Great products aren’t built by asking users what they want. They emerge from deep understanding, careful synthesis, and informed intuition.
“Listen to your customers” is well-intentioned advice but can lead to mediocre products. I have written the same mantra, but would like to add nuance after going through the Product Sense course.
Building a coherent mental model
The most effective product development path isn’t: Research → Features
Users are experts in their problems, not solutions. They describe symptoms rather than diagnose the disease.
When you implement what users ask for, you’re operating at the surface level. This is how products become bloated and unfocused.
Research → Mental model → Product
Research should inform your understanding of the problem space. But the leap from research to solution requires judgment, synthesis, and creative thinking.
Uncovering the unspoken needs
The most valuable insights can come from what users don’t say. Watch for workarounds, observe frustrations, and pay attention to the moments when users resign themselves to “the way things are.”
The best products feel like they’re reading your mind. This isn’t magic—it’s careful anticipation of user needs through thoughtful design.
Like the Japanese concept of omotenashi (anticipatory hospitality), great products anticipate what users need before they realize it themselves.
Research as a tool, not a crutch
Research should be a tool in your arsenal, not a replacement for judgment. Use it to:
- Build understanding: Develop empathy and insights into your users’ world
- Validate decisions: Test whether your creative decisions resonate
- Identify blind spots: Discover where your mental model differs from users’
But don’t expect research to tell you what to build. That remains your responsibility as a product creator.
The courage to lead
Creating exceptional products requires the courage to lead rather than follow. Users can tell you where the pain points are, but transformative solutions require vision.
Great products feel coherent because they’re built on strong mental models. Your job is to develop a clear model of what your product does, how users think about their problems and how certain approaches give you an advantage over competitors.
Trust your intuition, informed by deep understanding. Build strong mental models. Anticipate needs. And remember that the most valuable product insights come not from what users say, but from thoughtfully observing how they work.