What’s in It for the User?

Feature prioritization often feels like a tug-of-war between customers, sales, and technical debt. The best product managers use a simple filter: focus on what truly benefits the user. In this How I PM episode, Suresh Madhuvarsu, Co-founder and CEO of SalesTable, explains how asking one question -- “What’s in it for the user?” -- keeps prioritization grounded in real customer value. Here’s how this approach helps you: 1. Cut through competing requests and focus on outcomes 2. Prioritize features that help users complete key processes faster 3. Avoid platform work or one-off requests that don’t improve user success 4. Build credibility with stakeholders through clear reasoning “Every time we prioritize a feature, we ask: what’s in it for the user? Is it helping someone complete a business process faster or solve a problem they couldn’t before?” – Suresh Madhuvarsu