Why understanding users’ perspective is crucial to build awesome products?
Seeing the world through users’ eyes — A lesson in Product Management
In the intricate realm of product management, where strategies, features, and designs converge, there is one guiding principle that often makes the difference between a good product and a great one: understanding your users’ perspective. It’s not just about listening to feedback; it’s about diving deep into their world, walking in their shoes, and seeing your product through their eyes. Allow me to share a compelling example from my own journey as a product manager — a lesson that highlights the importance of empathizing with users.
The Late-Night Voice Chat Revelation
Imagine a voice chat app — a platform where users connect and communicate with each other. It’s a thriving community where connections are forged, friendships are nurtured, and conversations flow seamlessly. But as a product manager, one question always looms: how can we make it better for our users?
In our quest for improvement, we stumbled upon an intriguing behavior. We noticed that a significant portion of our users frequented the app during late-night hours, typically from 9 pm until the wee hours of the morning. This time window represented the pinnacle of engagement for these night owls. But what does this have to do with understanding users’ perspective?
The Background Mystery
As part of our app’s features, we provided users with the ability to set backgrounds for their voice chat rooms. These backgrounds ranged from vibrant and bright to subtle and dark. However, there was a quirk in the users’ behavior that had gone unnoticed until then.
Users were gravitating toward the darker backgrounds, even though they were visually less striking and held a lower position in our hierarchy compared to the brighter coloured backgrounds. This strange preference piqued our curiosity. Why were they opting for less visually appealing backgrounds?
The ‘Aha’ Moment
It was at this juncture that we had our ‘aha’ moment. We realized that these night-time users, engrossed in their late-night conversations, were doing so in dimly lit or dark rooms. Bright backgrounds, which might be perfectly fine during daylight hours, were straining their eyes in the dark. It was an unspoken user need — a silent but significant preference that wasn’t evident from direct user feedback.
This revelation led us to a compelling hypothesis: our users’ preference for darker backgrounds was not about aesthetics but rather about enhancing their experience. It was about reducing eye strain during those late-night voice chats. And while this insight had never been explicitly shared by our users, it made perfect sense once we stepped into their shoes.
The Deeper Lesson
The lesson here is clear: understanding users’ perspective goes beyond the feedback they provide. It involves empathizing with their circumstances, habits, and unspoken needs. It’s about seeing your product through their eyes, even when they don’t explicitly articulate their preferences.
In the world of product management, user empathy is your guiding star. It leads you to insights that can transform your product from good to great. It reminds you that behind every data point, there’s a person with unique habits, preferences, and circumstances. And by truly understanding their perspective, you can create a product that doesn’t just meet their needs but enhances their experience — a product that resonates deeply with its users.
Disclaimer: This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.
