[Vysero]

"...given a sufficiently defined problem, the solution is often the easy part...The real challenge lies in understanding customers’ true needs"

When is the problem every sufficiently defined?

I disagree that the “real challenge” lies in understanding customers' "true needs". In my experience the customer and their needs are exceptionally easy to define, and the product managers (often times) over analyze the situation causing more difficulty which inevitably delays solutions.

I agree that customers rarely know what they want or need, in detail. However, imho the development team is perfectly capable of understanding what they actually want/need inherently or with minimal training. That’s not to say that product management isn’t necessary because it is, but is it more important to be able to suss out the minutia pertaining to the differences between two relatively equal and acceptable solutions than it is to provide a service? I think not.