Building a product is like making soup and depends on three pillars: what? How? When?
What?
Knowing the customer’s pain or what to build is the first pillar.
We involve customers, do market research and conclude on what to build. Our sales and customer support team’s insight is valuable in upgrading an existing product or developing an adjacent product module.
How?
This part requires multiple teams together with design to development and customer support. The architectural overview and development stage are the key aspects of it. Then comes distribution to a specific customer group and getting feedback.
When?
A clear timeline for delivery falls in when. As a project manager and product lead, this is your responsibility. Most product fails because the team takes ages to ship or overbuilds them.
“What, how, and when ” mismatch screws up a product or organisation.