Quality Of Evidence

You've got behavioral analytics, support tickets, sales call notes, and a feedback inbox that never empties. With all that data coming in, do product teams actually still need to go out and talk to users?

In this episode, Petra Wille and Teresa Torres dig into why not all product evidence is created equal — and why the type of data you collect matters just as much as the volume. Teresa introduces her "ladder of evidence" framework and shares what she's learning from real interview transcripts through her work at Vistaly: that many teams are confusing product demos, stakeholder meetings, and opinion-gathering sessions for genuine customer research.

They explore the spectrum from low-quality signals (support tickets, app store reviews) to rich, story-based interviews — and why the goal isn't perfection, but moving in the right direction. Plus: why even a mediocre interview is better than no interview at all, and how to coach teams toward stronger evidence without discouraging them from talking to customers in the first place.