Using Research to Determine Unique Value Proposition
Summary
A story about how to quantify and use survey data to create audience clusters that are statistically representative of the people that use your online product or service. Edgar joins the dots between multiple research/pattern finding/storytelling techniques, such as proto-personas, affinity mapping, survey creation, quantification of qualitative data, organic clustering of audiences, user interviews, journey maps, and business modeling canvas. It makes research tangible and actionable: instead of being an end-point that provides stakeholders with insights, it takes stakeholders through an inclusive and structured process they can be part of.
Key Insights
-
•
Research often fails when stakeholders are not involved or don't trust the data sources and methodologies.
-
•
Treating research as a product, with stakeholders as users, drastically increases engagement and usability.
-
•
Using proto-persona workshops with cross-department stakeholders helps generate unbiased, relevant survey questions.
-
•
Clustering survey data via Python and correlation matrices can reveal meaningful user segments with statistical significance.
-
•
Statistical validity (e.g., 95% confidence at 5% margin) is critical for stakeholder buy-in in large user bases.
-
•
Behavioral and demographic clusters need to be augmented with emotional attributes to create actionable personas.
-
•
Affinity mapping large qualitative datasets reduces noise and distills coherent narratives and pain points.
-
•
Mapping pain points to measurable hypotheses enables prioritization based on user impact and implementation effort.
-
•
Divergent and convergent workshops using tools like the business model canvas help explore and refine value proposition delivery.
-
•
Iterative, lean research with frequent stakeholder feedback helps identify and minimize bias effectively.
Notable Quotes
"Research should be done the same way products are built, with stakeholders as your users."
"If you frame the research in terms your stakeholders understand, they will become research-hungry."
"We don’t make big deliverables because they create friction; instead, we create shared understanding through conversations."
"Proto-persona sessions helped us avoid departmental bias and uncover the questions stakeholders really cared about."
"We used a 0.8 correlation threshold to tightly cluster similar survey responses, balancing cluster count and inclusion."
"Clusters alone aren’t personas; we turned clusters into interview screeners and then emotional personas."
"We wrote hypotheses as we believe this pain point matters, here’s how we test it, and how success looks."
"Different stakeholders tackle the delivery problem differently, which gave us necessary divergent thinking."
"Biases surface as you iterate, so lean approaches help you find and fix them quicker."
"Marital status mattered because some people buy cars for their spouses or kids, not just themselves."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Building relationships beyond roles, as people, makes everything else fall into place."
Shahrzad SamadzadehWhat Is My Value? Two Takes and Some Mistakes
January 8, 2024
"Governance should have been slide one: these systems keep behaving in the world after release."
Anne CanteraThe New Design Stack: The Skills Traditional Designers Need to Add To Their Toolboxes ASAP
July 29, 2026
"We made this move in January 2020 — our research and insights team moved out of UX but stayed within product organizations."
Nalini KotamrajuResearch After UX
March 25, 2024
"Many product teams have never come face to face with their revenue numbers before, so cross-functional exposure is eye-opening."
Jackie HoLead Effectively While Preserving Team Autonomy with Growth Boards
January 8, 2024
"Avoid 'why' questions because they trigger defensive amygdala responses; use 'what' and 'how' to keep people logical."
Joshua GravesWe Need To Talk: Addressing Unmet Expectations (Part 2 of 3)
April 28, 2025
"Only one in 10 companies have quantifiable measurement for their design leaders."
Kristin Skinner Kamdyn Moore8 Types of Measures in Design Operations
April 16, 2020
"The universe will absolutely provide if it’s the right thing for you."
Mary-Lynne WilliamsExit Interview #4: From Product Design Leadership to Sound Healing
January 14, 2026
"I didn’t magically have crystal-clear thoughts. I changed the conditions just enough."
Joe ElmendorfShitty Maps: A Trojan Horse for Sensemaking
July 9, 2026
"I know exactly this job, all its problems and dysfunctions, and I don’t want to do that anymore."
Greg PetroffExit Interview #1: Greg Petroff: From Silicon Valley Executive to Sonoma County Possibilitarian
September 24, 2025
