Q:What is continuous discovery and how do I start?

Continuous discovery is the habit of making product decisions with frequent customer contact, and it can start with one small habit rather than a full overhaul. Teresa Torres defines it as at least weekly touchpoints with customers by the team building the product, conducting small research aimed at a specific outcome⁶¹⁰.

01What the practice involves

• Torres separates discovery, the work of deciding what to build, from delivery, the work of building and shipping it³.
• Good discovery rests on two weekly activities: customer interviewing to find opportunities and assumption testing to find solutions³.
• Anchor the work on a measurable product outcome before interviewing customers⁷.

02How to start

• Pick one habit to begin with instead of the whole framework, and story-map a proposed solution to surface hidden assumptions even before testing them¹⁰.
• Automate customer recruiting, such as letting customers opt in during product use, so one interview a week happens with little effort⁹¹⁰.
• Pilot with a small, time-boxed experiment, then show concrete results, since evidence persuades stakeholders more reliably than argument⁸.

03Starting before you have customers

• Torres suggests going where potential customers already gather, and paying to bring them to you⁵.