As product managers, we are driven people. We want our product to be number one in its market. What this means is that when our potential customers go shopping, we want them to take a look at our product and see that it is clearly the one they want – no other product comes close! However, to get to where we want to be we have to keep improving our definition of product development and the big question we keep facing is what kinds of product improvements do our customers really want us to make?
More features!
Our product is probably not the only solution on the market; if it is, congratulations, you have the monopoly in your hands. What this means to you as a product manager is that you should always be on the lookout for your competition. What are they doing? How are they doing it? What features and capabilities stand out both in your advertising and in your documentation?
Of course, there is another side to all this feature talk. What really matters to your customers? When you talk to them, is there a set of features they are requesting? Does your product currently have these characteristics or at least a way to achieve what you want to do with these characteristics? Guess right and you have something to add to your product manager resume. One of the most impressive software products currently available is called Photoshop. This image manipulation program looks like it can do just about anything a skilled graphic artist wants it to do.
The problem with Photoshop (from my point of view) is simply that it can do too much! It has features as well as features. I tried to learn how to use this complex software several times and each time I gave up because it seemed like it was too much to try to remember. Sure, more features will make your product look better compared to the other products out there, but you need to be careful that your potential customers don’t have a case of “feature overload.”
Better usability!
Product usability means that when customers use your product, they have a better experience. The problem with improving the usability of your product is that the staff who will be working on usability will be the same staff who would otherwise be working to add new features. This means that there will be a cost for adding usability to your product.
When you add a new feature to your product, you instantly have something to show off to your current and potential customers. It is not the same case when it comes to usability. Improving the usability of your product is a bit more subtle. If you do it correctly, your current customers will be delighted – their lives will have improved. However, your potential customers will have no way of knowing that you have improved your product.
The real power to increase the usability of your product comes from the word of mouth it will cause. Your existing customers will talk to potential customers and if you have their usability story correct then they will brag about how easy it is to use your product to accomplish the tasks they are trying to do. This is a powerful message that can make your product the one of choice when it comes time to make a purchasing decision. The challenge for you as a product manager is that it can be very difficult to measure the impact that your usability features are having on the success of your product.
What does all this mean to you?
Product managers always try to make their product the most attractive to potential customers; this is part of our product manager’s job description. To make this happen, they have two different paths that they can take when making changes to their product: they can add new features, or they can improve the usability of the product.
Adding new features to a product is an easy decision to make. When you add a new feature, your product suddenly does something that potentially one or more of your competitors don’t. Improving the usability of the product is a bit more subtle. Your current customers will benefit immediately, but your potential customers probably won’t be able to detect the change.
The correct answer for a product manager is probably to balance the two different types of changes. Yes, add new features so you have something to show off to your potential customers. However, at the same time, add some usability improvements so that the product keeps getting better and better for your existing customers. Get this combination right and your product should grow to dominate your market!