Figma’s VP of Product, Yuhki Yamashita, describes product as the intersection of design and computer science in a recent episode of The Product Podcast featuring Product School's cofounder Carlos González. Let's stop for a moment and think about the elegance of Yamashita's simple perspective.
Though sometimes overlooked, the "learning" component is usually the secret sauce for building a sticky product.
Product management is sometimes described as a scientific process applied to software development. Product managers are thought leaders with backgrounds varying from engineering to liberal arts. A great product manager begins with a product goal, influenced by user value. Thinking about product from a value perspective puts the user at the center of the experiment. Due to the complexities of software development, we can't always deliver all the value we want at once, and so we do this in cycles, broken up by milestones and guided by metrics. The "Agile" framework is all about creating a system for getting feedback early, and often. This helps to limit the risk of shipping products that miss the mark on providing value.
Product management requires being comfortable working in ambiguity, constantly evaluating priorities, and making tradeoffs that help maximize value delivered with the least amount of investment possible. Sometimes this means building function over form. Other times, it means building form over function. This depends on what is more value to the user. In his interview, Yuhki says "in a competitive market, the products with the best designs will be the products that are offered the most user engagement." It is important to reflect on this and understand that design is a key ingredient for ensuring value is delivered, and users are delighted. Cutting-edge visual strategy helps the user build trust in the product and perceive it as valuable.
In parallel to focusing on design, the product goal should answer "why" - meaning why this issue, why now, and why this company. Simon Sinek, author of the book “Start with Why” explains “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” This insight helps lay down the foundation of modern product philosophy. Even though several competitors are perfectly positioned to solve the problem, the company that is effective at communicating the "why" to its users will gain their trust and win their business.
The feeling of trust in a brand is not so much a feeling as it is a developed perception of the brand’s vision and how that vision improves our well-being. For example, most consumers don't like paper straws, but when a company commits to them, we award the company extra points without knowing it. This developed perception is similar to how we build relationships with our friends and family. If a friend advocates for a social issue, that friend may be unconsciously labelled trustworthy.
It is easy to distinguish the products that form good habits, and help make our lives easier, and ones that don’t. Product managers are advocates for the user. They think about learning from what is delivered, and developing the narrative that aligns the team and external users towards a vision. When everyone is aligned on the vision - the cycle accelerates, and teams converge on shipping the most valuable product for its users.
