Why Engineers Should Participate in Discovery

Teresa Torres argues that engineers should be active participants in product discovery rather than only writing code, since they contribute distinct knowledge and skills. She explains that different team members interpret the same customer interview differently due to their expertise, which is valuable. Engineers often generate strong solutions, help build real-data prototypes that avoid wasted effort, ask disconfirming questions that surface flawed assumptions, and bring analytical rigor to experiments. Involving engineers in discovery also eases delivery bottlenecks and gives teams more autonomy, and Torres suggests requiring customer context to support opinions rather than forcing participation.

01Key takeaways

• Run customer interviews as a full trio so each discipline spots different, valuable insights.
• Involve engineers in ideation so technical possibilities shape creative solutions grounded in customer context.
• Build prototypes with real customer data when a test depends on it, even if the code is later thrown away.
• Invite engineers to run pre-mortems to surface the hidden assumptions behind a product idea.
• Have engineers review experiment design and results to catch statistical mistakes and misinterpretations.
• Require customer knowledge to back up opinions about what to build, rather than forcing participation.

02Key sections

Different Lenses on Customer Insights

Each trio member selects and interprets interview data through their own expertise, so an engineer may notice things others miss. This divergence is a strength when the whole trio attends interviews.

Engineers as Solution Generators

Engineers' deep knowledge of technical possibilities often yields the best solutions, but only when paired with understanding of customer context gained firsthand.

Prototyping with Real Data

Some tests require real data and therefore real code. Engineers help build quick, sometimes hacky prototypes that answer questions faster than crude mockups.

Disconfirming Questions and Analytics

Engineers often challenge ideas and ask what could go wrong, and their statistical background helps design and interpret experiments reliably.

Reducing Delivery Bottlenecks

When tech leads share discovery, they can answer delivery questions, freeing product managers to spend more time on discovery and giving engineers autonomy.

03From the post

“Are you inviting your engineers to participate in discovery with you? If yes, do you get pushback from them? Does your organization prefer that your engineers only write code? Marty Cagan, in Inspired, argues, “If you’re just using your engineers to code, you’re only getting about half their”

04Frameworks mentioned

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