In order to build better products quickly, look to how you can use data more effectively. This doesn't necessarily mean having more data- it means deploying resources in the most efficient and effective way.

Ultimately, relying on your gut isn't separate from data at all. Building product based on instinct goes back and taps into the experience that you've built up, both individually and as an organization.

• Summarize findings into a single sentence. This forces you to look away from the numbers, and into what they actually mean for your product. At Yammer, the user research team gives updates during monthly meetings. They're pushed to summarize information in a short sentence-"Here's what we learned from you and here's what we've done as a result."
• Experiment constantly and open up your inputs. Don't rely on data from a single source to determine the success or failure of your target goal. By using data from a variety of sources, from A/B testing to usability testing to customer development, you can stress-test your hypothesis against your own biases.
• Use data across teams. In order to build a data-informed culture, you need to invest time in educating your team. At Sailthru, chief data scientist Jeremy Stanley spent 30% of his time teaching a class for engineers on statistical learning.