User Research & Validation Plan
Key Assumptions to Validate
| Assumption | Risk | Method | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security teams and CISOs at mid-market companies are willing to pay for automated vendor risk assessment | High | Customer interviews, pricing surveys | 20% of interviewees confirm willingness to pay $499/month |
| Vendors will collaborate with our platform for risk monitoring | Medium | Vendor interviews, pilot program | 50% of vendors participate in pilot |
| Our platform can accurately detect and score vendor risks | Critical | Technical testing, security expert feedback | 90% accuracy rate in detection |
| Procurement teams will adopt our platform for vendor management | Medium | Procurement team interviews, integration partnerships | 30% of procurement teams express interest |
| Compliance officers will require our platform for audit evidence | High | Compliance officer interviews, regulatory research | 80% of compliance officers see value |
Customer Discovery Interview Guide
- Tell me about your current process for managing vendor risk.
- What are the biggest challenges you face in this process?
- How do you currently assess the security of your vendors?
- What would make you consider a new solution for vendor risk management?
- How much time and resources do you dedicate to vendor risk management monthly?
- What is your budget for vendor risk management solutions?
Validation Survey Design
We will conduct a survey of 200 security professionals and procurement teams to validate our assumptions. The survey will include questions on current pain points, willingness to pay, and interest in our solution.
Landing Page Validation Experiment
We will create a landing page describing our solution and drive traffic to it using $1,000 in Facebook ads. We will measure the conversion rate of visitors to signups and collect feedback through a survey.
Prototype Testing Plan
We will build a prototype of our platform and test it with 10 security teams and 5 procurement teams. We will collect feedback and iterate on our solution.
Validation Experiment Timeline
| Week | Task |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Conduct customer discovery interviews |
| 3-4 | Design and launch landing page experiment |
| 5-6 | Conduct validation survey |
| 7-8 | Build and test prototype |
Go/No-Go Decision Criteria
| Metric | Target | Actual | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing page conversion rate | 5% | ||
| Survey response rate | 20% | ||
| Prototype feedback | 80% positive |
User Research Synthesis Template
After completing our validation experiments, we will synthesize our findings into a report that includes:
- Problem validation summary
- Solution validation summary
- Pricing validation summary
- Go-to-market insights