---
name: mom-test
description: Design effective customer discovery interviews using The Mom Test methodology
version: 1.0.0
author: wondelai (adapted)
platforms: [claude-code, cursor]
license: MIT
source: https://github.com/wondelai/skills
based_on: "The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick"
---

# Mom Test — Customer Discovery

Help design effective customer interviews that extract real insights, not false validation.

## The Core Rule
**Talk about their life, not your idea.**

"The Mom Test" — your mom wants to support you, so she'll tell you your idea is great. Useless. Design questions that even your mom can't lie to.

## The 3 Rules

### Rule 1: Talk about their life, not your idea
BAD: "Would you use an app that does X?"
GOOD: "How do you currently handle X?"

BAD: "Do you think X is a problem?"
GOOD: "Walk me through the last time you dealt with X."

### Rule 2: Ask about specifics in the past, not hypotheticals
BAD: "How often would you use this?"
GOOD: "How many times in the last month did you do X?"

BAD: "Would you pay for this?"
GOOD: "How are you solving this today? What does that cost you?"

### Rule 3: Talk less, listen more
If you're talking more than 30% of the time, you're pitching, not interviewing.
The goal is data extraction, not consensus.

## Good vs Bad Questions

| Good Questions | Bad Questions |
|----------------|---------------|
| "Walk me through how you do X today" | "Would you use X?" |
| "What's the hardest part of X?" | "Do you think X is a problem?" |
| "What did you try before finding a solution?" | "How much would you pay for X?" |
| "Can you show me how you do that?" | "Would you recommend this to friends?" |
| "What have you already done to solve this?" | "Does this sound useful?" |

## Green Flags (Real Insights)
- They show you (not just describe) how they do something
- They bring up the problem without being asked
- They've already tried to solve it themselves
- They ask "when will this be ready?"
- They offer to pay before you mention price

## Red Flags (False Validation)
- "That sounds interesting"
- "I would definitely use that"
- "A lot of people have that problem"
- Compliments without specific commitments
- Feature requests without expressed pain

## Interview Structure
1. **Warm-up** (2 min): Their role, context, daily workflow
2. **Problem exploration** (10 min): Current process, pain points, workarounds
3. **Specifics** (5 min): Recent concrete example, time/money spent
4. **Wrap up** (3 min): Who else should I talk to?

## Note-Taking
Capture verbatim quotes, not summaries. "I hate doing X" > "User dislikes X."