Discovery notes become more useful when the reader can tell what the customer said, what the interviewer inferred and what still needs testing. Prepare a few open questions, then follow the concrete examples that emerge.
Begin with a recent real example.
Ask the participant to walk through the last time the relevant problem occurred. Find out what triggered it, who was involved, which tools or documents were used and what happened next.
A specific example reveals constraints that a general wish list can hide. Follow the steps before asking what should be different.
Explore the consequences without supplying the answer.
Ask what made the work difficult, how the team handled it and what the consequence was. Avoid naming your proposed feature in the question.
| Leading question | Open question |
|---|---|
| “Would automatic notes save you time?” | “How did you prepare the record after that meeting?” |
| “Do you need better integrations?” | “Where did the information need to go next?” |
| “Would you pay for this?” | “How are tools for this workflow chosen and funded today?” |
Label evidence, interpretation and uncertainty.
Capture short quotes accurately when they matter, along with the context. Keep your interpretation in a separate field. If the participant does not know a number or process, record it as unknown rather than estimating on their behalf.
- Current workflow: what happens today.
- Constraint: what limits the possible change.
- Evidence: an example, statement or artefact.
- Hypothesis: what the team believes the evidence may mean.
- Open question: what still needs to be learned.
Close with a useful readback.
Summarise what you understood and invite correction. Ask who else has a different part of the workflow and whether a follow-up artefact or conversation would help.
Share the recap only with the appropriate audience. Keep unrelated personal details out of the synthesis and follow your team’s recording and research-consent process.
MAKE IT YOURS
Your editable template.
Replace the bracketed prompts, remove what you do not need, and save a version for your team.
CUSTOMER DISCOVERY GUIDE AND RECAP Research question: [What we need to learn] Participant role / context: [Relevant details] Date / interviewer: [Details] Recording / note-taking permission: [Confirmed process] OPENING What does this part of your work involve? Could you walk me through the last time [situation] happened? WORKFLOW Trigger: [What started it] Steps and people: [What happened] Tools / documents: [What was used] Output / next destination: [Where it went] FRICTION AND CONTEXT Difficult moment: [Specific example] Current workaround: [What they do] Consequence: [Participant’s description] Constraints: [Access / process / timing / other] How changes are chosen: [Decision process] EVIDENCE Statement or short quote: [Exact words where relevant] Context: [What the statement referred to] Supporting artefact, if permitted: [Reference] OUR INTERPRETATION Hypothesis: [What we think this means] Confidence / alternative explanation: [Notes] What would test it: [Next step] CLOSE Readback and participant corrections: [Notes] Open questions: [List] Follow-up / owner / date: [Details] Appropriate sharing audience: [Roles] Prepared with the MeetriX resource library. Adapt to your organisation. https://meetrix2.lisan.com/resources/customer-discovery/
