Why Can't We Help But Fall in Love With Our Own Solutions?

As developers, we often fall in love with our own solutions. We spend so much time and energy thinking about and building our solutions, that it's easy to forget that the solution is not the end goal. The end goal is to solve a problem for someone.

We should be more interested in the process that leads us to the solution. The process is where the real learning happens. It's where we get to understand the problem, the user, and the market.

Everything is a lie, until you launch your product with real users. Until then, you're just guessing.

I love blockchain technology, but I don't think that we should use it as a solution to every problem. The idea is to solve a problem, maybe with other technology, maybe that problem doesn't even have a tech solution, maybe the solution is in the social behavior and that is harder to program.

AI has the same problem. I see a health company that implemented an AI chatbot that helps people to get fast diagnosis, but people don't want to talk with a machine about their health problems, because a robot doesn't have a body and doesn't understand their pain. On the other side, a financial advisor company told me they got an AI chatbot that their users love to interact with, because their users were people that have debts, so when they talk with a human they feel ashamed talking about their bad money decisions, but people feel great when chatting with a robot that doesn't judge them about their bad decisions.

I know it's harder to define what is a bad example than to understand what is a good example. But i will try it anyways. These questions helps you to find better solutions:

Problem-solution fit

1. What problem are you trying to solve?

2. Who is your target customer?

3. What are they currently doing to solve this problem?

4. What are the benefits of your solution?

5. Why would they choose your solution over others?

Product-market fit

1. How big is the market for your product?

2. Who are your competitors?

3. What are the pain points of your target customers?

4. How can your product solve the pain points of your target customers?

5. What is your unique selling proposition?

Collect stories and data from customers to understand their problems and motivations

When developing a product, it's important to understand the customer's problems and motivations. This can be done by collecting stories and data from customers. Stories can help you understand the customer's perspective, while data can help you identify trends and patterns. By understanding the customer, you can develop a product that solves a real problem and delivers real value.

For example, this article. I want to write about a hundred blockchain related topics, but what is the main reason of writing if not just write about the process of our thinking. I want to enjoy the process to get a post that i enjoy to write.

So, let's not fall in love with our solutions. Let's fall in love with the process of finding solutions. Let's enjoy the journey, and let's not forget the destination.