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PTA 402 · Unit 1 of 6

Discovery Planning and Research Questions

Product Discovery, UX and Experimentation

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Learning objectives

After completing this unit, you will be able to:

  • Apply discovery planning and research questions to real product and technology decisions
  • Apply the frameworks in "Discovery Planning and Research Questions" to a real management decision
  • Make progress on your Unit lesson exercises applied project

Why this matters

Unplanned discovery produces interesting notes, not shippable bets, in a weekly experiment culture.

Lesson

Unit overview

Complete all 4 lessons in order. Each lesson follows the program gold standard: SignalStack scenarios, worked examples, practice problems, and managerial judgment prompts tied to Discovery Planning and Research Questions.

Connection to applied work

This unit feeds directly into Unit lesson exercises. As you read, capture notes, examples, and data you can reuse in that deliverable. Strong students finish each unit with a draft section of their project, not just highlights.

Practice

  1. Write a one-page summary of this unit in your own words without looking at the lesson.
  2. Find a real company example (public filing, news article, or personal experience) that illustrates the main concept.
  3. Draft one paragraph recommending an action a manager should take based on this unit.
  4. Add at least three terms from this unit to your course glossary.

Knowledge check

Answer these without notes before marking the unit complete:

  1. What is the central idea of "Discovery Planning and Research Questions"?
  2. What mistake do beginners most often make when applying this material?
  3. How does this unit help you complete Unit lesson exercises?
  4. What is one decision you face this month where this unit applies?

Key takeaways

  • Apply discovery planning and research questions to real product and technology decisions
  • Business concepts only matter when they change a decision.
  • Your PTA 402 assessment (Discovery Planning and Research Questions for Product Discovery, UX and Experimentation using SignalStack applied examples.) rewards applied understanding, not memorization.

Unit assessment

Complete each section below. Score 80%+ on the quiz to finish this unit's assessment.

50% applied project30% case work20% knowledge checks

Exercises

Apply what you learned in this unit with structured practice.

ExerciseApplied practice: Discovery Planning and Research Questions45 min
Complete a focused practice exercise on **Discovery Planning and Research Questions**. 1. Choose a real company, product, or situation you know. 2. Apply one core framework from this unit to analyze it. 3. Write your analysis in 300–500 words with a clear recommendation. 4. Cite at least one credible source.

Deliverable

300–500 word analysis document saved to your portfolio under PTA 402.

Rubric

  • • Framework applied correctly (not just named)
  • • Specific evidence from a real example
  • • Clear recommendation with tradeoffs acknowledged
  • • Professional writing with source citation
ExerciseDrill: Discovery Planning and Research Questions30 min
Work through the practice problems in the unit lesson without looking at notes. Then check your work against the lesson and write a short reflection: - What you got right - One mistake you caught - One concept to review before the next unit

Deliverable

Problem solutions + 150-word reflection in your PTA 402 workbook.

Rubric

  • • Attempted all practice items before checking answers
  • • Honest reflection on errors
  • • Identifies a specific review action

Case analysis

Analyze a case using frameworks from this unit.

CaseCase analysis: Discovery Planning and Research Questions60 min
Analyze a real business case through the lens of **Discovery Planning and Research Questions**. Choose a public company event, HBR-style case, or documented decision. **Deliverable structure:** 1. Situation summary (150 words) 2. Analysis using this unit's frameworks (400 words) 3. Recommendation (150 words) 4. Risks and what would change your mind

Deliverable

2-page case write-up in your portfolio.

Rubric

  • • Case facts are accurate and sourced
  • • Analysis uses unit frameworks explicitly
  • • Recommendation is justified with tradeoffs
  • • Risks are specific, not generic

Knowledge quiz

Check your understanding before marking the unit complete.

1. SignalStack's Maya Chen faces: "Sam Rivera opened five discovery tracks without a decision date; synthesis never reached Maya's roadmap." Which decision frame is strongest?

2. Which term from Discovery Planning and Research Questions is defined correctly for SignalStack?

3. Priya Nair reviews evidence for Discovery Planning and Research Questions. Which label is appropriate after 12 customer interviews showing a recurring theme?

4. Which mistake is most common when applying Discovery Planning and Research Questions at dev-tools scale?

5. SignalStack reports $18M ARR and 92,000 DAU. Why does Discovery Planning and Research Questions discipline matter at this scale?

6. Which framework mapping fits Discovery Planning and Research Questions at SignalStack?

7. Dev Okonkwo warns about inference cost and reliability. Which guardrail metric fits Discovery Planning and Research Questions?

8. Integrating PTA 402 for SignalStack, strongest next test after descriptive dashboard read is usually:

Next unit: User Interviews and Observational Research →