The primary unknown on the fuzzy front end of product development is understanding what customers want: • The outcomes they desire • The problems they’re trying to solve • The work they’re trying to do Effective interaction to learn customer practices and expectations is critical to successful project startups and learning cycles throughout the NPD process. Margot Beesley will detail how to engage true listening and probing skills and let the customer identify critical features/attributes. This knowledge can be used throughout customer interaction touch points and the development process to prevent scope creep. Margot will lead an exercise that will improve customer visits, enable productive engineering, and focus on value to the customer.