What’s the problem?
I look at what users are trying to do, where they get stuck, and why they asked for a particular change.
Product strategy
What should we work on next?
I’ve been on both sides of a feature request: listening to the customer and deciding what to build. Support work, Bimbala, and my research into user feedback all inform how I help teams answer that question.
Talk about your productWhere this helps
You have a backlog, customer requests, and several people with different ideas about what matters most. I help work through the reasons behind those requests, what we know from users, and what we still need to ask them.
- New products that need a sharper starting point
- Existing products with unclear positioning or priorities
- Teams drowning in feedback, feature requests, and stakeholder opinions
- Founders who need a practical second opinion before committing budget
What we work through
What could we try?
We compare possible solutions and identify the assumptions we need to test with people using the product.
What comes first?
We decide what to test, what to build, and what can wait, given the time and people available.
What you get
I write down the decisions and the reasons behind them so the team can refer back to them when another request arrives or something changes.
Direction
Who we’re building for, what we’re helping them do, and the evidence behind that choice.
Priorities
What we’ll work on first, what we’re leaving for later, and why.
Next steps
The research, design, and development work needed to try the chosen approach.
How it usually works
I start with the product and the people using it. Then we work through the decisions together.
- 01Context reviewWe look at the current product, customers, roadmap, analytics, feedback, and constraints.
- 02Strategy sessionsWe compare the options, discuss what each would cost, and decide which assumptions need checking.
- 03Decisions in writingI document what we agreed, why, and what we need to do next.
FAQ
Do you only work with early-stage products?
No. Some teams have an idea; others have a working product and more requests than they can handle. In both cases, I want to understand who needs it, what they are trying to do, and what the team can realistically take on.
Is this separate from implementation?
It can be. Your team can take the decisions and do the implementation, or I can stay involved in UX, technical decisions, and delivery. Either way, we discuss the code, time, and people available before agreeing on a plan.
What do we get at the end?
A written account of the problem, the options we considered, what we decided, and why. Depending on the project, that can include a roadmap or experiments to run before building. We agree on the format and scope at the start.
What are you deciding between?
Tell me about the product and the decision you’re stuck on. Links, notes, and a bit of background help.