An oft-repeated phrase in product management is to ask the customer what they want. The best product managers know that the best approach is to understand what they need.
One example:
In my condo complex, there is a heavy fire door between the garage and the entryway. It’s common for people to bring heavy items from their car into the building. The ask was to add an automatic door opener.
After some research, we discovered that because of the construction of the building, adding an automatic door opener would cost about $25,000.
But when we looked at the need, it was to get easier access from the garage to the entry. The old system required that people had to turn a handle to open the door. We found that by adding an automatic unlock solved the problem. People didn’t have to put down what they were carrying, the door would unlock and they could easily push it while holding their packages.
We solved the need, without the expense.
The best PMs find the annoyances in everyday life and think about how to fix them, even it’s not something they can fix. Learning the thought process is key.
redesign | mobile 