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Research developers as users

When your users are developers, research how they actually work: their tools, their workflows and what slows them down.

About 5-10 daysEvergreenLast reviewed 5 November 2026

Who this applies to

Skills it builds
Discovery and researchTechnical and AI fluency
PM types
Technical
Product types
All
Starting points
All
Ways of working
All
Experience
All
Size of organisation
All

Steps, by experience

Beginner (under 1 year)

  1. Identify the developer groups who use or will use your platform.
  2. Watch them complete a real task with your product.
  3. Ask about their tools, workflow and biggest time-wasters.
  4. Look at support tickets, forum posts and usage data.
  5. Summarise the top pain points with evidence.

Intermediate (1 to 4 years)

  1. Segment developer users.
  2. Observe real tasks and review usage data.
  3. Prioritise pain points.

Experienced (5+ years)

  1. Measure developer experience with time-to-first-success and satisfaction.
  2. Build a developer advisory group.
  3. Use research to shape the platform roadmap.

Who can do this

Owner: Product manager

Can be delegated to

  • User Researcher: Plan and run sessions with developers
  • Tech Lead: Help interpret technical findings

Reviewed by: Tech Lead

Tool examples

GitHub
Review issues and discussions for recurring problems.
GitLab
Review issues and merge request comments for pain points.
Miro
Map the developer workflow and mark pain points.

Definition of done

  • Developer groups identified
  • Real tasks observed
  • Pain points prioritised with evidence

Common pitfalls

  • Assuming you know because you are technical
  • Only listening to power users
  • Ignoring documentation problems

If you lead the team

What good looks like: Teams research how developers actually work and remove what slows them down.

Ask your PM

  • Which developers did we watch or interview, and what slowed them down?
  • What's our time to first success for a new developer?

Warning signs

  • The team designs from its own preferences.
  • Developer feedback only arrives as support tickets.

Do these first

Sources