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Nice write up of the problem, but the solution is not that simple. Not saying that you shouldn't try, but the problem of doing something that customers want is
by tappio 6y ago
Nice write up of the problem, but the solution is not that simple. Not saying that you shouldn't try, but the problem of doing something that customers want is extremely difficult and has a lot to do with luck. We have implemented many features no one wants, and many features that the users wanted and use. It's impossible to know the outcome beforehand. We have always discussed with the customers before hand, but that does not mean the feature is going to be used. Even when customers are paying for something it does not mean they really use it. So "Don't just build Something™, build an industry leading product that customers want and love" is nice and catchy, but the reality is never going to be that easy. And how do you even know if you just did it the wrong way? If a small change would have changed everything? You can't really trust people either because they don't know what they want. You can't trust analytics because you don't know if you are measuring right things? When do you know that no one wants a particular feature?
Putting yourself to a pedestal because you've figured out a problem won't help for sure. Be humble and accept that figuring out the right thing is hard work. Most often people are doing their best, working in silos or else where. Most product managers are not there to make your life terrible, even though you might think that way from the article.