Discovery summary
Builds on Topic 5.
What you'll produce
A one-page discovery summary for your chosen product: a clear statement of a real problem worth solving, who has it, the evidence it's real, and the job the user is trying to get done. This is the foundation of your whole capstone — every later deliverable builds on it. It proves the most important PM skill from Topic 5: falling in love with a problem, not a solution.
Instructions
- Pick the user. Name a specific user segment of your product (not "everyone") — e.g., "new users in their first week," "power users who use it daily."
- State the problem in one or two sentences, from the user's point of view — a pain or unmet need, not a feature. (Bad: "the app needs dark mode." Good: "users browsing at night strain their eyes and quit early.")
- Give the evidence. List 2–4 signals the problem is real: things you've observed, reviews/complaints you can imagine or find, your own experience, or data you'd expect. Note which are facts vs. assumptions to validate.
- Write the Job to be Done. Frame what the user is really trying to accomplish: "When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome]."
- Write 3 neutral discovery questions you would ask a real user to validate this — questions about past behavior, with no leading (re-read Topic 5 Lesson 5.3).
- State the risk. What's the single riskiest assumption — the thing that, if false, means this isn't worth solving?
Worked example
(Product: a habit-tracking app)
- User segment: People who downloaded the app, set up habits, but stopped opening it within two weeks.
- Problem: New users lose motivation once the initial novelty fades, because nothing reconnects them to why they started; they quietly drift away before the habit forms.
- Evidence: (fact) app-store reviews mention "I forgot about it after a week"; (fact) my own use followed this pattern; (assumption to validate) week-2 retention is the steepest drop in the funnel.
- Job to be Done: "When I'm trying to build a new habit, I want timely encouragement tied to my personal goal, so I can stay motivated long enough for it to stick."
- Discovery questions: (1) "Tell me about the last habit you tried to build with an app — what happened?" (2) "Walk me through the last time you stopped using a tracking app." (3) "What, if anything, has ever pulled you back to an app you'd drifted from?"
- Riskiest assumption: That motivation (not, say, a clunky UI) is the real reason people drop off. If the real cause is friction, this problem is mis-framed.
Rubric
The app's AI scores your submission against these criteria and gives feedback. Levels: Needs work (1) / Solid (2) / Excellent (3). Passing = every criterion at Solid or above; revise and resubmit until it passes.
- Specific user segment — 1: "everyone" or vague · 2: a clear segment · 3: a sharp segment with a reason it matters.
- Problem framed as a user problem (not a solution) — 1: states a feature/solution · 2: a real user problem · 3: a crisp, compelling problem from the user's POV.
- Evidence with fact-vs-assumption labeled — 1: none or pure opinion · 2: 2+ plausible signals · 3: multiple signals, clearly separating facts from assumptions to validate.
- Job to be Done — 1: missing or a restated feature · 2: a valid JTBD · 3: a JTBD that reveals the real underlying goal.
- Neutral, past-behavior discovery questions — 1: leading or hypothetical · 2: mostly neutral and past-focused · 3: three sharp, non-leading, behavior-based questions.
- Riskiest assumption identified — 1: missing · 2: a real assumption · 3: the genuinely load-bearing assumption, clearly stated.