Week 947

Matt Kirkland

It's Week 947!

This week I've been reading 'The Mom Test', a well-known work of startup conventional wisdom. It's part of my BNB Book Report series, or as I like to call it, Matt Reads a Business Book So You Don't Have To. This is the first request I've taken; Jace picked it out as something he's been told he should read but didn't want to. I'll deliver my quick review to the whole team next week.

I'd heard about this book before, and I thought the ‘mom test’ was about UX, making something that is easy enough ‘for your mom to use’. But actually it’s ‘Are you good enough at customer interviews that you can get useful info from your MOM, who definitely loves you and will lie to you to protect your feelings?'

The thesis is about customer interviews, getting feedback about your startup idea. It’s not user testing in particular, but I think the basic principles are the same and are very important. In general, Everyone is Lying to You, and you need to learn how to do customer interviews that report on past user behavior, not asking them to predict the future or give their opinions. Because in short, people are NICE and they will white-lie you to death.

A short book, definitely could-have-been-a-blog-post length, but padded with good examples that I think really drive the point home.