Any phase · Craft
Make talking to users a weekly habit
The best product teams talk to users every week, not just at the start of a project. Small, regular contact keeps decisions grounded in reality.
About 1-2 hoursEvergreenLast reviewed 5 November 2026
Who this applies to
- Skills it builds
- Discovery and research
- PM types
- All
- Product types
- All
- Starting points
- All
- Ways of working
- All
- Experience
- Intermediate (1 to 4 years)Experienced (5+ years)
- Size of organisation
- All
Steps, by experience
Beginner (under 1 year)
- Book one user conversation a week.
- Ask about their recent experience.
- Share notes with the team.
- Look for patterns.
- Use them in decisions.
Intermediate (1 to 4 years)
- Automate recruiting so you have a conversation booked every week.
- Interview as a trio: PM, designer and engineer.
- Ask about specific recent stories, not opinions.
- Add what you learn to your opportunity map.
Experienced (5+ years)
- Make weekly discovery a team norm.
- Connect discovery to outcomes and the opportunity tree.
- Coach other teams to build the habit.
Who can do this
Owner: Product manager
Can be delegated to
- User Researcher: Set up recruiting and coach interviewing
- UX Designer: Join interviews and synthesise
Reviewed by: User Researcher
Tool examples
- Notion
- Keep an interview snapshot per conversation.
- Miro
- Update your opportunity map after each interview.
- Claude
- Paste anonymised notes and ask for opportunities and quotes. Check against the notes.
Definition of done
- A user conversation booked every week
- Notes shared with the team
- Learning used in decisions
Common pitfalls
- Stopping when things get busy
- Asking people what features they want
- Only the PM talks to users