If Your Tech Team Can’t Talk to Users, AI Will Take Their Jobs (and You’ll Be an Accomplice)

By Guillermo Tena

Why User Conversations Are Your Most Underused Engineering Tool

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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What Happens When Dev Teams Work Without User Signals

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Without user context, your team may:

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• Ship features instead of solving real problems.

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• Use deadlines as the only motivator—eroding product purpose.

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• Iterate fast, but in circles.

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• Turn your backlog into a graveyard of half-guessed ideas.

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• Miss out on disruptive innovation. Real innovation comes from human empathy, not just roadmaps.

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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.

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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

nBased on The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick, here’s what we train our developers to do:n

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• Don’t pitch—listen.

nnWrong: “Would you use this?”nRight: “How did you solve this last time?”

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• Ignore compliments.

nn“Sounds good” ≠ commitment. Real signals come from past actions, not vague future promises.

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• Ask about reality, not hypotheticals.

nn“Would you walk to fundraise?” → 100% yes.n“Do you walk or run? When was the last time?” → 20% follow-through. Reality u0026gt; good intentions.

nnWe seek validation, but what we really need is truth. And truth doesn’t emerge when you talk—it shows up when you listen.nnUsing this shift in approach, we fine-tuned our segment and doubled download and usage rates for the KHERO app.nnn

Want to Build a Better Team Culture? Start with This Ritual

nWe implement a simple practice called Coffee with Customers for our engineering teams (in Mexico, Colombia, and with partners in Texas):n

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• Prep (15 min): Devs create one hypothesis and write 3 user-safe questions.

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• Live Call (20 min): A real user call—no selling, just learning.

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• Post-Mortem: We analyze what we learned, share it, and use it to shape the backlog.

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nThe result?nDevs stop building because someone said so. They start building because someone needs it.

For CTOs, COOs u0026amp; Product Leaders: This Is About More Than Research—It’s About Leadership

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A tech lead who can’t explain the “why” behind a sprint is managing, not leading.
Great leaders:

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• Create space for devs to hear users.

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• Reward curiosity over code volume.

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• Coach their teams to spot truths hiding in plain sight.

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Why This Matters in Nearshore Teams

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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:

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• Higher alignment

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• Better backlog quality

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• Shorter cycles

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• Stronger culture

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• Lower churn

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Final Thoughts (and a Gift)

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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.

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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

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Remember:
Don’t try to be interesting. Stay interested.