» Thinking purely in problems to solve can limit you
» The words you use to describe your proposition are really a test of how well you know your target users’ needs
» Find ways to ‘tilt the umbrella’: small considerate features for your users
» A prototype expresses a product concept far better and quicker than a product requirements document (PRD)
» People good at doing a thing themselves are not always good at building a system to do it
» Work is craft: theoretical knowledge and practical experience combined
» The uncertainty of a problem should influence how we respond to it
» Misdiagnosis of a problem can compound it
» We frame our solutions through the lens of our social predisposition
» Wicked problems can only be addressed by collaboration between different social types
» Take a systematic approach to evaluating multiple solutions to the same opportunity
» ‘Assumption’ is just another word for ‘things we believe’
» When there are many opportunities in contention, assess whether it’s worth solving the problem
» We tend to come up with solutions before defining the problem they solve
» Focus your prototyping on the moments that matter most to users
» Prototypes range in fidelity, but remain throwaway
» Prototyping brings tangibility to intangible experiences
» Be clear about what you want to learn, and what assumptions you want to test
» Design simply to deliver early and learn quickly
At best, organisations do a bit of user research up front and no more, then set off on their journey to create the product – they might as well have a blindfold on.
The more closely we examined the problem, the more complicated it became. When this happens to you, it can feel overwhelming. Don’t quit your research too soon.
I was recently asked this question:
During the problem exploration phase, what kinds of questions should I be asking and how do I go from 1000 problems to the core problems that will unlock the solution?
Read on for my answer:
This is not “Field Of Dreams” and you’re not Kevin Costner. If you build it, the users will not come – unless they have a strong motivation to do so.
Do you spend more time writing documents about your product than actually managing it?
Many companies with some kind of product management function become all caught up in the process, drowning themselves in increasing numbers of documents. These rapidly become overwhelming to manage, contain duplicated detail and ultimately obscure the real objective of product management, namely to create successful products.
