Your Mom is Not a Valid Test Market

http://www.fullcontact.com/2012/03/24/your-mom-is-not-a-valid-test-market/

by lorangb • 14 years ago

39 12 14 years ago

fullcontact.com

cadooo• 14 years ago

Id test it

mtodd• 14 years ago

That's not what she said last night.

bluebridge• 14 years ago

Your mom goes to college.

padobson• 14 years ago

I don't think I could disagree with this more.

You absolutely can't listen to what your mom says.

But you can absolutely validate your product with what your mom does.

Does she use it everyday? Does she complain about this feature or that feature? When you're standing behind her when she opens up the application, does she stare at it blankly for five minutes before clicking on something that crashes it? How many questions did she ask you about how to use it? How easy was it for her to learn to use?

All of this is infinitely valuable mom-feedback. Nobody embodies your userbase better than your mom, so you better be testing it on her.

tobiasSoftware• 14 years ago

Exactly. I'm starting a company soon, half of the software I plan to sell is software my mom asked for. I know the software I build is good because my mom likes it. However, the way my mom likes my software is she uses it to fix the problems she used to complain about. And if she sees something I need to add, she tells me.

I know what she thinks about the software is skewed because it was built by her son, but I also know she used to say, "I wish I could do this" and now she says "Hey I used your program again today, I'm so glad I don't have this problem anymore." The article is right that you can't use your mom for your typical survey, but she can have a more valuable place as a beta tester, someone you can actually watch use your program.

On the other hand the article does have a valid point. "My family says they like it" is not a confirmation your software is good. It reminds me of when I watched American Idol and the horrible singers would say "Well my family says I sing well."

lorangb• 14 years ago

very good point on using your mom as a beta tester. if it's easy enough that your mom can use it, you've done your job.

nullflux• 14 years ago

"Nobody embodies your userbase better than your mom"

That is not a universal truth.

Is your mother computer literate? How does she use web applications and her computer? How does she connect to the product? What niche does the application fill in her life, and is it truly a superior alternative to another product in her life?

What the article is getting at is that friends and family often show extreme positive bias. If you really have to use your friends or family as a feedback group, you'd be best off not telling them you built the application at all. If you're like "hey, check out this thing I found, it might be useful for you," you can get rid of some of the "My child/sibling/cousin/friend built this!" bias and instead only have to deal with the lesser bias of "My child/sibling/cousin/friend referred me to this product."

silentscope• 14 years ago

Good intent with the article. But the lead: "I threw up in my mouth a little bit"--comn man. Really?

sopooneo• 14 years ago

I agree. That's an overused joke. Just as you shouldn't ask for criticism from friend or family, there is also a simple rule about being funny: don't repeat jokes. Unless you are using it in a new or clever context, or otherwise making it fresh, don't ever try to get a laugh from strangers by repeating anything they've already heard. Your friends will piss themselves laughing at your Zoolander impressions. No one else will.

AznHisoka• 14 years ago

I'd also generalize this and say that you can't trust anyone that can't be too critical and honest with you with anything. I know people don't like to hurt other people's feelings, but nothing is less helpful than telling someone "Hopefully, so and so will happen", or "Just be optimistic and hope for the best". If I'm screwed, tell me I'm screwed and possible actions I can take.

vog• 14 years ago

Maybe I'm the exception, or maybe this is a cultural thing (I live near Berlin), but ...

I'm in the lucky position to have friends (and lots of family members) who are bluntly honest to me.

larrys• 14 years ago

Might be a cultural thing. I was raised in this country by people who lived for some time where you are (as well as other areas overseas). They rarely dole out compliments and are quick to give criticism. When you are raised that way it becomes the norm and has definitely been a benefit in my opinion.

Edit: By "lived" I mean were born elsewhere overseas but ended up living for some time in Germany before moving to this country.

Your Mom is Not a Valid Test Market

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