#1 Product Management - Discover Initial Problems for the Product

Identifying customer pain points is the first step in developing a product

Currently, I only have experience at one of the Online Bootcamp in the field of Product Management and by writing, I hope can share knowledge and further deepen my knowledge in the field of Product Management.

To solve problems in product development, in-depth analysis will be needed to find Initial Problems. Defining the problem at the beginning is done so that the development team doesn’t waste time solving things that don’t really solve the user’s problems.

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The following are some of the problems that exist in product development:

1. 📉 Low user retention rate: Users download the app but they tend not to use the product regularly or even stop using the product.
2. 📈 High level of complaints or complaints: If the customer support team receives a lot of complaints or requests for help from users, this could be an indication that the product is experiencing problems.
3. ⌛ Slow Loading Times: If a product has slow loading times, be it a website or an app, users may become frustrated and abandon the product before they can fully use it
4. and others…..

However, it requires a deeper analysis of what features are most detrimental in terms of User Experience, Application Performance and Business Goals. Things you can do to find problems early before continuing the development process are as follows:

1. 🎯 Understanding Target Users : A good understanding of users can adjust their preferences to the problems they experience. For example, if a user is age 50 and above, it is likely that they have different preferences in terms of user interface, color preferences, and likely have varying levels of technology skills. They may value ease of use and good readability of text more. Additionally, they may have different needs in terms of functionality, such as the ability to enlarge text or use voice to control applications.
2. 👩‍💻Testing Products with Bare Hands : Requires good knowledge of product architecture, how the product interacts with each other features. A Product Manager can first test the product and see problems based on what he himself has experienced
3. 🗒️Looking at Actual Data : In finding initial problems, Product Managers cannot be separated from data. The data in question is how users behave towards applications or products. This can be known from the CRM team who will provide customer behavior patterns, preferences and problems they experience, then the business analyst team and data analysts can provide data regarding the most frequently used features and areas that may be confusing or less intuitive in the application or product.
4. 🧏‍♀️Conducting Interviews : It is important to go directly to the users to find out the problems they are experiencing. Direct interviews with prospective users or potential customers can provide deeper insight into the needs and problems they face. This interview can be a source of ideas and validation for the product concept being developed. Conducting interviews can also be used to create personas to find user pain points
5. 🧠Brainstorming with the Team: Bringing together a team of developers, designers, and marketing to conduct workshops and brainstorming can be an effective way to identify potential problems and find innovative solutions, by involving various perspectives and expertise, new ideas can be created that may not have been thought of before
6. ❓Distributing Surveys: In this case, distributing surveys is effective in analyzing problems because it will get actual data, but the list of questions that are distributed can be uncontrolled and have no limits because they have to ask questions about all existing features and this can make users fill out survey overwhelmed in carrying out the survey. It would be better to distribute the survey when carrying out Data Validation so that the questions are structured and focus on the problems that have been determined at the beginning.

After finding the initial problem, a deeper Discover (Exploration) will be carried out to carry out Market identification, Competitor Analysis, Identify customer needs and identify problems using the Customer Journey Map which has been focused on problematic features. This will be discussed in the next article ~ 🔜🔜

Thank you for reading my writing. I write and I want to learn by hearing and reading your opinions and experiences on this topic. I have a question that might be discussed in the comments column :

1. ❔❓How does a Product Manager find potential customers to interview? What does a Product Manager do to find suitable potential customers to interview? (* In a bootcamp project I was involved in, I found potential customers to interview simply based on : the user had/hadn’t used the app).

If you have any experience regarding the question 👆👆, I would be happy to accept it. Thank You 👋