Reactive vs Proactive product development
- I’ve noticed that there are kinda two approaches to deciding what the work priority on a product team should be
- The reactive approach is to build what users ask for, or to build solutions to observed problems. This often short term thinking, but is also builds the product more in the direction of what people are asking for
- The proactive approach is to build based on personal taste, stakeholder request, or personal assumptions. This is often longer term thinking, but can run the risk of building in the wrong direction
- I think agile and lean engineering pushes teams to do more of the former, and less of the latter. But tbh, I think a mix of both is required. How and where to strike that balance I have no idea, and I imagine is team and product dependant as well
- I’m curious about how taste driven companies manage it. What comes to mind is Linear, and Valve