Читать книгу Validating Product Ideas - Tomer Sharon - Страница 12

“What do people need?” is probably the most important question a product development team will ask itself. Ninety-five percent of founders and product managers interviewed for this book did ask themselves this question. The timing of asking (or rather answering) this question is key because although needs are relatively stable, it’s worth being aware that users may not need “it” (whatever “it” may be) in six months’ time. The market might also affect needs—for example, legislation changes, entrance of other products to the market, etc.

That said, there are two great times to ask the question: somewhere in the beginning of strategizing your product, and after launching it during the assessment phase (see Figure 1.1).

• When you strategize, you try to figure out a lot of things about the need for your product, who your target audience is, and what your audience wants. Attaining this knowledge and wisdom will serve you well during the execution phase. Discovering user needs will help you figure out how the product should be built, because it will generate evidence, validation, and invalidation for various product features.

• During the assessment phase, your users use the product, and you can learn whether or not your product meets their real needs. Beware though. If this is the first time you study your audience’s needs, you might find and learn things that will be very hard and costly to fix. The best time to answer the question is prior to execution. However, it is never too late or an inappropriate time to ask the question. The sooner you realize you need an evidence-based answer, the better.

FIGURE 1.1 When is a good time to ask “What do people need?” The big circle represents the best time, while the smaller ones indicate other times recommended for asking the question.