Episode #19: How do I do discovery in hardware? -with Kai Stevens (Product Leader & Discovery Coach)

Think discovery is hard? Try doing it in hardware.

But hey, behind every challenge there is a lot of fun, and it is exactly the fun of doing discovery in hardware that I discussed with Kai Stevens who has tons of insights from his career at tado.

We talked about how to strike the right balance between upfront and continuous discovery when working with physical products. Here are his 3 golden rules:

• Some decisions in hardware are irreversible—focus your discovery on those, and get stakeholder buy-in early.

• Usability is a huge risk—test it creatively, even if you don’t have a finished product.

• Don’t overlook GTM feasibility—your product can fail for reasons beyond features, and that’s a very expensive lesson.

I’ve never worked in hardware myself. I actually, I used to actively avoid it. But this conversation made it sound so complex, challenging, and fun that I’m now genuinely curious to give it a try. Especially those creative prototypes got my head spinning.

If you work in hardware, what’s the most unexpected way you’ve tested a prototype with users? I’d love to hear your hacks. 👇