Embrace your ignorance

How to get the most out of customer interviews

To be a good product engineer means talking to customers. To understand them, and the problems they are facing. You can’t build good products without a good mental model of who you are building for.

I joined Part3 two years ago as a product engineer. Part3 helps architects manage construction administration—a phrase I had never heard before. It was a whole new domain to learn, and a meaty one. I’m still learning the ins-and-outs.

So when it came to talking to customers—representing Part3’s product team—I had a bit of imposter syndrome. There was often an assumption on their part that I was already an expert in construction administration (CA). But I just didn’t have enough domain knowledge to understand much of what they told me. Let alone drill deeper. And I was embarrassed to admit it. Too often, after being told something I didn’t understand, I would nod, say something non-committal, and move on to my next question. The results were not great. I just didn’t learn all that much.

But my interviews of late have gotten better. I’m getting more detailed answers from customers and I’m learning more. The key: admitting my ignorance. “I don’t actually know much about CA. I’ve never done it myself. Can you explain how you do X,” is a helpful starting point. That framing (I’m a layman) provides the perfect excuse to continue probing with (potentially stupid) clarifying questions.

This is great because when explaining things to a layman—a genuinely curious layman—people tend to think more deeply about their answers. They explain things without the industry jargon. Or mention problems they don’t talk about often, problems them and their peers assume are just “part of the job”. These are potential gold mines for a product team.

Some specific tactics that I find work well: If they mention a problem, ask for specific examples. Regularly repeat back to them what they’ve told you, in your own words, to check if your understanding is correct (it often won’t be, and they’ll be forced to elaborate).

But, most of all, just embrace your ignorance and be curious.