Six small exercises you can run yourself.
The diagnostics I rely on most in client work. Free, no email required, no signup. Download the one closest to where you are stuck and try it before the next meeting.
- 01
The one-sentence brief
Thirty quiet minutes, by hand
Download PDFWrite what your product is actually for in plain language. No marketing. No headlines. The version you would say to a friend who has never heard of it.
Best for: When you have stopped being able to describe the product simply, or when the team keeps wording it differently in different rooms.
- 02
The team-alignment test
Five minutes per person, one week apart
Download PDFThree people on the team independently write a one-sentence answer to "what is this product for?". Compare the answers next week, not today. The differences are the conversation worth having.
Best for: When the team agrees in the room and disagrees in the work. This surfaces the underlying disagreement faster than any meeting.
- 03
The three-feature audit
A focused hour with the team
Download PDFEach person picks the three features they would remove if they had to. Write the case for removing each one. Compare the lists. Notice which features no one can defend.
Best for: When the product has gotten heavier than the use case, and you cannot tell which three features should go.
- 04
Three user calls, one question each
Three thirty-minute calls in a week
Download PDFPick three users who matter and ask each of them one specific question that would change a decision you are about to make. Not a survey. A real conversation. Take notes.
Best for: When users have started behaving differently from what your model predicted, or when the analytics will not tell you why.
- 05
The discomfort brief
A page, by hand
Download PDFWrite a one-page brief titled "what specifically would have to be different about my product for the feeling to go away". Sit with it for a week before doing any design work.
Best for: When something feels broken but you cannot point to what. Before you commit to a redesign.
- 06
The decision audit
About an hour, alone
Download PDFLook at the last three roadmap decisions. For each, write the single question that, if you had answered honestly, would have changed the decision. Patterns surface quickly.
Best for: When the team is shipping but the work does not seem to compound, or when the same kind of mistake keeps recurring.