Conclusion

If this book raised more questions than it answered, fantastic. I want you to be excited about asking questions. Questions are more powerful than answers. And asking often takes more courage than sticking with comfortable assumptions.

Every time you find a product or service that’s a joy to use, meets a need maybe you didn’t even know you had, and fits seamlessly into your life, you know that someone on the other end asked hard questions. Why should this exist? Who benefits? How can we make this better?

You can do the same for your users and your (or your client’s) business. They deserve no less. Your effort and craft also deserve to be put to use in a way that has real meaning. So, always make sure you inquire into the real-world context surrounding your work. When blue-sky thinking meets reality, reality always wins. Make friends with reality. Cultivate a desire to be proven wrong as quickly as possible and for the lowest cost. If you work in a culture that prizes failing fast, there is no faster way to fail than by testing an idea that’s still on the drawing board. Except maybe checking your assumptions before you even get down to drawing.

The right questions keep you honest. They help improve communication within your team. They prevent you from wasting time and money. They are your competitive advantage, guiding you toward workable solutions to real problems.

Let curiosity be your guide. Form questions. Gather data. Analyze. One sequence, many approaches. I hope the techniques outlined in this book help you get started (right now!) and encourage you to develop a research habit wherever and however you work. Research isn’t a burden or a luxury. It’s simply a means to develop useful insights within your existing process.

How much research is just enough? You’ll need to do just enough to find out.