"Emergency kit" for Customer Development interviews

Once you have identified their problem, it's important to gauge how much it affects their life. Find out when and how often they experience this problem.

Questions you could use:

• When was the last time you experienced this?
• Has this happened to you on other occasions?
• Does it always happen when ... ?

Whether they have tried to solve their problem or not, tells you if they are willing to try whatever solution you could come up with and if they would pay for it. The harder they have tried to solve their problem, the bigger their interest will be in a potential new solution.

Questions to determine their level of motivation:

• How did you try to solve this?
• Did you look up any information about ... ?
• Have you asked anyone for recommendations on ... ?

After you understand their problem, how it affects them and their level of motivation to solve it, it's time to decide if it's worth discussing it with your team and exploring it further.

Signs you should explore it

• They have invested time, energy or money in finding a solution.
• It occurs often and is annoying.

Signs you should ignore it or postpone it until another customer mentions it

• They haven't tried to solve it.
• It rarely occurs and has a low impact on their life.