The executive asks the PM, "Why should we build that?"

Dear adventurer,

AI agents are writing the code.

If you read my most recent blog post, you know what I am referring to: the Waters theory. We predict that from here out, the percentage of code written by AI (not people) will quintuple year over year.

And that means a lot of change for our industry.

As AI radically reduces the barrier to manufacturing software, knowing what to build will be crucial to stand out in a flooded market.

If the Waters theory proves true (and we believe it will), customer orientation will be what separates successful products from the ones drowned out in the noise.

The key to that success will be to ensure the best ideas have the greatest opportunity to emerge.

Finding what customers actually need and will pay for is an imperative, because they are the only ones who will pay for what you build.

Reaching the sweet spot between customer need and business impact is what we all strive to do. And to figure that out, you need to speak with people, be open, and hear them.

The Aha! product team is also trying to improve our own product discovery work. And judging by the reaction to our most recent product launch, a lot of other teams are too.

Aha! Discovery is the new way to manage customer interviews, uncover key product insights, and link them to your roadmap.

We are excited to expand our offering to help teams more efficiently conduct customer research. Aha! Discovery helps product and user research teams jump-start customer interviews and uncover fresh insights. Even better, you can seamlessly link research and insights to your roadmap.

This gives you the validation you need when some pessimistic executive asks you, "Why should we invest in that initiative?" or, "Why should we build that?"

I meet frequently with product teams at some of the world's most sophisticated enterprise companies. I also have the opportunity to chat with early-stage startups. The challenges I observe are not so different between the two.

What I have learned is that the challenges are deep-rooted. Upstream activities impact what ideas are able to emerge, let alone be championed.

Most teams rely on ineffectual processes that cannot scale at the speed with which AI promises to accelerate software manufacturing.

This should be a wake-up call: Too many product teams say that they know what to build, but privately admit it is often a best guess.

Product discovery will be the great differentiator. Teams will need to significantly grow their skills in this area to avoid creating more software waste.

There are two ways you can quickly learn more.

Join me for a live event on April 3, where we will discuss the discovery work that went into building this new product.

Then go ahead and try Aha! Discovery for yourself —?it is ready to use right now.

Let's discover together. See you next week?

Brian