Product 101: What's the Problem

Content

Most product initiatives fail long before engineering writes a single line of code. They fail at the framing stage, where teams instinctively rush straight into solution mode—building flawless features on schedule that ultimately do nothing because they address a problem nobody actually had. In this session, we unpack the critical discipline of separating Dan Olsen’s problem space from the solution space. You will discover how to identify a genuine user defined by their distinct situation, goals, and constraints rather than generic demographic data, examining classic case studies like Clayton Christensen’s morning milkshake dilemma. From there, we break down how to uncover root problems stripped of pre-loaded feature requests, moving beyond surface-level demands like "we need an undo button" to diagnose the underlying behavioral friction. Finally, you will learn how to evaluate defensible solutions by explicitly naming trade-offs, anticipating long-term maintenance costs, and stress-testing ideas against Marty Cagan’s four core product risks: value, usability, feasibility, and business viability. Whether you are structuring an upcoming roadmap or orchestrating an enterprise-scale redesign, you will leave equipped with actionable discovery frameworks, including Teresa Torres’ opportunity solution trees, to help your team stop shipping feature wish-lists and start solving validated, high-impact human problems.