The Lean Product Waltz: Data-Driven User Research & Research-Driven Data Analysis

Digital products and channels are generating exponentially more data each day. Enhancing user research with data analysis has become less expensive and more practical than ever before, fostering the adoption of lean research approaches. However, a deep understanding of the context in which the data were generated is imperative to navigating the data during analysis, and ultimately to providing interpretable and actionable results. This context must be provided in large part by carefully designed conversations with the user through research techniques: interviews, workshops, focus groups, surveys, and the like.

The interplay between data analysis and user research is not just a one-time occurrence, but rather an iterative process of extracting knowledge at each step and applying it in the next. In some very real sense these two practices can be considered as engaged in a carefully choreographed dance, for which finding the rhythm has the potential to produce some notable results – for example, in the case of FIBR partner Nomanini described below.

When applied to lean product development in particular, the result of this "dance" is typically more efficient progress along the product roadmap. This means the product more rapidly approaches the optimal state for the target users, typically translating to faster development, higher revenues, increased engagement and retention, and more data to feed back into the cycle.

In this briefing note, we explore this process in the following sections:

1. Motivation: Setting the Tone with Lean Product Development
2. FIBR Case Study: “Dancing” with Nomanini’s POS and Airtime Loans
3. Conclusions & Takeaways: Catalyzing and Continuing the Waltz