The talk UX Research vs. Product Discovery: An Opportunity for UXR by Katherine caught my attention. It helped me clearly understand the differences between UX Research, Product Discovery, and Continuous Discovery. The 3 terms I’ve heard often but hadn’t fully distinguished throughout my career.
What stood out most was how the speaker translated these concepts into a practical workflow that helps teams continuously engage with users, rather than treating research as a one-time activity.
Below are the key takeaways I blog down for later use:
The 3 Key Terms Explained
UX Research: Methods & tools helps teams understand users to reduce uncertainty and support better product and design decisions.
Product Discovery: A phase in Product Lifecycle that focused on deciding what to build.
Continuous Discovery: An ongoing team workflow of regularly learning from users to inform decisions.
How the Workflow Was Designed
Katherine and her team designed a workflow to help internal teams engage with users in a more structured and respectful way. This workflow helped align teams on learning goals and ensured research efforts followed the principles of Continuous Discovery.
She began by identifying common patterns between UX Research and Discovery Research, then mapped how research methods fit within a Continuous Discovery approach.
She outlined the purpose of Continuous Discovery from different team perspectives, showing how it supports designers, product managers, and engineers in their day-to-day work.
Finally, she introduced a shared language and a practical workflow that teams across the company could understand and apply.