Mistakes people make when thinking about products — Part 1 of 2
People think about their own problems instead of normal user problems
You start using an app and everything is great. Over the course of a few days or weeks, you graduate your understanding of the app and your user behaviors become more complex. You begin to do things like posting and liking instead of just lurking. Then, you notice a problem: It’s harder for you to do something than it should be. If only the app would automatically filter something out that you don’t like, make it easier to save interesting content, etc. You think of a feature request, and post it somewhere like this: http://www.quora.com/Quora-Feature-Requests
It’s possible that you’ve thought of something that the product team hasn’t. Maybe it’s just the magic bullet they’ve been looking for that will inflect their growth. Most likely though, the feature doesn’t exist because (1) the problem is specific to a small number of users resembling you, or (2) it’s indicative of a larger problem that should be solved more generically.
If you want to think more deeply about products, #2 above is good place to start. Separate yourself from your inner fanboy/hater and think deeply about the underlying problem and how it relates to the goal of the product.
Consider using the 5 Whys technique from Six Sigma to help get to the root of the problem. Here is a free example, courtesy of iSixSigma.com:
Problem: The Washington Monument was disintegrating.
Why? Use of harsh chemicals
Why? To clean pigeon poop
Why so many pigeons? They eat spiders and there are a lot of spiders at monument
Why so many spiders? They eat gnats and lots of gnats at monument
Why so many gnats? They are attracted to the light at dusk.
Solution: Turn on the lights at a later time.
