Discovery is not the same as research
A quick distinction that changed how I plan my sprints.
Research is about understanding. Discovery is about reducing risk before you build.
They use similar methods (interviews, observation, data) but have fundamentally different success criteria. Research is successful if you understand something better. Discovery is successful if you make a build decision with less uncertainty.
The distinction matters because discovery has a deadline. You don’t discover indefinitely — you discover until you have enough confidence to act, then you build and learn from real behavior.
“We need to do more research” is often a proxy for “we don’t want to commit yet.” Sometimes that’s legitimate. Often it’s avoidance.
The question to ask: what specific risk am I reducing by doing this interview?
If you can’t answer that, you’re doing research, not discovery.