Crafting a Winning Product Discovery Strategy with Diana Eugenia Matei

In our latest edition of the Discovery Dive series, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Diana Eugenia Matei,

Get to Know Diana Eugenia Matei

Meet Diana Eugenia Matei, a visionary product leader with over a decade of experience across various sectors like B2C, data product management, and growth product management. Diana shares her in-depth knowledge on the nuances of product discovery, emphasizing the structured approaches necessary for mastering this critical aspect of product development.

Understanding Product Discovery Through Diana’s Lens

Diana begins by demystifying product discovery, defining it not just as an activity but as a fundamental approach to managing ambiguity and reducing risks in product development. "Product discovery is definitely a very interesting space," Diana states. "It's around the tools and techniques you apply to manage ambiguity and to reduce risk."

She elaborates on the importance of a structured approach to gaining evidence about the validity of a product path, saying, "It’s a structured approach to you getting more evidence on whether you’re on the right track with your assumptions."

The Double Diamond Model Explained

Diana is a proponent of the Double Diamond model, which clarifies the process of product discovery by dividing it into two critical phases: exploring the problem space and then the solution space. "The double diamond goes, you start from maybe a specific metric or specific or a generic problem, and then you go wide," she explains. This model helps teams expand their understanding of user problems before narrowing down to define and tackle these issues effectively.

The Role of Product Discovery in Business

Expanding on the business implications of product discovery, Diana emphasizes its role in ensuring that investments in development lead to products that not only meet user needs but are also financially viable. "It's an approach for you to reduce risk, so when you are actually investing in development, you are building something you're confident that your customers are going to use," she says.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation

Diana stresses that product discovery should be an ongoing process, where learning and adaptation continue even after initial development stages. "Product discovery includes experimentation, includes interaction with users with different techniques," she notes, advocating for a continuous engagement with both problem and solution spaces to ensure products remain relevant and valuable.

Involving the Whole Team in Discovery

One of Diana's strong beliefs is that product discovery should be a team sport, involving not just product managers but engineers and other stakeholders as well. "Discovery is a team sport. And I believe that engineers should also be involved in discovery," Diana argues. She explains that involving the entire team helps in understanding the full context of product challenges and solutions, enriching the development process and enhancing team buy-in.

The Ever-evolving Practice of Product Discovery

Diana’s conversation enlightens us on the dynamic nature of product discovery, underscoring the need for structured approaches, continuous involvement, and team-wide collaboration. Her insights provide a roadmap for teams aiming to harness the full potential of their product development efforts through effective discovery practices.

Diana Eugenia Matei's expertise in navigating the complexities of product discovery offers invaluable lessons for anyone looking to enhance their approach to building products that not only fulfill customer needs but also drive meaningful business outcomes. Her structured yet flexible approach to product discovery serves as a guide for teams striving to achieve excellence in an increasingly competitive market.

Watch the full episode of Discovery Dive here👇