User Research & Validation Plan
Key Assumptions to Validate
| Assumption | Risk | Method | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaders are unaware of aggregate meeting costs | High | Executive interviews | 80%+ express surprise at costs |
| 50% of meetings are considered unproductive | High | Surveys + time audits | 40-60% confirmation range |
| Meeting cost visibility will change behavior | Critical | Prototype testing | 30%+ reduce meeting time |
| Companies will pay for meeting analytics | Critical | Pre-orders | 10+ paying customers |
| Integration complexity won't deter adoption | Medium | Setup friction testing | <5% drop-off during setup |
| Privacy concerns won't block usage | High | Trust framework testing | 70%+ comfortable with data handling |
| Nudge system will drive behavior change | Medium | A/B testing nudges | 15%+ optimization actions |
| CAC will be <$50 per employee | Medium | Channel testing | Proven <$50 CAC |
Customer Discovery Interview Guide
Part 1: Background & Context (10 min)
- • Tell me about your role and team size
- • What are your top 3 productivity challenges?
- • How do you track operational costs currently?
- • What metrics do you use to measure team efficiency?
Part 2: Problem Exploration (20 min)
- • Walk me through your team's weekly meeting schedule
- • How much time is spent in meetings vs. focused work?
- • What makes a meeting feel "worthwhile" to you?
- • How do you know if a meeting is too expensive?
- • What's the largest meeting waste you've seen?
Part 3: Current Solutions (15 min)
- • What tools do you use for meeting management?
- • How do you track employee time allocation?
- • What would make these tools more valuable?
- • Have you tried to reduce meeting load? How?
Part 4: Solution Exploration (15 min)
- • If you could see your team's meeting costs...
- • What would be most surprising about that data?
- • What would you do differently with this insight?
- • How much would you pay for this visibility?
- • Who needs to approve such a purchase?
Interview Logistics
Target: 25 interviews (15 Ops/HR, 10 department heads)
Companies: 100-1000 employees, various industries
Incentive: $100 gift card + free 6-month access
Landing Page Validation Experiment
Variant A
"Stop wasting $37B on unproductive meetings"
Variant B
"See exactly how much your meetings cost"
Variant C
"Your meetings are costing more than you think"
Success Metrics
- • >1,500 visitors in 2 weeks
- • >7% email signup rate
- • >3% demo request rate
- • <15% bounce rate
Budget & Channels
- • $800 ad spend
- • LinkedIn Ads (Ops/HR)
- • Reddit r/productivity
- • Product Hunt launch
8-Week Validation Plan
| Week | Focus | Key Activities | Success Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Problem Validation | • 15 customer interviews • 200+ survey responses • Competitive analysis |
• 80%+ confirm meeting waste • Quantified cost awareness gap |
| 3-4 | Solution Validation | • Landing page A/B test • Waitlist launch • Follow-up surveys |
• >7% signup rate • 100+ waitlist emails |
| 5-6 | Willingness to Pay | • Van Westendorp survey • 10 pricing interviews • Pre-order test |
• Optimal price: $6-10/user • 10+ pre-orders |
| 7-8 | Prototype Testing | • Wizard of Oz MVP • 20 early users • NPS feedback |
• NPS >40 • 30%+ behavior change |
Go/No-Go Decision Criteria
| Metric | Target | Actual | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Problem validation | 80%+ confirm pain | - | |
| Landing page signup | >7% conversion | - | |
| Price acceptance | $6-10/user sweet spot | - | |
| Pre-orders | 10+ customers | - | |
| Prototype NPS | >40 score | - |
Research Synthesis Template
Problem Validation Summary
- • Top pain points: Meeting overload, cost invisibility, no accountability
- • Key quote: "We know meetings are expensive, but we don't know how much"
- • Unexpected finding: CFOs care more than expected
Solution Validation Summary
- • Most compelling: Real-time cost display, team comparisons
- • Low interest: Advanced analytics, benchmarking
- • Privacy concern: Salary data handling
Next Steps Based on Validation
If GO: Build MVP with Google Calendar integration, focus on cost visualization and team comparisons
If NO-GO: Pivot to individual productivity tools or focus on specific verticals with clearer ROI