How do you validate feature priority with users?

2 Choose your research methods

Depending on your goals, hypotheses, and resources, you can select from various user research methods to validate feature priority with users. Surveys are a great option to collect quantitative data from a large sample of users and ask them to rate or rank features. Interviews can be used to collect qualitative data from a small sample of users and explore their pain points, goals, motivations, and expectations related to the features. Focus groups allow you to observe how users interact with each other and with the features, as well as what opinions and emotions they express. Card sorting is also an effective method for collecting qualitative data from individual or group users, and asking them to sort features into categories based on their importance, relevance, or similarity.

3 Prepare your materials and participants

Once you have chosen your research methods, you need to prepare your materials and participants. Your materials should include a list of features that you want to validate, along with a brief description or mockup of each feature. You should also have a survey or interview script with questions related to the features, as well as a card sorting kit with feature names or images and labels for categories or groups. Additionally, it's important to have a consent form that informs participants about the purpose, duration, and confidentiality of the research. As for participants, they should be existing or potential users who match your target persona or segment, and who have expressed interest in participating in the research. Additionally, stakeholders or experts with relevant knowledge or experience in the problem domain or the feature domain can provide valuable insights and feedback.

4 Conduct your research and validation

When conducting research and validation, it's important to be objective and neutral, allowing participants to express their own thoughts and feelings. Additionally, you should remain flexible and adaptive, following up with probing or clarifying questions if needed. It's also important to be organized and systematic, keeping your goals and hypotheses in mind throughout the process. Make sure to record and document your data and observations, and use tools or techniques to analyze and synthesize them for the best results.

5 Analyze and prioritize your features

After conducting research and validation, you need to analyze and prioritize your features based on the data and feedback collected. To do this, you can use the Kano model to classify features into four categories based on user satisfaction. Additionally, the MoSCoW method assigns features into four categories based on their importance and urgency. Lastly, the value vs effort matrix plots features on a two-dimensional grid based on their estimated value to users and the business, as well as their estimated effort to develop and deliver. By using these methods, you can prioritize features that are high value and low effort, while deprioritizing those that are low value and high effort.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?