Discovery · Liber · Research leadership and process development
How we made customer and user insight part of the investment decisions
I developed and embedded a shared way of working for how Liber continuously involves customers and users in product development. It helps the teams use what is already known, find the knowledge gaps, explore needs and test concepts before larger product and investment decisions are made.
- Year
- 2026, ongoing
- Industry
- Learning materials
- Company
- Liber AB
- Scope
- 4 months
The short version
The problem
Customer and user insights were collected all over the organisation, but there was no shared way to document, share and use them. Decisions risked resting on assumptions.
What I did
I mapped the current state, developed the process with key people through interviews and workshops, and supported five pilot initiatives hands-on through their discovery phase.
What I delivered
A shared way of working, a resource bank with 18 guides, templates and AI supports, and a description of what is done in each phase of the development process.
The problem
Customer and user insights were collected in different parts of the organisation, but there was no shared way to document, share and use that knowledge in product development. That had three consequences.
Existing insights were overlooked
Knowledge that already existed risked not being used.
Studies were repeated
Similar studies were carried out several times.
Customers came in too late
Customers and users were involved late in the work.
Decisions therefore risked being based on assumptions, and concepts were sometimes developed long before their relevance and value had been tested.
The change challenge
The challenge was to create one way of working that several functions, projects and product areas could use, each with its own needs and habits.
It had to be clear enough to give structure and comparable material for decisions, and flexible enough to work in very different initiatives.
Continuous, not occasional
It also had to create the practical conditions for involving customers and users continuously, not only in occasional research efforts.
How I worked
My role
I led the work of mapping the current state, gathering perspectives from different parts of the organisation and identifying what stood in the way of a more continuous insight practice.
Through interviews and workshops I developed the process together with key people from the business. I structured the way of working, defined the decision points, and created support for how teams gather existing knowledge, identify assumptions and plan the right kind of customer and user involvement.
The team
The work was cross-functional, together with CX, process owners, product management, publishers and project managers. Their different perspectives were needed for the way of working to function both strategically and in day-to-day product development.
Five pilot initiatives
The way of working was shaped in real projects. Five initiatives, each in a different subject and school level, served as pilots during their discovery phase. I supported each of them hands-on, step by step, and used what we learned to build the method support.
- 1SwedishPrimary school, years 1–4
- 2SwedishLower secondary school, years 7–9
- 3Mathematics, digital platformLower secondary school
- 4MathematicsUpper secondary school
- 5SFISwedish for immigrants
Why pilots
Working through every step together with the teams showed what they needed in practice. That is how the support became tailored to Liber’s organisation, and not a generic method.
The new way of working
The new way of working connects three things: existing knowledge, continuous customer and user involvement, and concrete product decisions.
Four choices behind it
Start with what we already know
Gather what the organisation already knows before new research is planned.
Separate knowledge from assumptions
Make visible what is supported by evidence, what is uncertain and which knowledge gaps exist.
Tie the involvement to a decision
Start from the choice or decision the study should contribute to.
Explore before solution, test before investment
Understand needs and test concepts before larger investments are made.
Seven steps in practice
- Clarify the decisionDefine which decision or choice the insights should support.
- Gather existing knowledgeFind out what the organisation already knows.
- Identify knowledge gapsSeparate evidenced insights from assumptions and open questions.
- Plan the involvementChoose the method based on what the team needs to understand or try.
- Carry out and analyseCollect and structure relevant customer and user insights. That can mean exploring teachers’ and pupils’ needs, understanding existing ways of working and problems, testing early ideas or hypotheses, comparing alternative concepts, or validating a value proposition or a direction.
- Turn insights into decisionsConnect the result to priorities, concepts and choices.
- Document and reuseMake the knowledge searchable and usable in coming initiatives.
Two situations where it is used
Situation 01
When we explore a need
The team gathers existing knowledge, identifies the critical questions and involves relevant teachers or pupils before a solution direction is formulated. The result is used to prioritise which problem is most important to solve.
Situation 02
When we test a concept
The team formulates which assumptions need to be validated and lets customers or users react to alternative concepts. The results are used to choose a direction, change the solution or refrain from an investment.
Method support for every step
A way of working only gets used if people have something to work with. I delivered the method support as a resource bank for customer and user insight: AI support, guides and templates for every step from question to insight.
The resources are sorted under four stages, from planning to using the insights.
- Plan ahead of project planningMake sure that what is going to be explored is clear and tied to a decision, and choose the methods that best help reduce uncertainty. 5 resources.
- Carry out a customer analysisFill in the customer analysis brief and draft the interview, test or survey questions. 11 resources.
- Analyse and synthesiseWork through the material to bring out findings, insights and opportunities. 1 resource.
- Share and use insightsGo from insights to a recommendation ahead of a decision. 1 resource.
Four kinds of support, 18 resources
10 resources
AI support
Ready-made prompts that work as a knowledgeable sounding board and take a team faster from question to insight.
6 resources
Guides
Show how each step is done.
1 resource
Templates
Filled in together by the team.
1 resource
Workshops
Tips on how to work together.
To give the teams easy access to their target groups, I also helped establish a respondent panel.
What is done, phase by phase
A resource is only useful if people know when to reach for it. So alongside the resource bank I described what is actually done in each phase of Liber’s development process: the operative activities of customer analysis, and the guide, template or AI support that goes with each one.
When is new customer analysis done?
When there is a prioritised uncertainty about customers or users, and more knowledge could change a choice, a solution, the quality of the product or a decision. The questions always come before the method.
Know what to find out before the project starts
- What do we know?
- What is uncertain?
- Customer analysis questions
- Method
- Planned activities
- Decision to start
Work that often happened after the start is moved, as far as possible, to before the decision. That does not mean everything is planned in detail. It means the team starts knowing what is already understood, what is still uncertain, and which decision each question feeds.
Activities
- WorkshopCompile existing customer knowledgeGather and show what is already known, and the known gaps, tied to the decisions the project should give a better basis for.
- GuideAI supportFormulate and prioritise the questionsState what needs to be better understood about the customer or user, and which decision or choice each question should feed.
- AI supportWorkshopGet support with questions and methodGo from existing knowledge and identified uncertainties to clear questions and a first choice of method.
- GuideAI supportRecommend a methodOne method or a combination, based on the kind of knowledge the prioritised questions need.
- Plan the first activitiesMake sure the activities and chosen methods are in the overall activity plan.
- Show it in the decision materialExisting knowledge, prioritised questions and planned activities are visible to the decision forum.
Carry out, synthesise, and use it in the recommendation
- Carry out
- Observations
- Synthesis
- Insights and opportunities
- Remaining uncertainties
- What it means for the choices
- Recommendation
The focus is on carrying out the planned activities, synthesising what is learned and using it as a basis for the project’s choices and recommendation. The plan is reconsidered if new learning shows that an uncertainty remains, a new one has appeared, or another method is needed.
Before an activity starts
- TemplateWrite the customer analysis briefPurpose, questions, target group, method, who does what and the practical conditions for this activity.
- Plan the activityDecide when it runs and make sure it fits in the overall plan.
- Recruit participants or send the surveyThrough the customer panel, in the agreed way.
- GuideAI supportWrite interview, test or survey questionsTranslate the customer analysis questions into neutral questions, tasks or measures that suit the method.
- GuidePrepare the trigger materialWhat participants react to or use: a product overview, a concept, a proposed solution or a prototype.
While it runs
- GuideQualitative customer analysisInterview, observation, concept test, usability test or another qualitative method.
- Quantitative customer analysisA survey or other structured data collection.
When interviews or the survey are done
- GuideAI supportCompile observationsTurn the material into observations that stay close to the evidence and can be traced back.
- Document in the insight portalSave quality-assured observations so the knowledge can be found and reused in later analyses and projects.
- GuideSynthesiseFindings and patterns, main insights, opportunity areas and remaining uncertainties.
Connect it to the decision
- GuideConnect insights to choices and decisionsAssess what the insights mean for the choices at hand and bring them into the overall decision material.
- GuideAssess remaining uncertaintiesWhich can be accepted, which need weighing against other evidence, and which need more exploring before the recommendation is finished.
Reduce what is still uncertain and assure quality before launch
- Decision
- What do we still need to understand or assure?
- Plan
- Carry out
- Synthesis
- Refine the solution
- Launch
The same principles apply, but the starting point is usually a more concrete product, solution or piece of content. Customer analysis is used to explore new or remaining questions, test the product, content, concept or user flows, look at understanding, usability, relevance and experience, and find improvements before launch.
What is specific to this phase
- GuideChoose the methodBased on the questions or quality-assurance needs that come up during production.
- Time it rightPlan the activity so that what is learned can still affect the ongoing development.
- GuideTurn learnings into product improvementsAssess what the results mean for the solution and turn them into concrete changes or priorities.
Then the same steps as during planning
- TemplateGuideAI supportPrepare, carry out, compile and documentBrief, recruitment, questions and trigger material, then the qualitative or quantitative activity, observations and the insight portal.
Learn from real use
- Launch
- Actual use
- Follow-up
- Evaluation
- Improvements
The aim is to understand how the product actually works for the customer in its real setting, and to create learning for both continued development and future projects. A follow-up can start from feedback in the insight portal, signals from support or sales, usage, product or sales data, problems that only show in real use, or uncertainties left from earlier phases.
What is specific to this phase
- Identify signalsGather and show signals from NPS, the insight portal, support, sales, product data, usage and earlier customer analysis.
- Assess the need for deeper knowledgeDoes the signal call for more customer analysis, and what kind of understanding is needed?
- GuideDesign the follow-upChoose the method and set up the follow-up.
- Turn learnings into product improvementsAssess what the results mean for the product and turn them into changes or priorities.
Then the same steps as during planning
- TemplateGuideAI supportPrepare and carry outBrief, planning, recruitment, questions and trigger material, then the qualitative or quantitative activity.
GuideAI supportTemplateWorkshop The tags show which resources in the resource bank support the activity.