product is not difficult. It is just a matter of asking the right questions and listening to what people have to say. It is all worth it because if there were no such thing as research—then no one would ever know what works or doesn't work well enough.