Find people with the problem
Describe the customer precisely enough to recognize them. Identify a few reachable people and invite relevant conversations through an appropriate channel.
The job to do
Describe the customer precisely enough to recognize them. Identify a few reachable people and invite relevant conversations through an appropriate channel. Be transparent that you are researching their workflow, not selling a finished product.
This is original The SaaS Game guidance for the Rebel stage. Use the steps on your own project; adapt the size of the work to your customer access and weekly capacity.
Set up a useful attempt
Write the question you want this task to answer. Name the customer, the expected useful result, the time you can spend, and what information you already have. Choose a small enough scope that you can finish an attempt within the level’s 7-day mission window. The deadline covers your work and review; it is not a promise of a customer or revenue.
Keep three columns in your notes: what you observed, what you inferred, and what remains unknown. Add dates and links to observations where available. Keep identifying customer details private.
What to record
Save the customer definition, outreach approach, and a record of conversations arranged.
Capture the context as well as the outcome: who was involved, when the work happened, what changed during the attempt, and what could explain the result besides your preferred hypothesis. If a number is estimated or self-reported, label it. A small sample can inform the next move without proving a general rule.
Review and choose the next move
Compare the output with the question you started with. Continue when the evidence supports a useful next step; change the scope or approach when it does not; stop when the problem is no longer worth pursuing. Explain your decision in a few sentences so your future self or a quest partner can understand it.
If the work is incomplete, record the blocker and create a new bounded attempt. Do not erase the original result or turn a deadline into a false achievement. Your next task is learn how they handle it today.
Use this with the game
Open your project at level 2, meet your customer, and use this guide alongside “Understand the people behind the problem.” Save notes in private evidence and mark the task complete when the requested output exists. Share only a deliberate summary with your group.
The linked reference is additional context, not a claim that its author endorses this checklist or that this method guarantees results.
Follow the sources
Use the original references to check context, dates, and limitations. The interpretation and suggested next steps are editorial guidance.