Chapter 1
Start from the end
A shop owner asks for a website. What they want is more sales. The website was just their first guess at how to get there.
A book by Matthew Truth · being written
Make the user lazy
Your users want the beep. Stop selling them the manual.
We keep adding
A customer asks for one thing. We ship three, then a settings page to turn two of them off.
Every new feature looks like progress on the roadmap. For the user it's one more thing to learn before lunch.
AI made building cheap and quiet, so now we overbuild faster and with fewer meetings.
A washing machine has the right idea. Clothes in, press start, wait for the beep. Nobody reads about water temperature curves. This book is about building products that work like that, mostly by taking things away.
What's inside
Eight chapters, being written now. Here's where they're going.
Chapter 2
Diagnose before you build
Look at the last twelve months first: what people did, and what they could have done and didn't. Treat that before adding a channel. One more channel can just mean one more hassle.
Chapter 3
The build trap
Building feels productive, and AI made it cheap. So ask the rude question: does this solve the problem, or am I building it for my own heart?
Chapter 4
Pave the path people already walk
People already have a way of doing things. Make that way better. I once built a huge module, then rebuilt it with a few small fields. Users liked the small one more.
Chapter 5
Two layers
A simple default that works for everyone, and deeper tools for the power users who go looking. In that order.
Chapter 6
Listen like a documentary maker
Many unhurried sessions, until the person says the one sentence that explains everything. You'll know it when you hear it.
Chapter 7
Get interviewed by a teammate
Under pressure you're the worst judge of your own plan. Have someone ask you: is this path right, is the model I believed in still right, and does it fit how people and technology are changing?
Chapter 8
The job
Product people have one duty: make life easier for their audience. Before you ship, ask whether you're adding complexity or taking it away.
Who it's for
For you if
- You're a product manager or product lead and your roadmap is mostly additions.
- You're a founder who says yes to every request, then wonders why the product feels heavy.
- You're a designer who has drawn a settings page for a settings page.
Probably not for you if
- You measure progress in features shipped.
- You want a framework with a four-letter acronym. I don't have one. I checked.
- You're a user who is already lazy. Relax. This book is for the people building things for you.
Your guide
About Matthew
My dad gave me a computer when I was a kid, and I started coding. I've been trying to make things easier ever since. These days that means building less and deleting more.
I'm a product lead. I still prototype and build what I design.
- RonevisAn Android app I built. It reached 150,000+ users in less than a year.
- ParandebanA birdwatching community I founded, with 50,000+ users and 12M+ views a year.
- Teams10+ years leading teams across business, design and engineering.
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Fair questions
When is the book coming?
When it's written. I'm writing it now, and I won't give you a date I might miss. People on this list hear first.
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One email when the book is ready. Before that, a few short notes with ideas from the chapters. You won't hear from me every day.
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