Quote
“Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics or opinions about the future.”
— Rob Fitzpatrick, in The Mom Test (2013) · The Mom Test →
Why it was said
This is the second of the three rules that give The Mom Test its name, set out in Rob Fitzpatrick's first chapter. The rules are designed so that even your mother, who wants to be nice to you, cannot mislead you about whether your idea is any good.
What it actually means
Ask people whether they would use your product and they will say yes, because it costs them nothing and makes you happy. Ask them about the future and you get optimism. Ask them about the last time they had the problem, what they did about it and what it cost them, and you get facts. Past behaviour is the best evidence of future behaviour, and specifics are hard to invent. If someone cannot remember the last time the problem came up, or has never looked for a solution, that tells you more than any enthusiastic "I would definitely buy that".
How to use it
- 1Replace "Would you use this?" with "When did this last happen to you, and what did you do?"
- 2When someone says "I usually" or "I would", ask for the most recent concrete example.
- 3Ask what they have already spent, in time or money, trying to solve the problem.