Product Mindset
There are many minds involved while building a Software product. Let’s talk about the four minds of the Software world.
1. Product Manager’s mind
2. UX Designer’s mind
3. Engineer’s mind
4. Customers
The first three minds; the PM’s, UX designer’s and Engineers’ minds operate within an organization and the customers mind operates outside an organization. The customer’s mind has to be brought inside an organization to build software products. The first three minds work towards understanding the needs of customers and internal triggers of customers and then build a solution for the fourth mind (Customer).
Product Manager’s mind: This mind is very understanding, pragmatic, expressive and ambitious. Product Manager understands customer’s problems, defines the product, works with engineers, UX designers, marketers and customer support. This mind is very cooperative and collaborative. This mind is visionary and strategic. This mind is also Business-oriented and thinks of product monetization. This mind is also very intuitive and analytical in terms of understanding the User’s behaviour.
This mind is also empathetic and thinks of customer pain points and feelings of consumers. This mind defines the value proposition for the Product. This is Product Mindset
The Product Mindset also understands the pain points of the delivery team and co-operates with them. This mind is also a good negotiator and Influencer. This mind is an excellent communicator.
This mind is very friendly and works with a positive approach.
This mind is very creative and Innovative. Thinks of long-term product strategy and roadmap.
UX Designer’s mind: This mind is very creative and not business-centric. This mind is emotional and functions from the right brain. This mind is design-centric and wants to offer the best user experience to its users.
But, sometimes is blocked by the Engineering team’s capabilities and Product delivery timelines.
This mind loves colours and different styles of presenting the information. This mind ensures that users have a seamless experience when they engage with the product. A product’s success or failure depends to a large extent on Product mindset.
This mind is responsible for making users feel delighted and happy when they interact with products. Takes care of the emotions of customers.
Makes users addicted to the product. Responsible for making products loveable and stick users to the product.
Engineer’s Mind: This mind is the best friend to the Product Manager. He is responsible for fulfilling the dreams of customers, product managers and UX designers. This is the implementer’s mind, the executor’s mind. This mind is a solution-oriented and action-oriented mind. The Engineers are responsible for building working software and bring it to the hands of customers. This mind functions from the left brain and understands logic, analysis, Systems. Excellent at Input, Output, processing data. They understand complex technologies and have very complex minds. This mind is output-driven and cares about No. of lines of codes, no. of features delivered, no. of defects fixed.
Customer’s Mind: The customers are at the centre of a Software Organization. The goal of the Product managers, UX Designer and Engineers is to understand the internal triggers of Customers minds, understand the behaviour, lifestyle and thought processes of customers and then build the software. If a customer’s mind loves your product, then it can bring fortunes to the organization.
I have missed other minds that exist in Software World. These are the minds of Scrum Master, Project Manager, Program Managers and others. The core responsibility of these other minds is also to align the Product goals and design with the customer’s minds.
A simple piece of software cannot be created if any one of these minds is missing in the World.
Each individual is important, all minds are inclusive and needed in Software World.
“The Software Product management world is all-inclusive”
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