Introducing the Product Validation Program (PVP)

 Meet Mac the owner of the Product Validation Program (PVP) at Qualtrics

Hello Qualtrics Community! My name is Mac, Seattle born and raised, and now managing the Product Validation Program (PVP) here at Qualtrics. I've spent the last 8+ years building and scaling programs that connect customers directly to product development, from launching community programs at Amazon to owning the product development lifecycle at a fintech company. That work taught me the same lesson over and over: the earlier real customers get a seat at the table, the better the product and the more it actually solves the problems users have. That's exactly what excites me about PVP,  building the infrastructure that gets your voice into our products while they're still being shaped.

Outside of work, I'm a lifelong (long-suffering) Mariners fan, a much happier Seahawks fan, and someone who's always got a restaurant recommendation or a new recipe on deck. When I'm not eating, you'll probably find me out on the Puget Sound fishing or crabbing.

What is PVP? What’s in it for ME?

• PVP shifts customer feedback earlier in the Qualtrics product development process — getting your input during design and development, before a product reaches Early Access or your production environment. Rather than validating finished products, we bring you or your team in to help us confirm we're solving real problems, building something usable, and getting it right before it ships.
• For you, that means a direct hand in shaping what we build: early visibility into what's coming, a real say in the details before they're locked in, and a closer working relationship with the builder teams behind the tools you use every day.

Lifecycle of PVP

Program participation generally moves through the following stages:

1. Outreach — we (usually me!) reach out to gauge interest and share what participation looks like for a new initiative.
2. Onboarding — if you're interested, respond and we will share additional materials or answer any questions you have.
3. Validation — you join live discussion sessions or participate in offline unmoderated testing scoped to that product, from reacting to early concepts to walking through workflows and flagging what's missing or confusing.
4. Insights & action — your feedback gets synthesized and fed directly back into the product team's development work.
5. Carrying forward — many PVP participants carry that context into Early Access, arriving already familiar with the product and ready to use it in their production environment instead of starting cold.

Eligibility

• We look for a diverse mix of customers and company sizes across different industries, roles, and levels of product experience — the goal is to hear from as wide a range of real users as possible. Selection is driven by the specific product being validated: we prioritize customers whose usage patterns and needs make them a strong match for that product, and who are willing and available to give feedback during the engagement window.
• Interested in getting involved? Fill out a survey

Difference between EA & PVP

• PVP engages customers much earlier to gather feedback on early-stage concepts and development before being made widely available.
• Early Access allows users to test and validate features that have already reached production mode.