Recognizing problems worth solving

Every day, product teams face dozens of problems and feature requests. But here's a fundamental truth: not all problems deserve your time. The most successful product managers know how to identify which problems align with both business goals and user needs. Start by asking 3 critical questions:

• How many users does this problem affect? A problem that impacts 80% of your user base deserves more attention than one affecting 5%.
• How severe is the pain? Users might complain about many things, but which issues actually stop them from achieving their goals?
• Does solving this problem support your product vision and company strategy? The intersection of customer pain points and organizational strategy is where you'll find your most valuable opportunities.

If your company aims to expand into enterprise markets, prioritize problems that enterprise customers face. If retention is your key metric, focus on issues causing users to leave. Remember that saying no to good ideas is often necessary to say yes to great ones.^[1]