The latest articles on DEV Community by Srikar Kashyap (@srikarkashyap). https://dev.to/srikarkashyap https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F186596%2F1e89da01-dfa1-4474-8f9e-e37e70650b2f.jpeg https://dev.to/srikarkashyap en Srikar Kashyap Wed, 07 Jul 2021 06:31:19 +0000 https://dev.to/srikarkashyap/problems-and-nuisances-5abi https://dev.to/srikarkashyap/problems-and-nuisances-5abi <p><em>Identifying the user issues worth solving is very crucial but often ignored</em></p> <p>In the course of my study on product management, I've identified two categories of user issues: <strong>Problems</strong> and <strong>Nuisances</strong>.</p> <p><strong>Problems</strong> are difficulties that affect the user so much, they are willing to spend time and money to solve them.</p> <p><strong>Nuisances</strong> feel like problems at the moment but are quickly ignored or forgotten.</p> <p>Let's take an example:</p> <p>My mobile hangs almost once every month and needs a restart. If somebody asks me about this, I would rave for half an hour about how terrible my phone is. If they ask me if I would buy their hang-free phone, I would instinctively say yes!</p> <p>But will I? No! Because it's a nuisance that seems important in that moment. I'm totally fine with my phone the rest of time.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://srikarkashyap.com/#/portal/signup">Subscribe to my blog to get more articles!</a></strong></p> <p><strong>This misidentification of nuisances as problems seems to plague non-tech companies the most</strong>. A laundry list of features is made and the development outsourced to a vendor, with negligible or zero user surveys or demand identification. Most of these features are often obscure and unused.</p> <p>But don't throw away the nuisances yet! <strong>In many cases, nuisances solved with 10X efficiency have a potential niche market for themselves</strong>. These markets rarely overlap with the original markets.</p> <p>A clock that slows down every month by five minutes? Nuisance. A clock that doesn't slow down for decades or centuries? <strong>Atomic clock</strong> (with important scientific applications).</p> <p>A browser that slows down when using dozens of tabs? nuisance. Most people rarely use dozens of tabs simultaneously. But a browser that solves this problem 10X using data centers? <strong>Mighty App</strong>. A niche market with an entirely different userbase.</p> <p>Can you think of any more examples that prove (or disprove) this distinction?</p> <p><strong>TL;DR</strong>: Solve problems. Unless you can solve the nuisance 10X better. Then do that!</p> <p><strong>Recommended reading on identifying problems</strong></p> <ul> <li>Talking to Humans</li> <li>The Mom Test</li> </ul> <p><strong><a href="https://srikarkashyap.com/#/portal/signup">Subscribe to my blog to get more articles!</a></strong></p> startup onlinebusiness productmanagement opinion