Slack Product Sense: Pick a Segment, Find a Pain Point and Ship a First Fix

Slack is a workplace messaging app where teams talk in channels, threads and direct messages and connect the other tools they work with. As a product manager, how would you make it better? Decide what to improve and for whom, then explain the problems you found, the solution you would ship first and how you would know it worked. ```hint Trace one person's workday Pick one kind of Slack user, such as a new hire, a team lead who sits in dozens of channels, or someone working with an outside partner in a shared channel, and walk through a day of their messages. Note where Slack costs them time, attention or information. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is there a goal behind the improvement: more active users, more paid seats, better retention of paying workspaces, or a better experience for its own sake? - Should I focus on one customer size: small teams on the free plan, mid-size paid teams, or large enterprise workspaces run by admins? - Is the scope the core messaging app on desktop and mobile, or can it extend to integrations, workflow automation and channels shared with other companies? - Are there limits to respect, such as admin controls, data retention policies or what the product may do with message content? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A clear goal for the improvement and a reasoned choice of one Slack user segment - Specific pain points rooted in how that segment uses channels, threads, notifications and search - A range of solutions prioritized by impact and effort, with the first one specified well enough to build - Success metrics and guardrails that fit the goal, including the effect on attention and notification load - Risks such as privacy and admin concerns in business workspaces, adoption, and competition ### Follow-up Questions - Your change raises messages sent per user, but surveys show people feel less able to focus. Is that a win? - An enterprise customer's admins must approve new features before employees see them. How does that change your rollout and your measurement? - Many companies already pay for Microsoft Teams through a wider software agreement. Does that change which improvement you would pick?