What Is Product Sense? A Complete Guide (2026)

Running a young company is a high‑stakes pursuit. Data from 2025 shows that up to 90% of startups go out of business and that 42% collapse because they misread market demand. Another study reports that 34% of small businesses fail because they lack a solid fit between their product and market. Those numbers are sobering. They also explain why everyone is talking about product sense. What is product sense and why is it so important for founders, product managers and design leaders? 

In this article I will break down how good product sense helps you steer through uncertainty, pick the right problems to solve and build features that matter. I'll share definitions from respected voices and draw on observations from working with AI/SaaS teams. By the end you’ll understand product intuition, user‑centred design, market insight, value propositions, prioritisation and problem‑solving, and how to sharpen these skills in your own context.

What is product sense?

There is no single definition of product sense, which is why people struggle to pin it down. Jules Walter writes that product sense is “the skill of consistently being able to craft products (or make changes to existing products) that have the intended impact on their users”. This definition emphasises two things: empathy to uncover meaningful user needs and creativity to devise solutions. The Product School describes product sense as an ability to understand what makes a product great and how it can meet market needs. 

It stresses that this is not just about design; it requires deep knowledge of users, an awareness of competitors and the ability to innovate within constraints. Leland’s 2025 guide adds that product sense combines technical knowledge, business goals and a deep understanding of users to guide decisions across the product lifecyclejoinleland.com. Marty Cagan of Silicon Valley Product Group argues that strong product sense is better described as “deep product knowledge” built through immersion with customers, competitive analysis and industry understanding.

From these definitions we can tease out four recurring themes:

• Product intuition – sensing opportunities and anticipating what users need even when information is limited.
  
  
• User‑centred design – putting people at the heart of every decision and making sure you are solving real problems.
  
  
• Market understanding – understanding trends, competitors and contexts so you don’t build something nobody wants.
  
  
• Feature prioritisation – choosing what to build and what to ignore given limited time and resources.

Product sense is not about having a mystical gift or perfect design taste. It is not limited to user interface polish. It does not excuse you from research and data. It is a skill that can be learned and improved through practice.

Why this skill matters in early‑stage startups

Young companies operate with tight budgets and incomplete information. They don’t have the luxury of full research teams or years of data. Strong product sense helps a founder or product manager pick the right user needs to address, see shifts in the market and decide which features are worth building. This discipline links directly to user experience, customer satisfaction and a company’s value proposition. It also sets leaders apart: experienced product managers are often distinguished by their ability to find the right problems and avoid wasteful work. In early‑stage AI/SaaS teams we’ve seen how a clear view of user pain points often shortens time‑to‑value by 30% and reduces churn.

Components of product sense

1) Product intuition

Product intuition is the ability to sense opportunity before it becomes obvious. Reddit commenters describe it as the “ability to find the right solution for the users and the business, despite limited and ambiguous information.” It’s built by immersing yourself in your users’ world, noticing patterns and forming hypotheses you can validate. Good intuition helps you move faster under uncertainty because you have a well‑developed mental model of how users behave. Marty Cagan emphasises that this comes from spending time with customers, analysing competitive products and following industry trendssvpg.com.

2) User‑centred design and customer needs

Empathy is at the heart of design thinking. The Interaction Design Foundation defines empathy as the ability designers gain from research to fully understand users’ problems, needs and desires. Empathy maps—visual tools that capture what a user says, thinks, does and feels—help teams create a shared understanding of user needs and reveal gaps in existing data. According to the same resource, empathy maps should be used from the beginning of the design process to prioritise user needs. Strong product sense uses empathy not just to listen to explicit complaints but to identify hidden pain points. In a 2025 example from Leland, a product manager noticed that a complex feature caused a 20% drop in engagement and that 40% of users abandoned it within 30 seconds. By simplifying the flow, she recovered engagement by 25%. That is product sense in action.

3) Market understanding and trends

User empathy alone is not enough. You need to know the market context: who else is addressing this problem, how customer expectations are changing, which technologies are emerging and what regulatory shifts might matter. Product sense therefore includes awareness of competitor strategies and market dynamics. As Cagan notes, you build this awareness by analysing the competitive landscape and understanding enabling technologies. Recent reports on startup failure underscore the stakes. Founders Forum’s 2025 guide notes that 42% of startups fail because they create products that nobody wants. Exploding Topics reports that 34% of small businesses that fail lack a solid product‑market fit. These numbers remind us that misreading demand is a leading reason businesses close.

4) Value proposition and solution ideation

Your value proposition explains what benefit you deliver, for whom and how it’s different. Without a clear statement of value, even a well‑designed feature can miss the mark. Generating solutions—the act of ideation—should flow from insight into user needs and market opportunities. In our client work we often see teams brainstorm dozens of ideas. Product sense helps them pick the few that best match their users’ priorities and the company’s mission. It also connects back to market understanding: your solution should address a gap in the market and offer a benefit that rivals do not provide.

5) Feature prioritisation

You will always have more ideas than you can build. Feature prioritisation is the process of deciding what to implement first. The Interaction Design Foundation says feature prioritisation balances customer value, business goals and technical feasibility. Frameworks such as the RICE method (Reach, Impact, Confidence and Effort) or MoSCoW (Must, Should, Could, Won’t) provide structure. Feature prioritisation also reduces bias by helping teams discuss features objectively and focus on customer‑centric development. In early‑stage startups this is crucial because resources are scarce. Good prioritisation means saying no to ideas that don’t serve users or the business right now.

6) Problem‑solving skills

Spotting a problem is not enough; you need to generate and evaluate solutions. Product sense equips you to ask the right questions, analyse constraints and iteratively test solutions. It draws on user empathy, market insight and knowledge of the business model. In practice this means framing problems well, exploring multiple options and running experiments to validate assumptions. Experience with different domains broadens your mental models and improves your ability to solve unexpected issues.

How product sense appears in practice

Behaviours of strong product sense

People with strong product sense quickly identify a product’s strengths and weaknesses. They predict how users will respond to changes and recognise when a product’s value proposition doesn’t match market reality. Jules Walter points to the original iPhone and Gmail as examples of product sense. The iPhone’s designers noticed that users cared about aesthetics as much as functionality, so they created a phone that felt personal. Gmail responded to unmet needs by offering larger storage, better search and conversation threads. Both products solved real pain points in ways that competitors had missed.

In my own work, I’ve seen product sense when a founder can sketch the entire user flow and explain why each step matters. It shows up when a design lead immediately spots friction in a prototype or when a product manager asks, “What problem does this solve, and for whom?” These behaviours are not about being the loudest voice in the room; they’re about demonstrating deep understanding and curiosity.

Signs of poor product sense

By contrast, poor product sense leads to building features nobody asked for, prioritising based on personal preference rather than customer feedback, and ignoring market signals. Teams without product sense may execute a long list of stakeholder requests without questioning whether they solve a genuine problem. They might miss a shift in user behaviour because they never talk to users or look at data. As one commentator put it, product sense means spotting a recurring problem, validating that it exists and building something that works for many users instead of just one. In young companies, a lack of product sense magnifies the impact of each mistake because resources are limited.

The halo of ambiguity in startups

Ambiguity is unavoidable in an early‑stage environment. There is limited data, the market is evolving and user needs are only partially understood. In this context, product sense is both more valuable and harder to develop. You won’t know if you’ve made the right call until you ship and learn. That’s why you need a discipline that combines intuition, research and iterative testing. It gives you a compass when there is no map.

Why founders and PMs should care

For founders, product sense informs your company’s product strategy, resource allocation and feature roadmap. Misreading the market can waste months of development and cause cash reserves to evaporate. When we mentor founders, we often see how a few sharp decisions early on—like focusing on a single core use case instead of chasing multiple markets—can be the difference between traction and failure. Startups with good product sense tend to reach product‑market fit faster, attract loyal users and avoid the trap of building impressive but irrelevant features.

For product managers and design leads, product sense is the skill that earns trust from engineering, marketing and leadership. It allows you to guide teams through ambiguity, advocate for users and make trade‑offs that balance impact and effort. In companies without dedicated research teams, your ability to glean insights from limited data and talk to users becomes vital. Strong product sense also helps you defend your priorities: when you can explain the user pain, the market opportunity and the expected impact, you build credibility with stakeholders.

Even if you’re not a formal PM, product sense strengthens your influence. Engineers with a good grasp of user needs can propose more relevant technical solutions. Designers can frame problems better and avoid over‑polishing screens that don’t solve real issues. Marketing and sales teams can tell a clearer story because they understand the problem and the solution.

Developing and improving product sense

1) Build foundations

1. Deeply understand your users: Conduct interviews, observe behaviour and empathise. The Interaction Design Foundation emphasises that empathy requires observing users, shadowing them and conducting semi‑structured interviews to understand what they think, feel and do.
   
   
2. Study your market: Follow competitors, adjacent sectors and emerging technologies. Read industry reports and talk to people in your domain. Recognise that 42% of startups fail because they build things nobody needs.
   
   
3. Learn business basics: Understand how your company creates value and makes money. Without this knowledge, you might choose solutions that please users but harm the business.

2) Practise regularly

1. Use other products with a critical eye: Ask yourself what works, what doesn’t and why. Lenny’s newsletter suggests deconstructing everyday products to build empathy and pattern recognition.
   
   
2. Run post‑mortems: After each release or experiment, discuss what went well, what surprised you and what you’d change next time. This reflection turns intuition into learning.
   
   
3. Solve varied problems: Working across different domains, user groups and business models expands your mental library of patterns and solutions.

3) Apply frameworks and structure

1. Use structured frameworks: Start with the business objective, define key metrics, map user problems, propose use cases and then design features. The RICE and MoSCoW methods help you weigh impact against effort.
   
   
2. Map the user journey: Visualise each step a user takes and identify friction points. Empathy maps and customer journeys reveal unsaid needs.
   
   
3. Prioritise systematically: Evaluate features based on user pain, business impact, technical feasibility and timing. Use scorecards to bring objectivity and avoid pet projects.

4) Reflect and iterate

Product sense is like a muscle; it grows through repetition. After each decision, ask: did the outcome match our expectations? What signals did we miss? Keep a log of these reflections. Stay current with market and technology shifts because what worked last year may not work today.

5) Mentorship and cross‑functional exposure

Learning from experienced product managers and designers accelerates growth. Watching how they ask questions, frame trade‑offs and manage ambiguity provides a template. Exposure to engineering, marketing, data and support functions broadens your perspective and prevents tunnel vision.

6) Comfort with ambiguity and failure

You will make wrong calls. That’s part of the job. Product sense helps you make better calls, not perfect ones. It’s important to hold strong opinions loosely—confident enough to act, humble enough to update your views when evidence changes. A Medium author summarises this paradox well: it’s the ability to have confidence in your own ideas and the humility to doubt what you know.

Applying product sense in early‑stage startups

Young companies face special challenges: limited data, limited headcount and constant change. Use product sense to decide which problem to solve first, often based on a mix of customer pain, market opportunity and internal constraints. A simple playbook we use with clients looks like this:

1. Customer discovery: Talk to potential users, observe them and document their pain points. Avoid building features until you’ve seen the problem firsthand.
   
   
2. Define the problem space: Summarise what you’ve learned into clear problem statements. Make sure the problem is worth solving in the context of your business model.
   
   
3. Articulate your value proposition: Describe how your product addresses the problem better than alternatives. Write this in plain language without jargon.
   
   
4. Ideate solutions: Generate a range of options. Don’t latch onto the first idea. Use concept sketches or low‑fidelity prototypes to explore possibilities.
   
   
5. Prioritise minimal viable features: Choose the smallest set of features that can deliver value and validate your hypotheses. Resist the urge to add extras.
   
   
6. Align the team: Make sure everyone—design, engineering, marketing—understands why you’re building these features and who they serve. Coordinated teams build faster and avoid rework.
   
   
7. Set metrics early: Define what success looks like in terms of user behaviour and business outcomes. Track these metrics from the start to learn and adjust.
   
   
8. Tell the story: When pitching to stakeholders or investors, use product sense to craft a narrative: here’s the problem, here’s our insight, here’s why this solution matters. A clear narrative inspires confidence and secures buy‑in.

Demonstrating product sense

Whether you’re interviewing for a product role or leading a team, demonstrating product sense means showing structured thinking and empathy. Here’s how to do it:

• Articulate the user problem: Start by explaining who the user is, what problem they face and why it matters. Use evidence from research or data.
  
  
• State the business goal: Connect the user problem to a company objective. This shows you understand both sides of the equation.
  
  
• Describe the context: Summarise market trends, competitor moves and external forces that influence your decision.
  
  
• Propose a solution and its rationale: Outline how the feature or product solves the problem. Explain trade‑offs and alternatives you considered. Use frameworks like CIRCLES to structure your thinking.
  
  
• Define success metrics: Share which metrics will indicate success—engagement, conversion, retention or revenue. Explain how you will measure them.
  
  
• Show your thought process: Instead of presenting a polished answer, walk through how you arrived at your conclusions. Mention where you were uncertain and how you would test assumptions.
  
  
• Demonstrate humility and learning: Acknowledge that you might be wrong. Share how you would iterate based on feedback or new data. Interviewers and teammates value openness more than certainty.

For leaders, demonstrating product sense involves guiding teams rather than answering every question. Encourage your team to articulate user problems, challenge assumptions and use structured thinking. Create space for experimentation and learning.

Common misconceptions and pitfalls

Many myths surround product sense:

• “It’s innate.” People often believe you either have product sense or you don’t. In reality, it develops through experience, research and reflection.
  
  
• “It’s just a design taste.” Product sense is not about making interfaces pretty. It encompasses empathy, market insight and business acumen.
  
  
• “Intuition is enough.” Good intuition is important, but it must be paired with user research and data. Building purely on gut feelings leads to wasted effort.
  
  
• “More features mean better products.” Adding features without considering user pain and business value leads to bloat. Feature prioritisation helps you avoid this pitfall.
  
  
• “One size fits all.” Product sense doesn’t transfer automatically across domains. Success in one sector doesn’t guarantee you’ll make good calls in another.

Conclusion

Product sense isn’t mysterious. It’s a blend of product intuition, empathy for users, market insight, clear value propositions, structured prioritisation and solid problemsolving. Data from 2025 reminds us that startups fail largely because they misjudge what users need. Developing product sense gives founders and product leaders a better compass. It reduces wasted bets, increases user satisfaction and helps teams focus on what matters. In my experience working with AI/SaaS teams, sharpening product sense shortens time to value, improves engagement and fosters alignment across functions. Practise the steps outlined here: talk to users, study your market, use frameworks, reflect on your decisions and remain humble. What is product sense? It’s your ability to cut through noise, understand users and market context, and build products that matter. Developing it won’t guarantee success, but it will greatly improve your odds of creating something users love.

FAQ

1. What is meant by product sense? 

What is product sense refers to the ability to understand what makes a product or feature truly valuable for users and the business. It blends empathy, market awareness, creative solution thinking and business understanding. Jules Walter defines it as consistently crafting products that have the intended impact, while Product School emphasises understanding what makes a product great and how it meets market needs. Leland’s guide adds that it combines technical knowledge, business objectives and user insight to guide decisions. In essence, you sense which problems are worth solving and how.

2. How can I demonstrate product sense? 

Show structured thinking. Start with the user problem and business goal. Describe the context and market. Explain your proposed solution, including trade‑offs and metrics. Use frameworks like CIRCLES to organise your answer. Share how you would test and iterate. Express curiosity and humility.

3. Is product sense a skill or a gift? 

It’s a skill that develops through practice. Marty Cagan argues that strong product sense comes from deep product knowledge built by immersing yourself with customers, analysing competitors and following the industry. Research and experience strengthen it.

4. How do I improve my product sense? 

Immerse yourself in your users’ world. Conduct interviews, observation and empathy mapping. Study market trends and competitor products. Practise analysing other products and run post‑mortems after your own launches. Use structured frameworks for prioritisation and decision making. Seek mentorship and reflect on your decisions.