Requirements: Customer Versus Product

• Product managers make the mistake of confusing customer requirements with product requirements.

• Product managers may look to sales and marketing or the customer to define the product to be built.
  • Letting sales and marketing define the product works well if building a custom product.
  • In general this is a mistake because:
    • Customers do not necessarily know what they want or what other customers want.
      • Is very difficult to define a specific solution and predict its effectiveness without at least building a prototype.
    • Customers live in their own world.
      • They are not in a position to see the range of needs and opportunities.
    • Customers do not know what is possible and not possible.
      • Their job is not to keep up with new technologies.

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© 2008 John Michael Pierobon

Notes