Continuous Discovery
Design Processes
Talking to users every week as a habit, not once at the start of a project.
In practice
Continuous discovery, as framed by Teresa Torres, is the practice of a product team maintaining a steady weekly rhythm of customer contact — interviews, tests, observation — so that learning is ongoing rather than front-loaded into a research phase. Decisions get made against fresh evidence, assumptions get tested small and often, and the team stops guessing what people need.
Questions
What is Continuous Discovery?
Continuous discovery is a product practice of regular, structured customer research woven into the weekly cadence of a team, informing decisions as they are made.
Why do you use Continuous Discovery?
A big research phase goes stale the day it ends. Weekly contact keeps the team honest and catches wrong turns while they are cheap.
How do you use/apply Continuous Discovery?
Book recurring customer conversations, map opportunities to outcomes, test assumptions with small experiments, and share what was learned every week.
When do you use Continuous Discovery?
Always, for any team shipping to real people. It is a habit, not a phase.
Who uses Continuous Discovery?
Product designers, product managers and engineers working as a trio.
