day 15
type | product sense + prioritization
Think of a product you used this week that frustrated you. What are the product improvements you want to see to reduce that frustration? Then evaluate your ideas, are they big enough problems to solve for just a niche need?
why | product sense + prioritization
When we struggle with a product, probably 50% of the time, the wish is valid, and there is good reason to wonder why it hasn’t been prioritized yet. But the other 50% of the time, we have a need that only a few people struggle with.
hint | user segmentation
When you think about prioritizing, think about what user, use case, or job to be done you are classified as when you identify the problem in your example.
example | google maps
context: I live in the mountains, so when I go anywhere I have to drive at least an hour to get there and I drive 3.5 hours each way 2 to 4 times a month.
the product annoying me regulalrly: Google maps. Some of my needs are niche, and others are no-brainers.
example 1 : As someone who drives on backroads, it is frustrating being stuck behind someone unfamiliar with the roads and scared to go the speed limit, so I want product improvements to reduce frustration on windy backroads. My feature wish: alerts letting me know how long until I get access to a passing lane (both dotted-line and dedicated lanes). I know in the grand scheme of things this is niche, but I also wonder if I had the data, could I prove it would reduce road rage and possibly deaths?
example 2: As someone who has 3+ hour trips 4-8x a month, knowing how long until my next exit reduces stress; not knowing raises my anxiety level significantly. Google removed a feature that told users how long they had until the next exit. (Not sure if it was an accident or if I am in a horrible multiarmed bandit experiment cohort.) I can’t figure out how or why they removed it.
It is such a horrendous, degraded experience that I have switched to Apple Maps for highway driving. It is likely a pretty big issue that should be high on the prioritization list.
Nothing is more irritating than when you have a 3-hour trip and need to exit every 6 to 14 miles for 2/3 of the trip and only be told about the coming exit 1.5 miles before you get there, especially if you are in the left-hand lane of a four-lane or five-lane highway and suddenly have to cross three or four lanes of traffic to get to your exit! In fact, I would say the change might lead to accidents. I suspect there are millions of drivers who share my frustrations; this fix should be prioritized yesterday.
Hope that helps.
