We’ve recently embraced rapid prototyping with customers as a means to learning quickly — getting directional and behavioral data with low- fidelity prototypes and quick iterations. Done well, we’ve surprised ourselves with the quality of the insights we’ve unearthed. Done poorly, it’s a mess and the results are either obvious or uninspired. What’s tough is: it’s about 50/50. It’s like panning for gold. Sometimes it’s awesome, sometimes it’s a colossal waste of time.

Always good to spend time with customers. Even better when you walk away with something worth sharing with others.