Capability, Usability, Beauty

The Product Manager sighs and ignores the elements as he leans against his wooden desk, hands pressed flat against the surface. Outside, the rain runs in rivulets down the glass, each drop a reminder of the relentless push and pull of his job.

Shadows oozing around the office are broken by the occasional flash of lightning from Tropical Storm Ophelia. The weather man says she’s fading, but you try telling her that as the cheap single-pane windows of his office rattle. And that leak. Someday he’ll get that new roof.

Neon lights outside reflect off wet streets, casting a kaleidoscope of colors that seem to mirror the never-ending dance of priorities in the world of SaaS. The Product Manager stares out at the cityscape, the storm’s intensity echoing his own turbulent thoughts.

Three specters vie for his attention: Capability, with its unyielding demands; Usability, that idealistic embodiment of user empathy; and Beauty, the elusive, aesthetic grace that promises the allure of perfection. These three cornerstones, inextricably intertwined, form the foundation of his every waking hour, each bringing its own set of challenges and rewards.

Capability looms in the darkness, a towering giant, forever demanding its pound of flesh. Beauty sits elegantly in the corner, a silent siren, reminding him of all the glossy interfaces that could be. But it’s Usability that constantly dogs his heels, like a sad puppy, abandoned and overlooked.

He’s been down this alleyway more times than he can count. He’s familiar with every pothole, every dark corner. He wants to do right by that puppy, wants to bring it into the fold, to give it a place in the warmth. Every fiber of his being tells him that’s the right way to go. The way that leads to products that don’t just look good but feel right. But the reality of the business is a cruel master, and more often than not, he finds himself at its mercy.

He isn’t Don Quixote, not really. But there are moments, fleeting as they might be, when he finds himself charging at windmills, hoping to make a difference. Those are the moments that keep him going, the moments that give him hope.

The dev team has felt the weight of his decisions. The design team has often found themselves on the sharp end of a compromise. His own team of product managers, they’ve tasted the bitterness of tough calls and cut corners. But at the end of the day, the lights have to stay on, and if that means poking a finger in the eye of “The Right Way”, then so be it.

He refills his glass, taking a moment to lose himself in the amber depths. He’s worked hard to bake “The Right Way” into the Software Development Lifecycle. He’s using every tool at his disposal, but every journey is filled with compromises, with roads not taken.

He’ll do everything in his power to make his product a home for Usability. But when there’s a deal on the line and Capability is the closer, he’ll make the tough call. Because that’s the job. And in this unforgiving world of SaaS, runways are real, revenue targets are real, and the short money comes first. Even if it means leaving that puppy… out in the rain.