Fighting the Tigger feeling

The product that I work on is a web-based portal product. We are in the middle of a complete overhaul of the product. It is good and it is severely needed. What is going to come out of the other side is going to be pretty cool (I hope).

Something that I have noticed that the project team has to keep fighting and keeping top of mind is what I am starting to call the 'Tigger feeling' - that is 'I'm the only one.' attitude.

What you have to realize is that no matter what you are building and working on it is just a small piece of your user's life. It is not the only website, product or item that you user is going to use throughout their day. They are probably not going to obsess about your product - you want them to use it all the time, to love it and to find it something that they can't live without. But the reality is that they probably won't.

The questions that you have to really focus on and to keep coming to is - what is the purpose of my product? Why to people use it? What task are they trying accomplish with this product?

Your product is not the only one.

So that means that you have to create a compelling reason for them to use your option. Then you have to try and figure out how does your solution bring fun and ease to accomplishing that items/task? What it is about your solution that people are going to squeeze time out of their already overly busy schedule to use your solution/product.

This post is not anything new, and in fact there are many people that say the same things that I have just typed much better then I can. But it is something that I have to be reminded of again and again.