使用者訪談的入門書-The Mom Test

thekelvintw
2 min readSep 9, 2016

--

The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you, by Rob Fitzpatrick

Mom test 一本關於基礎訪談的輕薄好書,我覺得架構略遜於Lean customer Development,但是還是寫的挺淺顯不錯的。對於2~3年的UX初學者以及創業家應該幫助最大,對於資深一點的UX人,大概就是翻越看看自己有沒有遺漏的一些問題。

書的內容主要談到如何避開一些訪談者取悅你的陷阱來做真正的需求訪談,書名就是主打即使抓你老媽來訪談,都可以避開她的甜言蜜語。

主要的心法就是避免問是否問題,而是就發生的事實以及脈絡上來訪談。

對於我來說比較大的學習是問到價格那一段,雖然之前也都知道這個問題不夠好,但是除了做Prototype以網站A/B testing來談怎麼做之外,其實沒有想到比較好的問法。

You just avoid mentioning your idea, you automatically start asking better questions. Doing this is the easiest (and biggest) improvement you can make to your customer conversations.

Mom was unable to lie to us because we never talked about our idea.

利用這樣的問題來確認他們投入多少錢

Ask them to talk you through what happened the last time X came up. If they haven’t solved the problem, ask why not. Have they tried searching for solutions and found them wanting? Or do they not even care enough to have Googled for it?

here’s a story here.” “What makes it so awful?” “Why haven’t you been able to fix this already?” “You seem pretty excited about that — it’s a big deal?” “Why so happy?”

一些訪談真正比較正確的回應訊號

“When can we start the trial?” “Can I buy the prototype?” “When can you come back to talk to the rest of the team?”

書裡面另外一個亮點是提到販賣來修正Maket fit的部分,如何藉由訪談帶到真正的決策者,以及把訪談進化成close deal. 裡面包括不要強硬地去推,利用你的假設來勾引,確認需求,強調你目前在早期都很實用

but in a B2B context it’s a must-ask. It leads to a conversation about whose budget the purchase

Ask learning questions which pass The Mom Test. Then confirm by selling it. This happens over both the life of your company and during a single meeting.

心法

You’re an entrepreneur trying to solve horrible problem X, usher in wonderful vision Y, or fix stagnant industry Z. Don’t mention your idea. Frame expectations by mentioning what stage you’re at and, if it’s true, that you don’t have anything to sell. Show weakness and give them a chance to help by mentioning your specific problem that you’re looking for answers on. This will also clarify that you’re not a time waster. Put them on a pedestal by showing how much they, in particular, can help. Ask for help.

寄信範例:

Hey Pete, I’m trying to make desk & office rental less of a pain for new businesses (vision). We’re just starting out and don’t have anything to sell, but want to make sure we’re building something that actually helps (framing). I’ve only ever come at it from the tenant’s side and I’m having a hard time understanding how it all works from the landlord’s perspective (weakness). You’ve been renting out desks for a while and could really help me cut through the fog (pedestal). Do you have time in the next couple weeks to meet up for a chat? (ask)

見面範例:

As I mentioned in the email, we’re trying to make it easier for universities to spin out student businesses (vision) and aren’t exactly sure how it all works yet (framing & weakness).

continue) I was looking at your spinout portfolio and it’s pretty impressive, especially company X. How did they get from your classroom to where they are now? (grab the reins and ask good questions)

其實讀完對資深的人會覺得還好,但看的當下我自己有滿多問題在作者反問的時候是覺得這回答可以接受是好答案,但作者認為不算,解釋我也可以接受。所以應該算是有價值,很多東西可以隨著看一遍的過程內化。

--

--

thekelvintw

Kelvin,本業是產品經理但卻自許為數位人類學家。陸續任職於今周刊、TEDxTaipei,關鍵評論網等媒體。雜食閱書人,但尤愛好科幻、奇幻,推理小說。相信跨界將帶給世界更多的可能。最愛的TED talk是Benjamin Zander談音樂與熱情。