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For any difficult or high-impact product decision, we typically face a plethora of questions about what tradeoffs to make, what risks to take, how things might play out in practice, how this decision impacts our users, strategy, goals,...
Enter a thinking tool: Eigenquestions
Enter a thinking tool: Eigenquestions
For high-stakes product decisions, we need to step back & seek the Eigenquestion (creator: @shishirmehrotra).
The Eigenquestion is the question, which, if answered, provides the basis for answering most other substantial questions associated with this decision.
The Eigenquestion is the question, which, if answered, provides the basis for answering most other substantial questions associated with this decision.
An Eigenquestion example for Netflix
TVOD=Transactional Video On Demand
SVOD=Subscription VOD
Problem:
Given catalog(TVOD) >> catalog(SVOD), should we offer TVOD content?
A super-complex decision!
The Eigenquestion:
Do we care more about catalog size or consumption friction?
TVOD=Transactional Video On Demand
SVOD=Subscription VOD
Problem:
Given catalog(TVOD) >> catalog(SVOD), should we offer TVOD content?
A super-complex decision!
The Eigenquestion:
Do we care more about catalog size or consumption friction?
One reason that Eigenquestions work so well is that they force us to better align our decision with our vision & strategy. A great reminder. So yes, "our catalog could be larger if we offered individually paid content to our members", but is that aligned with our vision & brand?
Too often, decision-making starts with a background on metrics/feedback/etc, is followed by a set of options (clearly 3 is best :) ), & lastly it presents the recommended option. The group then litigates the fine details of the presented information to try & arrive at a decision.
Since I first learned about Eigenquestions a few years ago, I now spend about ½ the time making sure we have the right question for the decision. And then the remaining ½ can be allocated to a discussion of the pros/cons of the options
It feels slow, but it’s faster (and better)
It feels slow, but it’s faster (and better)
Combine WAYRTTD & Eigenquestions, apply them judiciously, and you & your team will be making significantly better product decisions that are more likely to stick. https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1292154613060104192
You can learn more about Eigenquestions (incl etymology & examples) in this post by @shishirmehrotra & @huddy
https://coda.io/@shishir/eigenquestions-the-art-of-framing-problems
Many thanks to @shishirmehrotra for feedback on the difficult exercise of fitting an Eigenquestion example in 280 chars
Happy decision-making!
https://coda.io/@shishir/eigenquestions-the-art-of-framing-problems
Many thanks to @shishirmehrotra for feedback on the difficult exercise of fitting an Eigenquestion example in 280 chars
Happy decision-making!
