[转]专注问题?

文/Jamie
        工程师有喜欢解决问题的天性，尤其不能忍受他的系统里面有 bugs。所以只要碰到问题，他就想要把它们通通解决掉，似乎只要能够解决越多问题，他就能够创造越多价值。这样的逻辑在企业用软件的开发、维护中，或许 是对的，但拿到消费者市场里面，却几乎是杀死创业者最重要的原因。
        问题的价值
        根据定义，每个问题的价值是不一样的。有些问题对消费者而言非常痛 (癌症、氧气)，有些则没什么大不了 (擦伤、臭味)。有些问题对某些人非常严重 (下雨天没雨伞)，对另外一些人却没什么大不了 (晴天没雨伞)。既然创业是在创造价值，那从这个角度看过去，本来就不应该无差别的去解决问题。
        机会成本
        更重要的是，创业团队的资源其实非常有限，无论从人力、金钱、时间、耐心到决心。因此和大企业相比，你更是没有资格解决每一道眼前的问题 —— 多解一个，你也就少一个机会。这就像是去游乐场一样，你手头上的代币是有限的，当然不能每台机器都玩。
        宝贵的意见
        讲到解决问题，最常发生的情况，就是「太听消费者的话」—— 奇怪，Jamie 不是叫我们要聆听市场的声音吗？嗯，这其实就有点像「听妈妈的话」一样。你当然要听，但也不能全部都听，是吧？一个软件产品，最怕的就是要帮所有的人解决 所有的问题，因为最终它等于帮没有人解决没有问题。而太听消费者的话，带来的就是这样的效果。
        每个人都能解问题，但不是每个人都知道该解什么问题
        根据定义，这世界上有这么多工程师，理论上应该所有问题都被解决了。但现实是，我们的生活中还是有很多很多的痛苦。为什么？答案其实非常简单， 因为在工程师的训练中，我们只被教育该如何解决问题，用最有效率、最合逻辑、最能规模化的方法，但从头到尾，其实没有人教我们一件更重要的事，那就是如何 去分辨，哪些问题最值得被解决。所以说大多数创业团队失败的原因，根本不是没有办法解决问题。他们失败的原因，往往是花太多时间在不值得被解决的问题上 面。
        哪些问题该被解决
        所以说，身为创业者，重点其实不是去磨练你解决问题的能力，更重要的根本是你判断哪些问题该被解决的能力。在你有限的时间里面，如果没办法解决 一个很痛的问题，那你成功的机率微乎其微。也就是说，其实你不应该把太多时间花在 bugs 上面，而只需要把时间花在「阻止用户体验核心功能」的 bugs 上面。
        相同的道理，团队们往往花太少的时间在新手入门和使用接口上，因为当你把统计数据打开，通常超过一半的使用者都在还没体验到核心功能前，就已经离开你的网站。注册尤其是最常见的障碍，在验证核心问题前，何必筑起一个把高墙使用者挡在门外？
        总而言之，你必须记住，几乎所有创业团队都有很强的解题能力，但最后真正分辨成功与失败的，其实就只是你找对问题的能力。因此，在你遵循工程师的直觉，动手解决下一个 bug、下一个问题前，想清楚，这是你真的该做的事情吗？
http://startup-marketing.com/chasing-problems/
Chasing Problems?
The best startups generally begin by trying to address a really important problem worth solving. If they can nail the solution to this important problem, they have a great chance of building a successful startup.
How Solving Problems Can Lead to Failure
Surprisingly, founders’ instincts to solve problems can also cause us to fail. Many startups miss success signals because they are too busy solving problems. Our instincts tell us to be responsive to customer feedback – especially negative feedback. These problems are so actionable that we feel good solving them. But over time a startup that chases problem after problem creates a bloated, fragmented solution that isn’t really needed by anyone.
Find the “Must Have” Use Cases – Ignore Most Problems
Ultimately the goal of any startup should be to create a “must have” product experience. The signal that tells you that you have created a “must have” product is your true north to build a successful business. You should understand everything you can about the “must have” experience so you can cultivate and protect it. Who considers it a must have, how are they using it, why do they love it, why did they need it, where do they come from…?
It feels totally counterintuitive to pursue these positive signals while ignoring most of the feedback about problems. But in my experience, this is the right thing to do. In fact, this is the most important thing that I learned in the years that I focused on helping to take startups to market such as Dropbox, Lookout and Xobni. To reiterate, the positive signal is much more important than the ongoing flow of new problems.
Problems Worth Solving
So which problems are worth solving? Essentially any problem that stands in the way of delivering the “must have” experience once it has been identified.
Problems worth solving include:
    Usability issues that prevent reaching the must have experience
    Confusing value proposition about the must have experience
    Targeting the wrong users (AKA users who don’t need the must have experience)
But start by focusing the majority of your energy trying to create at least one must have use case. If you can’t find any positive signal about someone considering it a must have, then go back and revisit the original problem you were trying to solve. You might need to find one that is even more important to solve.
I recognize that my recommendation to ignore most problems is controversial. Please comment whether you agree or disagree. Hopefully we can get some good debate in the comments.
Update: Just to clarify, I’m referring to the data that deserves your focus. I don’t mean to imply that you should be unresponsive to the customers that make suggestions. It is very important to give great customer support. Just don’t promise to change your product/business based on every reported problem.