The Rule of Five for more powerful user interviews
How to get stronger insights & make better decisions from user feedback
Talking to users is vital, but time-intensive. Product leader Alo Mukerji developed her “Rule of 5” to make sure that limited time was best used to uncover the right insights. 👇
Alo, now SVP of Product at U.S. Bank, has found that her teams can greatly focus the scope of user discovery sessions by first talking to just 5 users.
Listen to the full episode here:
Here’s how the “Rule of Five” helps teams move faster and de-risk their biggest product decisions. 👇
1. Start small to spot the signal
Start small but strategic: talk to five users in each audience segment to uncover broad themes before investing in deeper research.
Alo says, “Five is like a good manageable number… you get 80 to 90 percent of what you need just talking to those five people.”
2. Look for patterns before overcommitting
At Wave, Alo’s team used the Rule of Five to rethink navigation and pricing:
First, exploratory interviews revealed how users naturally described product features
Then, they validated concepts with additional research
Finally, they shipped and measured results in the real world
“You're doing broader research to understand some things. Then, when you’ve got some ideas, you do more validation. And then ultimately, when you launch, you’ve got the real data to compare and contrast.”
3. Pay attention when the story repeats itself
In a past pricing project, Alo’s team initially talked only to current users. But something felt off, so they interviewed five prospective users, too.
“Even within five, we figured out: something’s going on here. This pricing model doesn’t make sense to them.”
If five people flag the same issue? That’s your cue.
4. Design follow-up research with more clarity and purpose
“Go broad first… then figure out where to dive deeper and design the right study.”
Alo emphasizes asking around the question, not just “What do you want?” but “Why do you need that?” and “What’s happening around that task?”
In Alo’s previous role at Toast, field research during COVID-19 revealed that unreliable Wi-Fi, not just POS software, was a major blocker for customers trying to access Toast services.
These deeper insights wouldn’t emerge without intentional, open-ended initial research.
Good research takes time, but the Rule of Five isn’t about perfection. It’s about velocity with intention:
Start with a few users
Spot the patterns
Decide where to double down
What systems have you developed for user research?👇