Product sense: the qualities that separate standout products from adequate ones

What makes a product great? Explain the qualities you would use to judge one and why each of them matters. ```hint Make each quality testable For every quality you name, think of one product that has it and one that suffered without it. If the quality does not tell the two apart, it is too vague to carry your answer. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Would you like general principles, or principles grounded in one product I pick as an example? - Should "great" be judged by users alone, or does the product also need to sustain a business? - Should the principles hold only for consumer apps, or for business software and physical products too? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A definition of "great" that says from whose point of view, and over what time span, a product is judged - A short list of distinct qualities, each explained through the user need it serves rather than through adjectives - A real product that shows the qualities at work, and a contrasting product that lacked one of them - The tensions between the qualities and how a product manager chooses between them - The evidence that would show a product is great rather than merely popular or new ### Follow-up Questions - Name a product with enormous usage that you would not call great. What is it missing? - Under a tight launch deadline, which of your qualities would you compromise first, and which never? - What data would tell you whether the product you manage is getting closer to great?