The 7 Question of Product Design
This article is a summary. It is the source of many issues we are going to discuss. As product designers, each of the following seven questions is a soul-searching one. To make a good product, we need to give profound answers.
- Business level
- Is it what users need? → Who are the users, what problem does it solve
- Can it be technically implemented? → Who are we, can we do it well, what’s the cost
- Should it be done on the product level? → Whether it fits the product positioning, should we “take” or “give up”
- Is it allowed to be done on the environmental level? → Whether the policy allows it, what’s the market trend, company strategy
- Product level
- What is it
- Operation level
- How to do it
- Team level
- Who are we
Business Level
At the business level, we need to have a clear understanding of the User Value of what we do.
- Is it what users need? → Who are the users, what problem does it solve
- Can it be technically implemented? → Who are we, can we do it well, what’s the cost
- Should it be done on the product level? → Whether it fits the product positioning, should we “take” or “give up”
- Is it allowed to be done on the environmental level? → Whether the policy allows it, what’s the market trend, company strategy, should it be done now
After thinking it through, we can infer a [[Business Objective]], which is described simply and clearly. At the same time, by abstracting and quantifying some phenomena or scenarios when the objective is achieved, we can set specific [[Business Indicators]].
Product Level
After having a clear understanding of the business level, we can start to define at the product level - what exactly is the product/tool/application we are going to make. Define the problem to be solved, clarify the design concept, finalize the scope of functions ([[Induction and Deduction]]), polish the user experience, and ensure that users can solve problems through tools.
Operation Level
The operation level includes two aspects: brand promotion and service design. Brand promotion discusses how to find potential customers, find suitable sales leads. Service design discusses how to reach and convert leads into users, how to keep communication with users, how to continuously optimize products through feedback, how to achieve business indicators through activities and other means.
Product and operation work are two sides of the same coin in “making a product”, both of which must be grasped firmly. They jointly create the “temperament” and “tone” of a product, like the “double helix” in DNA, constituting the “genes” of a product.