In a recent LinkedIn post, product management expert Melissa Perri highlights a critical distinction for development teams: the difference between building features and driving outcomes. Perri uses insights from her Product Thinking Podcast, featuring discussions with Jose Quesada from American Express and Matthew Skelton, co-author of Team Topologies, to emphasize the importance of focusing on desired results rather than pre-defined solutions.
Perri points out a common pitfall in product development: teams often jump directly to building specific features without first defining the overarching goal. She quotes Jose Quesada, stating,
“You need to start with the outcome you want to drive, rather than the thing you want to do.”
This approach, according to Perri, leads teams astray. Instead of asking what they aim to achieve, they declare they are “building a recommendation engine” or some other solution. Perri argues that when teams begin with a clear outcome, such as increasing repeat purchase rates by 20%, it opens up a broader range of possibilities. These could include a recommendation engine, but also improvements to the checkout process or enhanced email personalization.
The Perils of the ‘Build Trap’
Melissa Perri contends that starting with a proposed solution prematurely locks teams into a specific path, often before they have fully understood the problem or validated whether the solution is appropriate. This can lead to what she refers to as the “build trap,” where success is measured by the quantity of features shipped rather than the actual impact achieved.
She elaborates on this by explaining the consequences:
“Starting with a solution locks you in before you understand if it’s the right one.”
Perri contrasts this with teams that lead with outcomes. According to her analysis, these teams tend to make more informed decisions, achieve better alignment with stakeholders, and ultimately avoid the inefficiencies associated with building the wrong things.
A Disciplined Approach to Discovery
To counteract the tendency to focus on solutions, Melissa Perri advocates for a disciplined, outcome-first approach to product discovery. She outlines a process that begins with clearly defining the desired outcome. This is followed by immersing oneself in relevant data, forming hypotheses based on that data, and only then determining the most effective methods or features to achieve the outcome.
Perri emphasizes that features should be viewed as answers to outcome-driven questions. In her words,
“Your features should be answers to outcome-driven questions, not the starting point.”
This perspective shifts the focus from output (features) to impact (outcomes), aligning development efforts with strategic business goals. Perri concludes by posing a question to her audience, encouraging reflection on their own team’s practices: “How does your team approach discovery? Outcomes first, or solutions?” This prompts a broader conversation about adopting more effective product development methodologies.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Melissa Perri on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on February 11, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →