By Teresa Torres · producttalk.org · @ttorres on X · LinkedIn
This Product in Practice piece profiles how Hemnet, Sweden's largest property portal, adopted continuous discovery through a grassroots start. A User Research Director and a Chief Product Officer describe how one product trio, using an opportunity solution tree tied to an existing OKR, showed results and then spread the habits across teams. The article argues that individual practitioners can begin discovery without permission, but need leadership buy-in to scale it. It highlights how leaders assess risk, the value of phased rollouts, and how to pitch small, timeboxed experiments in terms of what the organization gains.
01Key takeaways
- You can start continuous discovery on your own with activities like story mapping and assumption identification, then bring in others.
- Connect discovery work to existing outcomes or OKRs so teams can explain why they prioritize one solution over another.
- Roll out discovery to one team first to build trust, then let other teams see results and adopt it voluntarily.
- Support teams with peers who have experience, since reading a book alone rarely turns into practice.
- When proposing a change to leaders, take the smallest possible step, timebox it, define success, and state what the organization gains.
02Key sections
- Starting small with one trio
- A researcher and a developer began using an opportunity solution tree to connect their OKR key results with the solutions they chose. The first team's success created a product trio that others could observe.
- Leadership risk assessment
- The CPO evaluated the initiative by looking at its risk, noting that a failure would stay inside one team. She also asked what the team stood to gain from working this way.
- Scaling with support and education
- Other teams were enthusiastic but lacked discovery skills, so experienced colleagues helped with assumption mapping, interview scheduling, and note-taking rotations. Remote work during COVID and a widely assigned book also sped up adoption.
- Routines that made discovery continuous
- Teams set a recurring weekly user-feedback slot, branded as Feedback Thursday, and shared recruiting and note-taking. UX designers were expected to act as researchers and drive discovery within the trio.
- Advice for leaders and individual contributors
- The leaders recommended rolling out gradually to build trust, and suggested that ICs propose the smallest timeboxed step with a clear success definition and a stated benefit for the leader.
03From the post
“You don’t necessarily need anyone’s permission to get started with continuous discovery. In fact, some steps—like story mapping and identifying your assumptions—don’t even require anyone else to participate. You can easily go through these activities on your own. But at the same time, continuous discovery”
04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.