Product sense is a way of thinking you can train, not a talent you are born with.
People who seem to have product sense usually just have a thinking order that became a habit, so they don't panic when the problem is messy.
Take a vague problem like "how do we increase engagement?" The most common reaction is to open Figma right away.
There is a cleaner flow. I started from a diagram called "Product Sense Explained" that I came across, which splits it into three phases: User Discovery, Problem Discovery, and Solution Discovery, with the goal as the anchor. I compared it with other frameworks and drew my own version.
My version: go wide first, then choose
Each stage has two moves: go wide first, then choose. One addition from me: test assumptions before building.
What happens in each stage
- Goal first. "Increase engagement" is still vague. "Increase users who come back within 7 days" has a direction.
- Users. List every user in the ecosystem, then pick 1 or 2 that matter most to the goal.
- Problems. Dig into the main user problems, then pick the one with the biggest impact.
- Solutions. Brainstorm many ideas, pick the highest ROI, test the assumptions, then build.
- Measure. Collect feedback, then go back to the goal.
How it compares to other frameworks
This flow doesn't stand alone. Three widely used frameworks share a similar pattern: understand first, then solve.
| Framework | Starts with | Middle | Ends with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Sense Explained (original diagram) | Goal | Users, then problems, then solutions | Build and measure |
| Exponent, 6 steps (opens in a new tab) | Clarify the problem | Ordered steps, each one constrains the next | Solutions, then MVP |
| Opportunity Solution Tree (Teresa Torres) (opens in a new tab) | Desired outcome | Opportunity space, then solution space | Assumption tests |
| Double Diamond (Design Council) (opens in a new tab) | Discover | Define, then Develop | Deliver |
They all agree: understand the problem first, then solve it. What I took from each:
- Double Diamond: every phase goes wide first, then narrows.
- Opportunity Solution Tree: test assumptions before building.
- Exponent: shrink the solution into an MVP.
- Original diagram: explicitly pick 1 or 2 users.
Wrap-up
In short, product sense is not about brilliant ideas. It's about knowing what to think about and when: goal first, then users, then problems, and only then solutions.
Next time you get an unclear brief, try this order. Before opening Figma, write down the goal, 1 or 2 users, and the main problem. If you can't answer those three, even a beautiful design is still a guess.