We have a Product thinking Problem!

We dont have a UX problem. We have a product thinking problem. 🧠 

I learned this the hard way.

Earlier in my career, I worked as a UX Lead, closely collaborating with the CEOs office. 

It was a great opportunity to understand the business at a strategic level, but it also came with a challenge.

Quite often, an idea would come from the top, and my job would be to turn it into a solution.

The problem? 

Sometimes, there was no clear rationale behind the idea. 

No real user problem to solve. Just an opportunity that looked interesting, or a trend that everyone was talking about.

I remember seeing how easily this could lead to a product accumulating more and more features, without a clear sense of what it was ultimately trying to achieve.

We actually started selling products that had nothing to do with our industry. 

Imagine, Brussels sprouts 🥬 on a jewellery 💎 website....

Well the same situation but with different products 😅 

SPOILER ALERT: 

Thats a trap!

Because once an idea has momentum, we tend to focus on making it work.

We design the flow. We improve the interface. We test the interaction. We make it easier to use.

But we dont always stop to ask the more fundamental question:

Should we be building this in the first place?

Ive come to believe that this is one of the most important roles design can play in an organization.

Not just translating ideas into interfaces, but challenging assumptions, connecting business goals with real user needs, and helping teams understand the problem before jumping to a solution.

Of course, not every idea needs to come from user research. Innovation can come from the business, from technology, or from observing emerging trends.

But there should be a reason for building something beyond the fact that we can.Because we can make almost anything usable.

That doesn't mean its useful.

And sometimes, the best design decision is to help a team realise that it doesn't need to build another feature at all.