(2022-10-04) Cagan Product Sense Demystified

Martin Cagan: Product Sense Demystified. I have always disliked the term, and I especially dislike the implications.

For most people, the word “sense” implies that it is innate

But what’s really going on is something very different

I argue that strong product sense is better described as deep product knowledge, and is the result of truly immersing yourself into a specific product space.

you may think that someone with years of experience in the specific domain might have a real advantage in developing this product sense, but in most cases this turns out not to be true. A disproportionate amount of innovation comes from people that don’t bring the baggage of the domain – they bring fresh perspective and the willingness to question dogma.

I personally visited with literally hundreds of product teams to understand the challenges they faced and the tools they used. I spent countless hours pouring through data. I personally tested out every software tool I could find One product space? Or many products for consistent customer?

While I avoid the product sense term, I do say very often to people I coach that “there is no substitute for doing the homework.”