This lesson introduces innovators to the concept of pretotyping—a method for quickly and affordably testing the appeal and demand for a solution before building a more complex MVP.
Skills: [User Research] [Interview Techniques] [Active Listening] [Empathy Building] [Pain Point Identification] [Insight Synthesis] [Problem Definition]
Time of lesson: 10 min 13 sec
Overview:
Let’s say you’re launching a new productivity app, and you’re convinced it’s the next big thing. But when your boss asks, “How do you know this solves a real problem?” you realize… you’re not sure! Cue the user interviews.
By sitting down with real users and learning their daily struggles—like managing email overload or getting distracted by notifications—you uncover that their biggest pain isn’t about features at all, but simplicity, price, and ease of use. Now you can focus your solution around the real problem and build a product that people actually want. Because without understanding your users’ stories, you might just end up building something that’s great… for no one. 🗣️💡
Key Concepts Covered:
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Interview Preparation: How to identify the right users to interview and prepare meaningful, open-ended questions.
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Listening for Insights: Techniques for active listening to capture not just what users say, but how they feel and what motivates them.
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Uncovering Pains and Problems: Strategies for digging deeper to reveal underlying frustrations, needs, and challenges users face.
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Synthesizing Findings: Methods to turn interview notes into actionable insights for your product or solution.
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Developing Empathy: Building a user-centric mindset to guide your innovation efforts and create solutions that address real problems.
👉 Log in to Productable to relay the stories, insights, and uncovered pains from your user interviews
Want to learn more?:
Check out these resources!
- "Pretotype It” by Alberto Savoia – The foundational guide to pretotyping, with practical examples and case studies.
- “Building the Right “It”: How Pretotyping Guides Product Decisions with Concrete Data” – Articles on how one organization leans on pretotyping to test ideas.
- “Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days” by Jake Knapp – Details the “design sprint” process, a form of pretotyping used to quickly validate ideas.
About the instructor: 
Nick Chagin brings a unique blend of intrapreneurial education and operational wherewithal to the Productable Success Team to help users both understand how to use the software and the methodology.
Prior to joining Productable, Nick facilitated entrepreneurship education programs for over 2000+ young aspiring entrepreneurs across 16 different countries, working with over 50 American and international universities and 11 U.S. Embassies spanning five continents. He led international partnership development, connecting bridges between entrepreneurially ecosystems. He developed high-level U.S. Department of State programs for initiatives like the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) and Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) while facilitating corporate innovation workshops for organizations like Dell.
He volunteers on the Board of Advisors for the ENACTUS social entrepreneurship club at the University of Illinois and teaches high school entrepreneurship programs with TiE Young Entrepreneurs Foundation.