Why User Conversations Are Your Most Underused Engineering Tool
Not long ago, after one of those painfully failed product validations, I found myself wondering: how many key decisions have I made without truly understanding who I’m trying to help? I’ll admit—it hurt to realize the answer.
As a Founder / Product Owner / Business Developer, I’ve had the privilege of working with brilliant technical minds. People who write code like poetry—masters of distributed systems, CI/CD, pipelines—the whole stack. But when it comes to having a genuine conversation with a user, many freeze up. Not because they don’t care, but because no one ever taught them the art of asking the right questions.
If you’re a CTO or COO leading a software team—especially in growth-stage companies from Austin to Dallas—here’s your wake-up call:
If your engineers can’t talk to users, you’re not just building in the dark. You’re handing the job to AI, one disconnected sprint at a time.
What Happens When Dev Teams Work Without User Signals
Without user context, your team may:
- Ship features instead of solving real problems.
- Use deadlines as the only motivator—eroding product purpose.
- Iterate fast, but in circles.
- Turn your backlog into a graveyard of half-guessed ideas.
- Miss out on disruptive innovation. Real innovation comes from human empathy, not just roadmaps.
I once led a team where the technical challenge wasn’t particularly complex. A CTO told me building the KHERO app didn’t feel “intellectually interesting.” Later, I realized my mistake: I hadn’t explained the impact of what we were building. If I had conveyed that his work would help thousands of people feel like heroes and change the lives of hundreds of breast cancer survivors, I’m sure his perspective would’ve shifted.
When your developers fall in love with the problem, not just the tech, you’ve got an unstoppable team—even when the intellectual challenge isn’t the biggest.
The Mom Test: Why It Should Be Required Reading for Tech Leads
Based on The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick, here’s what we train our developers to do:
- Don’t pitch—listen.
Wrong: “Would you use this?”
Right: “How did you solve this last time?”
- Ignore compliments.
“Sounds good” ≠ commitment. Real signals come from past actions, not vague future promises.
- Ask about reality, not hypotheticals.
“Would you walk to fundraise?” → 100% yes.
“Do you walk or run? When was the last time?” → 20% follow-through. Reality > good intentions.
We seek validation, but what we really need is truth. And truth doesn’t emerge when you talk—it shows up when you listen.
Using this shift in approach, we fine-tuned our segment and doubled download and usage rates for the KHERO app.
Want to Build a Better Team Culture? Start with This Ritual
We implement a simple practice called Coffee with Customers for our engineering teams (in Mexico, Colombia, and with partners in Texas):
- Prep (15 min): Devs create one hypothesis and write 3 user-safe questions.
- Live Call (20 min): A real user call—no selling, just learning.
- Post-Mortem: We analyze what we learned, share it, and use it to shape the backlog.
The result?
Devs stop building because someone said so. They start building because someone needs it.
For CTOs, COOs & Product Leaders: This Is About More Than Research—It’s About Leadership
A tech lead who can’t explain the “why” behind a sprint is managing, not leading.
Great leaders:
- Create space for devs to hear users.
- Reward curiosity over code volume.
- Coach their teams to spot truths hiding in plain sight.
Why This Matters in Nearshore Teams
With distributed teams across LATAM, communication gaps can multiply. But when nearshore engineers—like those we place from Morelia to Medellín—talk to end users in real time, everything changes:
- Higher alignment
- Better backlog quality
- Shorter cycles
- Stronger culture
- Lower churn
Final Thoughts (and a Gift)
I’ve made all the mistakes—mistaking interest for intent, validating products with my own pitch, skipping user contact. But I’ve learned. And I’m still learning.
If you want a practical, one-page cheat sheet based on The Mom Test—something you can use in your next team meeting—just reach out to me at linkedin.com/in/guillermotp
Remember:
Don’t try to be interesting. Stay interested.
