ProductBuilding Products That People Actually Use
Good software is not just about writing clean code. It is about understanding people, solving the right problems, and making something worth returning to.
Most software fails not because the code is bad, but because the product was built for the wrong person or the wrong problem. I have made this mistake more times than I care to admit — shipping features that nobody asked for, designing screens that solved my problem and not the user's.
Start With a Real Problem
Before you write a single line of code, you need to answer one question honestly: does anyone actually have this problem? Not 'would they like this feature', not 'this would be cool', but: do real people run into this friction regularly enough that they would change their habits for a solution?
“A product that solves a real problem for ten people is infinitely more valuable than a product that almost solves an imaginary problem for ten thousand.”
— Paul Graham (paraphrased)
The Three Filters
I have started running every product decision through three filters before committing to it. They are simple questions, but they cut through a lot of noise.
- 01Is this solving a real, recurring pain for a specific person?
- 02Is there evidence (not assumption) that this matters to them?
- 03Would removing this feature make the product significantly worse?
What Good Products Have in Common
| Trait | What It Means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Clear purpose | You can explain it in one sentence | Notion: write anything, organize everything |
| Fast first win | User succeeds within 5 minutes | Figma: design immediately, no install |
| Respects time | Does not waste the user's attention | Linear: keyboard-first, zero friction |
| Grows with you | More value the longer you use it | Obsidian: your notes become a brain |
Shipping Is Not the End
The version you ship on launch day is the worst version of your product that will ever exist. The real work starts after. Listening to how people actually use it, watching where they get confused, noticing what they never touch — that is the feedback loop that turns good software into something people genuinely rely on.
- Read every support message as a product signal
- Watch session recordings without judgment
- Talk to churned users — they tell you the truth
- Ship small, ship often, pay attention
Building products that people actually use is not a skill you develop once and keep forever. It is a practice — a daily discipline of staying curious about people, honest about assumptions, and humble enough to change course when the evidence points somewhere unexpected.
WRITTEN BY
Abdullah Al Maksud
Developer, designer, writer.
