By Marty Cagan · svpg.com · LinkedIn
Marty Cagan argues that product opportunities are far from exhausted, pointing to three reasons: products that frustrate users always invite better alternatives, what is technically feasible keeps shifting, and today's applications become tomorrow's infrastructure. He highlights how the browser evolved into a platform for eBay, Facebook, Skype and PayPal. He then contends that wide-area wireless broadband, which was finally deploying in U.S. cities, unlocks new classes of products after years of overhyped and underdelivered mobile offerings. He urges product managers to pair customer desires with what has just become possible, using Skype on a broadband-connected phone as an example. The piece is a short, optimistic call to re-examine product plans against new foundations.
01Key takeaways
- Opportunity comes from products that frustrate users, since those invite a better alternative.
- Re-evaluate product assumptions whenever the underlying technical feasibility changes.
- Today's applications often become the foundation for future products, so watch what becomes a platform.
- Hype without delivered value erodes market enthusiasm; look for the quieter shifts that actually work.
- Great product managers match what customers want with what has just become possible.
02Key sections
- Why opportunity persists
- Cagan gives three reasons good opportunities remain: frustrating products invite better versions, feasibility changes over time, and today's applications become infrastructure for the next wave.
- Wireless hype versus reality
- He notes that a decade of wireless hype delivered slow data and poor interfaces, which eroded enthusiasm, even though a real shift was underway.
- Wide-area broadband as a new foundation
- Untethered, always-on broadband could enable roaming applications such as live traffic-aware navigation, mobile office access, and over-the-air media.
- Skype as an example
- Skype's differentiation in a crowded VoIP market, combined with mobile broadband, could make traditional voice networks unnecessary.
- Call to action for product managers
- He recommends that product managers get connected to the new network and explore what is newly possible for customers.
03From the post
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Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.