User research is an important phase as this is where you validate your user’s problems. Only your users can tell you what they need, ensure to make no assumptions. A good way is to consider everything you know as an assumption until you have data to back it up.

User Persona:

User personas are fictional characters created based on user data designed to help you understand your customers. They are representations of your target customers. Ensure to highlight their demographics, motivations, likes and dislikes e.t.c.

User Interviews:

User interviews are carried out to ensure that you are speaking to customers in order to understand their pain points. It is important to do this well as it could corrupt your research if not done properly. You can carry out user research via various means, such as the following:

• User surveys
• Focus groups
• A/B Testing
• User interviews
• Customer Shadowing

Recommended reading:

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick; this book is a rite of passage for every PM and I strongly advise you go through it in order to learn how to properly conduct a User Interview. You’d be doing yourself a great service by reading it.

Relevant Resources:

• What is Product Discovery?
• A step-by-step guide for conducting better product discovery