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As of 2025, Highline Beta argues that actionable research insights must be grounded in specific user behavior and context, not just emotional observations, to effectively guide venture building decisions.
Many teams mistake compelling user quotes for actionable insights, creating noise rather than clarity in their research. Highline Beta distinguishes between "interesting" observations like "users feel overwhelmed" and actionable insights that reveal behavioral patterns, such as how users default to the most convenient banking option even when it's not financially optimal. True insights must pass a litmus test: they should generate "How Might We" questions, suggest testable assumptions, and directly inform venture direction through clear connections to desirability, feasibility, or viability.
An actionable insight is grounded in specific user behavior, includes contextual details about when and where issues occur, and connects directly to unmet needs or pain points. Unlike vague observations such as "users feel overwhelmed," actionable insights reveal patterns like "users default to the most convenient option even when it's not optimal," which immediately suggests design opportunities and testable assumptions about user decision-making.
Highline Beta applies a four-part litmus test to evaluate insights: Can it generate a "How Might We" question? Does it suggest a testable assumption? Can it be linked to desirability, feasibility, or viability? Would learning more about this insight change the venture's direction? If an insight fails any of these tests, it's likely just "nice to know" information rather than actionable intelligence that drives venture building forward.
The process focuses on identifying patterns rather than collecting individual quotes, adding specific context about triggers and circumstances, and writing insights in plain language without jargon. Each insight must then be traced forward to determine what assumptions it challenges, what ideas it supports, what experiments it suggests, and how it should adapt the solution or understanding. This systematic approach ensures insights lead to concrete decisions rather than just interesting conversations.
Teams frequently capture compelling user quotes or emotional reactions that feel meaningful but don't actually point to what should be built, tested, or changed next. These observations capture real user feelings but lack the behavioral context and specificity needed to inform product decisions. Without connecting emotions to specific user actions, triggers, and decision-making patterns, teams end up with research that sparks conversation but doesn't drive the concrete movement needed for venture building.
Missed last week’s edition? Read it here.
Great ventures don’t start with clever ideas.
They start with clear, actionable insights rooted in understanding of key user problems.
At Highline Beta, we run discovery to learn, but not all learning moves us forward.
Too often, teams capture quotes or anecdotes that feel compelling, but don’t point to what to build, test, or change. They confuse emotion with direction. That creates noise, not clarity.
Here’s how we tell the difference, and how we make sure insights actually guide what happens next.
These are observations. They’re real. But they’re not yet usable.
They don’t connect to behaviour, context, or a decision.
An actionable insight is:
Example:
“When managing money across multiple accounts, users default to the bank that’s easiest to access—even if it’s not the best financial decision. Convenience often beats optimization.”
That’s an insight. It highlights a pattern, a tension, and an opportunity.
When reviewing insights, we ask:
Every good insight should either increase confidence or expose a gap to help refine/pivot. If it does neither, it’s decoration.
→ What assumption does this challenge?
→ What idea does it support?
→ What do we test next?
→ How do we adapt our solution or understanding based on it?
If an insight doesn’t lead to a new decision, a revised test, or a sharpened concept, it hasn’t done its job.
Interesting sparks conversation.
Actionable drives movement.
That’s the difference, and it matters at every stage of venture building.
Let us know if you’d like a worksheet, rubric, or coaching tool to help your team make the shift. We use this lens every day, and once you learn it, you can’t unsee it.
