These five questions compose 90% of what I know about product decision making.
The other ten percent requires context that’s specific to the problem and the domain.
- Who is the user?
- What is the benefit to that user?
- How is that benefit measured?
- What is the ratio of benefit to cost?
- What are the non-functional side-effects?
FAQ
Q: Some benefits are hard to measure. For example, if someone says this product removes my daily frustration, how do I measure that?
A: One way to think of this is to ask them to put a currency amount on it. If you charged them for this product that removes their frustration, what is the maximum amount that they are willing to pay?
Q: What are non-functional side-effects?
A: A good example is the environment. If you have a new product that answers the first four questions well but is 10x more polluting than the status-quo, that’s a strong factor to consider.