The Mom Test for Customer Conversations

Based on Rob Fitzpatrick's public method. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Rob Fitzpatrick.

When to use

Use this skill to prepare customer conversations, rewrite leading questions, review supplied interview notes, or decide what an interested prospect's actions actually establish. It produces a customer discovery brief: a practical conversation guide, an evidence review, or both. The aim is to learn facts that change a decision and, when an offer exists, identify concrete progress toward a purchase. [S1] [S2]

Apply it before committing development effort, when feedback sounds uniformly encouraging, or when repeated meetings produce enthusiasm without advancement. It also helps investigate feature requests and understand why customers retain apparently awkward workflows. Do not turn a conversation into a vote on the founder's idea. Specific behavior is more informative than predicted adoption. [S3] [S5]

This package draws on public interviews and essays rather than book text. The output schema, evidence labels, and review gates are agent adaptations. They organize Fitzpatrick's advice without claiming that he prescribed this exact reporting system. Source citations identify the public method; customer findings must point to supplied notes or observations separately.

Procedure

1. Choose the deliverable and decision. Open templates/output-template.md. Select planning, evidence review, or mixed mode. State the customer group, product stage, and decision the work must inform. If context is incomplete, make narrow assumptions explicit; do not invent interview evidence.
2. Separate learning from selling. Read the distinction in references/method.md. Identify whether success means understanding existing behavior or securing progress on an actual offer. In mixed work, keep those outcomes separate and identify where the conversation changes mode. [S2]
3. Set three learning objectives. Follow references/method.md. Choose the uncertainties that could change the plan, including a threatening assumption. Record what an unwelcome answer would imply. Prioritize current behavior, failed alternatives, and purchasing constraints over a long questionnaire. [S4] [S5]
4. Choose relevant participants and context. Use references/method.md to identify people with direct experience and realistic access. Friendly contacts can help practice; record that relationship and broaden the group. Keep a short exchange useful without forcing every encounter into a formal interview. [S4] [S6]
5. Rewrite the question set. Apply the three filters in references/method.md: the customer's circumstances, a concrete past episode, and room to listen. Replace approval requests, forecasts, and imagined prices. Consult examples/worked-examples.md for before-and-after illustrations. [S3]
6. Reconstruct an actual episode. Follow references/method.md. Capture the trigger, sequence, tools, participants, costs, outcome, and reasons. Prepare conditional probes rather than a rigid script. Ask to see relevant work when practical; distinguish a reported event from something observed. [S4]
7. Recover from praise and investigate requests. Use references/method.md. Return from compliments to a concrete event. For each feature request, uncover the goal and current workaround before considering implementation. Mark product pitches that may have influenced later answers. [S5]
8. Test fit with existing habits. Consult references/method.md. Identify where the proposed product should begin and end, what tools it should cooperate with, and what behavior must change. A painful problem does not establish that the suggested solution fits the customer's world. [S7]
9. Choose the next form of evidence. Use references/method.md. Decide whether the remaining uncertainty needs another conversation, an observable prototype task, or a purchase step. Experience-dependent value often needs an earlier prototype. Learning reduces particular risks; it does not create certainty. [S4] [S6]
10. Assess commitments when an offer exists. Follow references/method.md. Specify a meaningful ask involving time, reputation, or money. Record requested, agreed, and completed actions separately. Explain what each action demonstrates and what remains unproven, especially purchasing authority. [S2] [S4]
11. Synthesize, review, and iterate. Complete templates/output-template.md, linking conclusions to concrete evidence and preserving contradictions. Apply checklists/review-checklist.md. Repair failed checks and state the next decision-relevant action. Use reflection to explain what changed, rather than merely collecting highlights. [S8]

Files in this skill

• SKILL.md: Entry point, use cases, and the agent's discovery loop.
• references/method.md: Principles, decision rules, warnings, and edge cases.
• references/sources.md: Fetched public sources and their contributions, keyed by [S#].
• examples/worked-examples.md: Invented illustrations of question repair and evidence review.
• templates/output-template.md: Guided customer discovery brief for planning and review.
• checklists/review-checklist.md: Pass/fail quality gates and common repairs.