Stop Guessing, Start Listening

Stop Guessing, Start Listening

A researcher runs some interviews. They produce a report. They tell everyone what they learned. Then the product team goes back to building. The researcher Emily Goligoski [https://www.emilygoligoski.com/] doesn’t work that way. This week on Product Fridays, Emily says research is a team sport: “When I think about research design, I think the real cheat code is actually collaboration,” she says. We couldn’t agree more, and we’re thrilled to have Emily on the show to discuss the art of understanding people. Ideas we loved: * How to do research as a team of one * The N+1 rule for building products * Why “cheap and cheerful” research is often enough * Emily’s three research questions that fit on a Post-It note * How AI is (and isn’t) changing the craft * Why Emily still carries a notebook everywhere she goes Mentioned in this episode: * Rev [https://www.rev.com/] * Leuchtturm1917 notebooks [https://www.leuchtturm1917.com/notebooks/] * Rhodia notebooks [https://rhodiapads.com/] * Portage reporter’s notebooks [https://www.amazon.com/Portage-Reporters-Notebook-Professional-Spiral/dp/B00KSLRG4E/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2BGI5HP5X2G2F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pT7fBXOtpZDle0IjiYvvXCsbcqKAaTJGapOdbLwtA44j4PizaKknURvVqW5yxYIMyeNf7pAwcbS-2Nj0i3JiUtj7cS79-gkgnTQ91SXDbgp78ja82oacYomQfE0joYg0M6oythnTlGobGWWnjfB6DBkNJcWt3755nV0yLsygqMxpqQMpXgkWpJM4jPZR9ECgmCdv5V157Btq89CqfG8gNXB-BxlUgssZJjuKjLSwHxom7RYEG55Eo8b0aVDfnqvAXdHbR05MhG_8ldm--GT7yXU8sunjC_UUhWzdEnrM8jA.nB9cLhAnHK7VzHOEeOXCCYMj9ORVuUBzhiznDBqDmTs&dib_tag=se&keywords=reporter%27s%2Bnotebooks&qid=1782702526&s=office-products&sprefix=reporter%27s%2Bnotebooks%2Caps%2C120&sr=1-4&th=1] * Pilot G2 [https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Retractable-Premium-Roller-31020/dp/B001GAOTSW?th=1]retractable rolling ball gel pens, fine point, 0.7mm [https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Retractable-Premium-Roller-31020/dp/B001GAOTSW?th=1] * MUJI gel ink ballpoint pen, 0.5mm (too fine for Phelps’s taste) [https://www.muji.us/products/gel-ink-ballpoint-pen-knock-type-blue-black-10-pack-9a63007] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit productfridays.substack.com [https://productfridays.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

AI doesn't kill art. It moves the goalposts.

Did the camera kill art? Of course not, says our guest David Somerville, it pushed art to new places. Cubism. Impressionism. “What didn’t happen is art ceased to exist,” he says. “It became about, okay, but now can I paint a feeling?” David is one of the most creative people we know. He is a designer, creative consultant, game maker, and published Dungeons & Dragons author. (He’s also our first-ever non-Andrew guest. He’s filing paperwork to fix that.) David’s instinct cuts against the doom take: using AI to do more of the same, faster, is self-defeating. The interesting question is what AI can do that hasn’t been done yet. A few things from the conversation worth stealing: * Wonder vs. empathy. Wonder looks at something from the outside (what does it look like?); empathy stands inside it (what does it feel like?). Good work comes in moving between the two. * “Yes, and” is the whole job. When a client insists the logo has to be blue, David says yes — to the goal — then proposes a different way there. Most bad creative calls are just fear of being wrong. * Process is a runway, not the whole flight. You need it to take off and to land. In between, you have to actually fly. We loved every minute of David’s insights about creativity and the creative process, and we hope you do, too. Happy Friday. —The Andrews In this episode: * David Somerville, founder of the creative consulting firm Smrvl™️ [http://smrvl.com/] * Brand Deck [https://branding.cards/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit productfridays.substack.com [https://productfridays.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Introducing Sous Chef, our newest app

Big news! Sous Chef, [http://app.souschef.cool/] our AI-powered app for creative cooking, is officially in open beta 🎉 Now, we’re not saying we’re the next coming of Bobby Flay and Alton Brown, but we both know our way around the kitchen. And we’ve always been frustrated by the dearth of purpose-built products that match how we like to cook. So, we’re designing our own. Sous Chef makes cooking amazing meals easier, more spontaneous, and more fun. Take a look! [http://app.souschef.cool] In this episode, we break down what Sous Chef does, how McGill came up with the idea while reading recipe newsletters, and why nailing down the perfect set of features is so dang hard. Also, should we rename the app “Cooking Idiot”? That’s what Phelps wants. We’ll let you draw your own conclusions We’d love to hear your feedback on the beta. Give it a try and drop us a note at hello@productfridays.com [hello@productfridays.com] with your thoughts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit productfridays.substack.com [https://productfridays.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Revealed: The Product We'll Vibecode Out of Existence

Last week, we threw down the gauntlet: We’re joining the SaaSpocalypse and picking one of our software subscriptions to replace with a vibecoded substitute. The people spoke: It’s QuickBooks. We suspect QB has very few fans. Much like other big platforms (e.g. Jira, and increasingly Zoom), it’s tried to become everything to everyone over years — and ended up completely incomprehensible to anyone. It’s the opposite of an “opinionated product.” In this new era of frictionless personalized software, its breadth feels like bloat. We simply don’t need all of it! (And we’re not the only people thinking this. Intuit’s stock has dropped by a third since the beginning of the year.) In this episode, we dig into what actually would be the perfect bookkeeping software for two guys named Andrew (and maybe you, too). We don’t want to spoil anything, but “Partiful for expense categorization” DID come up. Next week: We unveil our creation. Stay tuned. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit productfridays.substack.com [https://productfridays.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Help us pick which SaaS platform to vibecode out of existence

Earlier this week, the NASDAQ’s most powerful software stocks took a massive nosedive because an AI provider published a plugin. [https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/ai-threatens-a-wall-street-cash-cow-financial-and-legal-data-6782657e?st=wws866&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink] It sounds kind of silly, like the (probably apocryphal [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_mice_and_rats#Elephants_and_mice]) thing where elephants are deathly afraid of mice. But the numbers don’t lie. Some of the biggest software platforms around — Intuit, Adobe, LegalZoom — did indeed lose hundreds of billions in market capitalization after Anthropic added a legal research plugin to their new Cowork product. What are they worried about? It’s not just about Anthropic competing with legal software. The real fear is that Claude and other AI tools can help anyone spin up passable alternatives to expensive SaaS products — an era of personal software. Who needs to pay QuickBooks $500 a year to balance their books when an AI can build you a custom replacement in an afternoon? Is this fear justified? We’re going to find out by stress-testing our own software stack. We went through every recurring subscription we pay for and asked: Could we build a decent substitute using Claude? These are our top picks. Vote below to help us choose which one to tackle first. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit productfridays.substack.com [https://productfridays.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]