As a Product Manager with experience in both startup and corporate environments, I’ve come to examine products from multiple product dimensions. I think it’s very helpful for anyone interested in product management or anyone interested in what makes everyday products great to approach such a question with a framework in mind. Frameworks are something that management consultants use to advise Fortune 500 companies. Frameworks are also what I developed and used at GMAT Pill in order to train MBA candidates tackling tough GMAT questions. These same framework approaches work in the field of product — and should be used in a disciplined way to analyze what makes a great product so that we can one day build even better products.
Here are the core dimensions of what I would like to call the Universal Product Framework:
- Usefulness (functional, relevant, efficient, superpower)
- Convenience (easy access, saves time)
- Ease of use (navigation, intuitive, simplicity, doesn’t require me to think too hard, reduces my stress)
- Design (Beautiful, easy to process mentally, triggers emotions)
- Reliability/trustworthiness (customers understand the product fully and it meets or will meet expectations)
- Price (affordability, niche)
- Innovation (new products with new superpowers)
There may be other categories like product marketing (effective in lowering cost of acquiring a new user) or social (effective in encouraging a sense of community), etc. But the above dimensions are quite universal. They apply not only to digital products but also physical products.
I also exclude any financial variables (profit generated) as the above is the framework for evaluating a product from the customer perspective. It ignores financial results. Some products may be great along the above dimensions but generate no revenue/profit — like Quora. I ignore those aspects here.
The order/priority of the above list really depends on the industry. Customers in each industry may value certain dimension attributes over others and in terms of comparing products in any one industry for the customer, it’s important to compare based on what that customer’s preferences are.
In some industries, customer preferences may really skew toward lower price. In other industries, advanced features may play more of a role. Or reliability/trust may be a priority. Or beautiful design which facilitates ease of use could take a front seat. Sometimes, an industry can get crowded with all competitors doing equivalently well in one dimention. At that point, it becomes a battle to differentiate along some of the other product dimensions. Market forces and customer needs will gradually shape what dimensions become more important in a great product.
The above Universal Product Framework is good for analyzing all kinds of products — both digital and physical products. I will be using the Universal Product Framework to assess a few products and understand what makes them great products. Here are a few to start:
Digital Products: GMAT Pill as a Product, Expedia as a Product
Physical Products: iPhone
