How do you decide what to build next?
Combine quantitative signals (usage data, funnel drop-off, support tickets) with qualitative signals (customer interviews, sales feedback) against the current strategic goal, then validate the top candidate with a lightweight prototype before committing engineering time.
Full Answer
I triangulate three signal types: quantitative product usage data (where are users dropping off or not adopting a feature), qualitative customer feedback (interviews, support tickets, sales call notes), and strategic alignment (does this move the metric the company is currently optimizing for).
I rank candidates that score well on all three, then de-risk the top one or two with a low-cost validation step — a clickable prototype, a fake-door test, or a small pilot — before committing a full sprint of engineering time. This avoids the common failure mode of greenlighting a feature based on a single loud customer or an internal opinion.
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Vikrant Chauhan has reviewed and coached candidates across 30+ real BA/PM/PO hiring processes in healthcare, SaaS, and fintech.