Discovery Work
Discovery work (or product discovery) is the work teams do to make decisions about what to build, including the customer throughout the decision-making process. Teams typically define product discovery in contrast with product delivery.
Product discovery is the work teams do to make decisions about what to build, while product delivery is the work teams do to build, ship, and maintain a production quality product.
What is the structure of good discovery work?
Good discovery work follows a simple structure: start with an outcome, discover opportunities, discover solutions.
Once a product outcome is selected, the product team needs to discover the opportunity space. Opportunities represent customer needs, pain points, and desires. The team's goal is to discover opportunities that have the potential to drive their product outcome.
Finally, teams need to discover solutions that will address those opportunities. The solution space is also infinite, so teams focus on finding solutions that create the most customer value while driving their desired outcome.
What are the two key activities in product discovery?
Good product discovery teams engage in two key activities week over week: customer interviewing and assumption testing. Interviewing helps teams discover opportunities and assumption testing helps teams discover solutions.
This continuous approach ensures teams stay connected to customers and continuously inform their product decisions rather than making decisions based on guesses or outdated research.
Learn more:
- Product Discovery Basics: Everything You Need to Know
- Customer Interviews: How to Recruit, What to Ask, and How to Synthesize What You Learn
- Assumption Testing: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started
Related terms:
- Discovery
- Continuous Discovery
- Product Trio
- Opportunity Solution Tree
Last Updated: October 25, 2025