When I’m told what to build
That’s just the beginning.
When I’m told what to build,
I assume the conversation isn’t finished yet. A feature is supposed to be the end of a thought.
“We need an ‘export to CSV’ option.”
I ask what you’re going to do with that CSV. You say you might visualize the data somewhere else. Then maybe what you actually need isn’t a CSV, maybe you need better charts inside the product.
When I’m told what to build,
I don’t see a feature. I see an assumption about users that needs to be made explicit.
“Let them choose what they want.”
So we assume they know what they want. Or we assume they have the mental energy to think about what they need from the product. I’d rather test that first.
When I’m told what to build,
I assume we might be solving the wrong problem. Features are often symptoms of a deeper pain point we can’t name yet.
“Let’s make the logic smarter. Maybe then it’ll have a bigger impact on metrics.”
Maybe the real issue isn’t even reaching that point. Maybe users can’t engage with the logic enough yet because they can’t discover it. Let’s first see how it performs for the user group that already discovers it. Funnels, funnels, funnels.
When I’m told what to build,
I check whether we’re doing patchwork to cover a leak quickly or fixing the foundation for the long term. Those two feel similar in the moment, but the former leads to more leaks later.
“Let’s make this field mandatory so we don’t struggle later when we need that input.”
We go live with the mandatory field and then realize all the not-so-edge cases where it simply doesn’t apply. We were too focused on the users we needed that input from. Suddenly, people can’t proceed. They start to churn.
When I’m told what to build,
I try to protect us from building something that looks like progress and feels productive, but isn’t.
It is satisfying to launch something visible. Abandoning it and watching it become a legacy feature that nobody uses or maintains, on the other hand, is sad.
When I’m told what to build,
I remember that my job is to make the call on whether we’re saying yes to the right thing, even when saying no feels harder.
Because every yes closes another door we won’t have time to open.
When I’m told what to build,
I know the real thinking work hasn’t started yet.