discovery-interview-prep
by deanpetersdiscovery-interview-prep helps you plan customer discovery interviews with the right goal, segment, constraints, and method. Use it for problem validation, churn research, feature adoption issues, and new product ideas, especially in UX research and other discovery-workflows.
This skill scores 74/100, which means it is listable and likely useful for agents preparing discovery interviews, but directory users should expect a moderately scoped workflow rather than a full research system. The repo gives enough evidence to install if you need structured interview prep for problem validation, churn research, or new product ideas, though it is not strongly supported by companion assets or executable tooling.
- Clear trigger and intent: it explicitly targets discovery interview prep for problem validation, churn research, and new product ideas.
- Strong operational framing: the skill body is substantial, uses adaptive questioning, and includes scenarios plus an estimated 15-20 minute workflow.
- Good install decision value: frontmatter is valid and the repository shows a non-placeholder, non-test-only skill with substantial content and no obvious experimental flags.
- No install command, scripts, references, or resources are provided, so agents must rely on the SKILL.md instructions alone.
- The repository appears narrowly focused on interview planning rather than end-to-end research execution, so broader research use cases may need extra prompting.
Overview of discovery-interview-prep skill
The discovery-interview-prep skill helps you plan customer discovery interviews before you talk to users. It is built for product managers, UX researchers, founders, and anyone who needs a sharper interview plan than a generic discussion guide. If you are doing discovery-interview-prep for UX Research, this skill is useful when the real job is to choose the right research goal, interview segment, and method so the conversations produce decision-ready learning instead of vague feedback.
What this skill is for
Use the discovery-interview-prep skill to turn a rough research idea into a workable interview plan: who to interview, what to ask, what to avoid, and how to frame the session so you do not lead participants toward your preferred answer.
Best fit and strong use cases
It fits problem validation, churn research, feature adoption issues, and early product concept testing. It is especially useful when access is limited, time is short, or you need to narrow an open-ended idea into a focused discovery plan.
Where it adds real value
The main value is structure. Instead of improvising questions, the skill helps you clarify the interview objective, surface bias risks, and select a method that matches the decision you are trying to make. That makes the discovery-interview-prep skill more decision-supportive than a simple prompt template.
How to Use discovery-interview-prep skill
Install and locate the skill files
For discovery-interview-prep install, add the skill from the repository and start with SKILL.md. In this repo, that is the only file in the skill folder, so there is no supporting rules/, resources/, or scripts/ layer to hunt through. The fastest install path is:
npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill discovery-interview-prep
Give the skill a complete research brief
The discovery-interview-prep usage pattern works best when you provide a clear goal, audience, and constraint set. A strong input looks like this:
- Research goal: validate why enterprise customers churned in the last 90 days
- Audience: admins and day-to-day users
- Constraints: 5 interviews, 30 minutes each, cold outreach only
- Decision to inform: whether to fix onboarding or pricing messaging first
- Unknowns: whether the issue is value perception or product usability
This is better than “help me prepare discovery interviews” because the skill can then choose a method and question flow that fits the actual decision.
Start with the right workflow
Read SKILL.md first, then use the prompts and adaptive question flow to refine the plan. If you are adapting the discovery-interview-prep guide to your own process, keep three things explicit: the research objective, participant segment, and what you will do with the answers. That is what keeps the output practical.
What to expect from the output
A good run should help you define interview scope, avoid confirmation bias, and produce questions that reveal behavior, constraints, and decision context. If your input is vague, the skill will likely give you a broad plan; if your input is specific, it can help you create a much tighter interview guide.
discovery-interview-prep skill FAQ
Is discovery-interview-prep only for UX research?
No. The discovery-interview-prep skill is strongest for discovery-interview-prep for UX Research, but it also works for product management, customer success, and startup validation. If the goal is learning from users before building or changing something, it is a fit.
How is this different from a normal prompt?
A normal prompt usually produces a question list. This skill is meant to help you think through the setup first: who to talk to, what type of interview to run, and what bias traps to avoid. That extra structure is what improves decision quality.
Is it beginner-friendly?
Yes, if you can describe your research goal in plain language. You do not need a research-methods background, but you do need enough context to answer basic scope questions. If you cannot name the decision the interviews should inform, the skill will be less useful.
When should I not use it?
Do not use it when you already have a fixed, validated interview script or when you need statistical survey design instead of qualitative discovery. It is also not the right tool if your problem is execution, synthesis, or analysis after the interviews are done.
How to Improve discovery-interview-prep skill
Give sharper context, not just a topic
The biggest quality jump comes from defining the decision behind the research. Include the product area, user type, suspected problem, and what you will change if the interviews confirm it. That helps the discovery-interview-prep skill narrow the interview approach instead of staying generic.
Provide constraints that matter
Tell the skill what is limited: number of participants, interview length, recruitment channel, available customer segments, and whether the interviews are exploratory or hypothesis-driven. Constraints change the best method, so they should be part of your discovery-interview-prep usage input from the start.
Watch for common failure modes
The most common mistake is asking for “questions to ask” without a clear hypothesis or decision. Another is combining too many objectives in one session, which produces scattered answers. If the first output feels broad, re-run it with a narrower segment or a single primary research question.
Iterate by tightening the objective
Use the first pass to choose scope, then revise the plan with more concrete details: exact customer type, timeline, and what evidence would change your mind. The best discovery-interview-prep guide behavior is iterative refinement, not one-shot prompting.