Problem with building a solution-first mindset

Asking and understanding the why is essential as part of the problem discovery.

Photo by The 77 Human Needs System on Unsplash

Over the weekend, one of my friends asked me to keep my eye open for any printer deals this holiday season, and I said sure, I will do it! A few minutes into the conversation, I asked what your preference and requirements for this printer you are looking for, and he goes:

1. 30+ PPM
2. Laser Printer
3. Color, if cost-effective
4. Scanning & Xerox
5. Tray for easy Scanning & Xerox
6. Wireless Printing & Scanning
7. Mobile Access
8. etc., you get the point.

As a Product Manager, the first and only thing that came to mind was WHY? WHY? WHY? all of these requirements? Does one need all of these features? How often do you end up using all of these features? And many more questions about it. I understand this is not your typical software problem statement, given its hardware, and you can’t iterate once you have it. However, I still thought to try this by applying the Software Product Mindset Framework to this hardware purchase.

Now, later that day/next morning, I was thinking of this ask/requirement of this printer purchase in my mind; I start thinking, aka “discovery” of this printer deal and begin asking the following question that I would want to ask my friend aka “stakeholders.”

1. How often do you use your printer today or intend on using it future?
2. How many pages do your print or intend on printing in a year/month/week/day/minute?
3. What kind of things do you want to print using this new printer?
4. What are the implications if you don’t have a printer?
5. Let’s say, for example; you don’t have this printer; what do you lose the most? money, time, opportunity, etc
6. What are your goals and objective should you end up getting the printer?
7. Many more questions.

Now, with applying the Software Product Mindset Framework, most of my questions are around understanding the core problem, user needs, impact assessment, goals/success, and most importantly, WHY? We need to ask and understand these things correctly during our product/problem discovery to ensure we are solving THE MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM AT HAND.

Also, even in my hardware purchasing example above, the users and stakeholders often start their asks/requirements with a solution in mind which is expected as they already have an idea that they think works the best. The user might be correct, and that idea/solution might be the best for them, but it may only work for a narrower user base of your product and not most/all. As seen in the above printer example, the user/stakeholder wants every feature possible. The printer user wished to have all the features and the best deal as they want the best bang for their buck. As human beings, we want all if we can get it all.

In the above printer example, we could have ended up buying an expensive printer with tons of features they may only get used to if we thought through this from this perspective.

The moral of the story is your users and stakeholders will always want everything, and that too yesterday. It’s your job as a Product Manager to understand the user and stakeholder’s needs to deliver best-in-class solutions to their PROBLEMS.

#Why #ProductMindset #ProblemThinking #ProductManagement #ProductLedSolutions #ProblemStatements #WantEverthing #UserDriven #DesignThinking