Des Traynor
Co-founder of Intercom; writes on product and design at intercom.com.
Des Traynor did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsIf you’re building a product, you have to be great at saying no. Not “maybe” or “later”. The only word is no. Building a great product isn’t about creating tons of tactically useful features which are tangentially related.
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Our reading
Whether a feature is quick to build is a roadmap question, never a reason on its own to build it.
Their wordsThe main problem with this argument is that the scope of work should never be a reason to include a feature in a product.
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Our reading
A real product decision says a proposal is a great idea and still turns it down for something else.
Their wordsReal product decisions aren’t easy. They require you to look at a proposal and say “This is a really great idea, I can see why our customers would like it. Well done. But we’re not going to build it. Instead, here’s what we’re doing.”.