Question:
My team always gets a feature request.
How do I navigate it?
Problem—solution—outcome
A simple framework I built while I was at Bukalapak.
(😎 You can use it on the whiteboard )
👇 Thread with example
1⃣Put the feature in the solution column
2⃣Discuss with whoever requested the feature.
Ask them:
"What's the desired outcome by building this feature?"
The outcome can be:
- business result
- user outcome (better impact for users)
3⃣Ask them:
"What problem does this feature solve that can help us achieve that outcome?"
Chances are, their answer is either:
- Vague
- Based on their hunches
- All over the place
Put a question mark there.
side note:
If they have concrete data or concrete user insights.
You don't have too much of a problem.
Because they actually did their homework.
You just need to be aware and dig on the root cause.
Here's a thread for that:
💡
There are a few things you can do here.
(A) If the person realizes this is a stupid business move because it's simply an assumption.
- Put a question mark on the problem and the solution.
- Keep the outcome
- Make the next step to identify the problem
💡
(B) If you don't have the time luxury, the person might still want to push it.
- Remind them we're working under assumptions
- If the project doesn't give a good result. Remind them
- In the future, prepare customer insights that are relevant for the objective
Your goal is to
- Achieve a strategic trust
- To have autonomy in your team.
- To start your project with the open-ended solution
It's a long journey, but in the future, you want to aim to start at this state at the beginning of your project:
Because really, there are 100 ways to achieve the outcome and to solve the problem. You need to experiment. You need to learn and gain more knowledge as you go.
Here's a relevant post:
https://buditanrim.co/2021/human-centered-team-overview/