Tools of the Trade: A Look at the Discovery Tech Stack at 99designs

This Product Talk edition profiles how the Collaboration Group at 99designs, a two-sided design marketplace owned by Vistaprint, is building a continuous discovery practice. Senior PM Matt Richmond and his team treated squad-level research as a product itself, using an opportunity solution tree to map pain points and quick wins. They launched a minimum viable process using existing tools like SurveyMonkey, Calendly, Zoom, Dovetail and Confluence, then planned automation in later iterations. The piece matters because it shows a practical, incremental path for teams adopting continuous discovery habits, with tools as support rather than substitute for the underlying work.

01Key takeaways

• Treat squad-initiated research as a product and map the current process visually before choosing tools.
• Start with an MVP built on existing tools to show the new process working and build buy-in.
• Separate problems solved by documentation and training from those that need software automation.
• Prefer tools that are already widely adopted in the company, upgrading only when scale demands it.
• Co-create discovery processes with the UX research team, who are the experts, and pilot with a couple of squads first.
• Document the process and tools carefully so the practice can scale across the business.

02Key sections

Team and context

The article introduces the 99designs champions across product, UX research and research ops, and the Collaboration Group's goal of easing client-creator collaboration. It stresses that the team is early in its journey.

Mapping with an opportunity solution tree

The team applied an opportunity solution tree in Miro to visualize pain points and separate problems solvable by training or documentation from those needing software.

Building an MVP tech stack

They optimized for action by running a manual, low-tech workflow with existing tools, recruiting from survey opt-ins and tracking conversion to learn what automation would be worth.

Planning iterations toward ideal state

Iteration 2 automates the highest-friction steps such as recruiting, scheduling and consent, while the ideal future state centralizes a participant database connected to company systems.

Key lessons and early wins

Matt shares advice to start small, co-create with the UX research team, document the process, and keep progress incremental with a dedicated Slack channel.

03From the post

“In case you missed it, Tools of the Trade is a new series on Product Talk. In each edition, we talk with a continuous discovery champion (or group of champions) from one organization. We learn about where they are in their continuous discovery journey, which tools they’re using to”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.