Find the Existing Workaround First
If a problem really exists, the user is already solving it with some clumsy method. Finding that clumsy method is worth more than ten interviews.
- 做出来的功能比用户实际需要的复杂五倍
- 用户说要，但你说不清他现在没有这个东西是怎么活的
- 上线后用户还是回去用他原来那套
No workaround means one of two things: the problem doesn't hurt, or it hurts so much no one can get by. The first, skip. The second is a big opportunity. The way to tell them apart is whether they've paid any other price for it — say, just stopped doing the thing at all, or paid someone to do it.
Conversely, if the workaround is already good enough, don't build it either. For users to switch from something that works to you, the payoff usually has to be several times larger — not just a little better.
Where to Look
| 找什么 | 它意味着什么 |
|---|---|
| 自己搭的表格 | 需求最清楚的一种。列名就是字段，颜色就是状态 |
| 一堆截图和微信收藏 | 他在做的是「攒起来以后找得到」，核心诉求是检索 |
| 写了个小脚本 | 能写脚本说明痛到愿意学。这类用户是最好的早期用户 |
| 雇了个人在做 | 已经在付钱了，且能算出具体金额。定价的锚点 |
| 几个工具串着用 | 你的机会在那几个工具的接缝处，不在其中任何一个里面 |
| 干脆放弃了这件事 | 需求存在但成本太高。做出来可能是全新的市场 |
How to Read It
Once you have the workaround, break it down along these four lines and the outline of the product falls out.