The key to do the product-the enemy win

There is an old saying in China, "the enemy, win." This sentence is the ancients left us the aphorism, in making products, this sentence also applies.

Confidant means knowing what the positioning of your product is, where the core competencies are, what the product definition is, and so on.

Know that, simply speaking, is to understand the situation of competitors. Know that is based on the premise of a confidant: clear their own products, will know the corresponding competing products. But not to say a confidant, you must know that. This is unavoidable to in-depth analysis of the competition, in order to understand each other.

You're welcome to say that now many product managers, including interactive designers, are not confidant, nor know. Many people still stay in the first blindly copy the competition, and then add other functions of the thinking box.

The same is true of interactive designers, the position is not firm is easy to be led by PM. Recently I made a Content-type page, received the requirements document (more accurately should be a digest collection), and then began to typesetting. But the more I think that the more unreliable, at some key points and PM have differences, but there is no discussion of the results. Finally, I suddenly realized: it is because the early missed a lot of necessary work.

First, it should be clear what the purpose of this page is: What value can this page create for users? Second, how do we create value for our users? Educating users through our assumptions? or show the user what he might be concerned about? If you choose the latter, how do you determine which content he cares about? Third, What are the content modules we should provide based on what the user may care about? Four, what are the priorities of these modules? All of these are OK before you begin to do layout work.

Why is there such a problem? Because this content Rich page, PM only give half a day, under this kind of environment pressure, the interaction designer is easy to lose oneself, the professional process all throws behind the head, but only thinks how completes the task on time.

From this page, my thinking extends to the entire product: do we know what our core competencies are when we do this product? Know how to get rid of competitors? Do we know who will use our products and what are the expectations of these people? How will they use our products? Can our products meet their needs? For such a complex professional product, we have seriously studied the competition products? Do we really understand the characteristics of this industry and the needs of our users?

Everything is in the negative. It is not enough to sketch a product with experience and feeling simply by looking at a few competing items. The more late, the more feel the heart is not bottom. In the design process, will always inadvertently find new design quality good competition, let me feel pressure. Perhaps rely on the company's brand and advertising resources, do a rotten person also pay. But this is short term, not only this product to save, even the company's brand image will gradually be overdrawn.

Product design has gradually come to an end, and I as an interactive designer, but can not say a few of the name of the competition, also do not understand the situation of competing goods, it is very ashamed. I think about the one months, what has been done? Why do we have to compromise time? Why not to the professional quality of the product side to suggest the correct process? We all really want to do things well, but they are often dazzled by the limitations in front of us.

Mend it, never! tomorrow, start and PM to discuss the issue of competitive analysis!