Product Manager Dilemma : Bias to Action or Product Discovery
Should I collect more evidence or action on it ?
As a perfectionist, like many product managers, I often find myself caught between two strong forces: the urgency to act and the necessity for thorough product discovery.
This dilemma — deciding when to act and when to delve deeper — poses a constant challenge striving to balance speed with strategy.
But wait what do these term means ???
Understanding the Two Mindsets
- Bias to Action:
Is about driving execution, quickly testing ideas, and generating momentum.
2. Product Discovery:
Product discovery involves deep research to understand user needs, experimenting with various solutions, and ensuring that the product will solve the right problem.
Both approaches are essential, yet they often conflict. Deciding when to act and pause for further discovery can be challenging, as each has unique benefits and risks.
But a million-dollar question is
When to Stop Discovery and When to Action?
I follow one simple principle for when to lean toward a bias to action:
A bias to action is especially valuable in a environment, where iterating quickly can lead to growth, user engagement, identify unknowns and get competitive advantages.
✪ Because of
- Speed and Efficiency: Quickly acting on a well-defined idea can yield faster feedback from users and stakeholders and can prevent analysis paralysis.
- Learning Through Doing: Fast execution provides real-world data that can lead to unexpected insights, helping the team pivot or make changes based on actual user feedback rather than assumptions.
⚠️ But there are some challenges as well … - Rapid action may result in the team overlooking underlying user needs, building features that don’t solve real problems, or creating products that require major rework later.
- There’s also the risk of expending resources on ideas that could have been invalidated with more thorough research.
and when to lean into more discovery
Product discovery increases the confidence that team is building meaningful and impactful experience for users.
✪ Because it can
- De-risk Development : Discovery reduces the risk of building a product or feature that doesn’t resonate with users.
- Stronger Product-Market Fit: Thorough discovery helps ensure the product addresses real customer needs, increasing the likelihood of adoption, satisfaction, and retention.
⚠️ But there are some challenges as well …
Overemphasis on discovery can
- Slow down execution
- Delay product launches
- Create a sense of inertia
and also be aware of false urgencies and its impact on teams
https://medium.com/@nidakhan333/impact-of-false-urgency-on-teams-cbaa39adef40
So how can product managers strike the right balance between action and discovery? Here are a few strategies that I find helpful
- Lean Discovery Process: Product discovery doesn’t always have to be an extended process. Use lean discovery techniques — like quick surveys, user interviews, and prototype testing — to validate assumptions efficiently without stalling progress.
You read this blog on how to be lean as a product manager >> https://medium.com/@nidakhan333/how-to-be-lean-as-a-product-manager-cf6172bc83d2
2. Use Data to Drive Decisions: When possible, let data guide whether to act or continue with discovery. Look at user engagement metrics, feature adoption rates, and customer feedback to determine if it’s time to iterate on an existing solution or explore a new direction.
3. Set Time Limits for Discovery: Discovery shouldn’t be open-ended. Set time constraints and establish clear goals, such as identifying the primary pain points or validating a key hypothesis. These constraints help ensure that discovery remains focused and productive.
Choosing between a bias to action and product discovery isn’t one-size-fits-all; it depends on the situation, market, and product maturity. The key is an adaptive mindset — knowing when to speed up or slow down.
If you have any thoughts or would like to chat over a coffee, I’d be glad to connect!
Email : nidasaleem333@gmail.com
