Why Product Thinking Matters

As engineers and data analysts, we are often obsessed with the how. How do I optimize this query? How do I structure this component? How do I reduce latency?

These are critical questions. But they are secondary to the most important question: Why?

The "Why" Layer

Product thinking is about peeling back the layers of a user problem. It's not enough to build a dashboard that loads in 200ms if it doesn't answer the user's question.

"People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!" - Theodore Levitt

My Journey

In my work with Smart Roofing, the initial engineering instinct was to flood the user with data. "Look! We have temperature readings every 5 seconds!"

But after interviewing facility managers, we realized they didn't want data. They wanted peace of mind. They wanted to know, "Is my roof leaking right now?"

This shift from "Data Logger" to "Risk Monitor" is what I call Product Thinking in action.