Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products | Nan Yu (Head of Product)

Name: Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products | Nan Yu (Head of Product)
Uploaded: 2025-01-30T12:01:04.000Z
Duration: 2 h 42 min 8 s

Understanding Speed and Quality in Product Development

The Relationship Between Speed and Quality

Nan Yu discusses the misconception that speed and quality are mutually exclusive in product development. He emphasizes that true speed comes from competence, not rushing or sloppiness.

High-quality output can often be predicted by the speed at which skilled individuals work. A rough time budget allows for early testing of key hypotheses within a project.

Addressing Software Bloat

Concerns about software bloat are addressed by evaluating feature requests critically. Essential features must be prioritized while rejecting those that could lead to unnecessary complexity.

Customer Engagement Insights

Nan's approach to customer calls involves deep questioning to uncover underlying emotions, aiming to understand what customers want to avoid emotionally.

Nan Yu's Background and Linear's Success

Introduction of Nan Yu

The podcast introduces Nan Yu as the Head of Product at Linear, highlighting the company's rapid growth and positive reception among users.

Creative Problem-Solving Techniques

Nan shares his creative system for generating non-obvious solutions to customer problems, emphasizing the importance of understanding emotional drivers behind user needs.

Advice on Career Development

Landing Jobs in Tech

The conversation includes valuable advice on how to secure positions in tech companies, including insights into how Nan landed his roles at Linear and Mode.

Sponsorship Messages

Sinch: Customer Communications Cloud

An introduction to Sinch highlights its role in enhancing digital customer communications through reliable messaging services used by major tech companies.

Paragon: Integration Infrastructure for B2B SaaS

Paragon is presented as a solution for building integrations quickly, particularly relevant for AI developments anticipated in 2025.

Survey Results on Tool Preferences

User Feedback on Tools

Why Linear is Transforming Productivity

The Inspiration Behind Linear

"Linear is a joy to use as I interact with my engineering teams, and I find inspiration in its design." This quote highlights the user-friendly nature of Linear.

The founder, Karri, observed struggles at companies like Coinbase and Airbnb with existing tools, which motivated the creation of Linear to enhance user experience.

Many individuals entered tech for enjoyment but found their workflows hindered by inefficient tools; Linear aims to eliminate these frustrations.

Building an excellent product is not just about improvement; it requires understanding market needs and overcoming barriers to adoption.

The emotional response from users who are disappointed when they can't access a product indicates strong product-market fit.

Speed vs. Quality: A Misconception

There’s a common belief that speed compromises quality; however, this notion is challenged by the experiences at Linear.

Experts in any field demonstrate that high-quality output can be achieved quickly without sacrificing standards—speed should reflect competence rather than haste.

Rapid iterations are crucial in software development; the ability to produce multiple versions quickly enhances overall product quality.

Defining Speed in Development

Speed means having a workable solution within 10% of the estimated time frame, allowing for early testing of key hypotheses.

Waiting until 80% completion for feedback can lead to missed deadlines and dissatisfaction among teams involved in marketing or deployment.

Achieving Rapid Development

Teams at Linear prioritize creating functional prototypes early on, enabling internal testing within days rather than weeks or months.

Success hinges on having talented engineers who can navigate design challenges without getting bogged down by perfectionism during initial phases.

Embracing Imperfection for Progress

The Deceptive Nature of "Good, Cheap, Fast" Maxim

Insights from Patrick Collison's Quote

Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, challenges the common belief that one can only choose two out of "good, cheap, fast," suggesting it is misinformation propagated by slower entities. He argues that slow and expensive often go hand in hand.

Real-World Examples Illustrating Speed vs. Quality

The discussion includes examples like home renovations where delays lead to increased costs and discomfort for homeowners.

Chess players like Magnus Carlsen exemplify speed and skill; they can perform exceptionally well even under time constraints.

Strategies for Improving Speed Without Sacrificing Quality

Emphasizing a mindset shift towards accepting initial imperfections allows teams to move faster without the pressure of achieving pixel-perfect designs.

Focus on delivering functional software that addresses core user problems rather than getting bogged down by minor UI issues.

Iterative Development Process

The importance of using early versions internally or with beta partners to gather feedback before full release is highlighted as a way to validate ideas.

Linear employs a gradual rollout strategy where internal users test features first before expanding access to beta customers for further validation.

Avoiding Software Bloat

A key takeaway is the necessity of releasing new features early to gauge interest and avoid building unwanted products.

Concerns about software bloat are addressed; Linear aims to reject feature requests that compromise user experience for superficial reporting needs.

Decision-Making Framework for Feature Requests

The team evaluates feature requests critically, rejecting those that could lead to bloated software or negatively impact individual contributor workflows.

Understanding Feature Requests and User Experience

The Impact of User Experience on Feature Requests

Users express that tools like Linear enhance speed, ease of use, and enjoyment in their work. This highlights the importance of user experience in product development.

Product Managers (PMs) often face pressure from sales teams to implement features based on buyer requests, which can lead to poor decision-making if not managed properly.

Consequences of Ignoring User Experience

Engineers prioritize coding over administrative tasks like filling tickets, leading to inaccurate reporting due to incomplete data.

Users may randomly select options in dropdown fields when they lack understanding, resulting in unreliable data for reporting purposes.

Prioritizing Individual Contributors Over Management

A clear policy exists to prioritize individual contributors (ICs) over middle managers when addressing feature requests, especially regarding reporting needs.

Companies often hesitate to decline feature requests due to fears of losing significant deals; however, maintaining focus on core user needs is crucial.

Balancing Business Logic with User Needs

While basic scaling features are necessary (e.g., SAML and SCIM), the primary focus should be on enhancing business logic that improves team effectiveness.

Convincing buyers that certain requested features contribute to existing problems can help redirect their expectations towards more beneficial solutions.

Understanding Buyer Priorities

Buyers typically present a long list of desired features but often have a few key priorities. Identifying these can streamline negotiations and improve satisfaction.

Native features offer superior quality compared to customizable options provided by other tools, emphasizing the value of well-developed core functionalities.

Growth and Brand Perception in Enterprise Markets

Linear has seen rapid growth within enterprise markets despite initial skepticism about its applicability at larger scales.

The perception that certain software brands are "for us" influences buying decisions significantly; companies prefer solutions that align with their identity as agile organizations.

Conclusion: Emphasizing Long-Term Value Over Short-Term Gains

Crossing the Chasm: Insights from Jeffrey Moore

Understanding Adoption in B2B Software

Jeffrey Moore emphasizes the importance of having a later adopter, rather than just early adopters, to validate new tools. This traditional user can help others take the product seriously.

Many businesses may delay adopting new software due to budget constraints or existing commitments. However, these situations can change over time.

Maintaining contact with potential clients who previously declined offers is crucial. New features may eventually align with their needs, leading to renewed interest.

Feature Development and User-Centric Design

The debate often arises between enhancing existing features versus creating new ones. Understanding real-life use cases is essential for making informed decisions about feature development.

It's important to tie feature discussions back to specific users rather than hypothetical personas. Real names and contacts provide valuable insights into actual needs.

Feedback and Reality Check

Addressing specific questions from users helps identify genuine needs, proving that there is at least one person interested in a particular feature.

Product Managers (PMs) sometimes create aesthetically pleasing solutions that do not address real-world problems. Practicality must match design for long-term success.

Evaluating Feature Requests

When assessing whether to invest in a feature based on user feedback, it's vital to determine if initial assumptions were incorrect or if there's a concentrated demand for specific use cases.

PM strategies include evaluating broad requests against specific use cases to decide whether to build comprehensive features or focus on solving targeted problems effectively.

Importance of Specificity in User Needs

Customer Requests and Custom Fields in B2B

Introduction to Customer Requests Feature

The new feature called "Customer Requests" introduces a concept of Linear, which is crucial for B2B companies. This was developed in response to frequent requests for fully customized fields.

The challenge with adding numerous custom fields is that it can lead to dissatisfaction among internal teams (ICs), prompting the need for a more effective solution.

Understanding Customer Needs

Customers like Walmart require specific features, and tracking these requests is essential for customer success management (CSM). Reporting on past interactions helps provide context during discussions.

Instead of manual tagging of requests, the system will integrate with customer support tools and CRMs to automatically gather feedback and tag requests based on who made them.

Enhancing Internal Communication

By automating the tagging process, ICs gain confidence as they can see who requested features and understand their context better, leading to improved design decisions.

Acknowledging that many customers request custom fields highlights the importance of understanding underlying motivations rather than just fulfilling surface-level demands.

Importance of Empathy in Product Management

Effective product managers (PMs) should dig deeper during customer calls to uncover insights beyond initial requests. This involves asking probing questions about emotional drivers behind customer needs.

PMs often face skepticism from sales teams when they ask unconventional questions aimed at understanding customers' feelings about their challenges.

Building Emotional Connections

Understanding the emotional impact of issues faced by customers—such as fear of not meeting deadlines—can inform product development strategies.

Engaging deeply with customers allows PMs to identify critical pain points that may not be immediately apparent through standard inquiries.

Practical Applications of Empathy

Conversations should aim to reveal specific instances where customers felt frustrated or overwhelmed, allowing PMs to address those concerns directly in future developments.

Understanding Project Management and Emotional Hooks

Setting Target Dates

Establishing a target date can vary in granularity, from specific months to broader timeframes like quarters or halves of the year. This flexibility helps avoid miscommunication by not imposing false precision.

The Role of Emotions in Product Development

The speaker highlights that emotions play a crucial role in product development, suggesting that understanding when users feel bad can guide better product decisions.

Experience in competitive industries (e.g., Everlane, Mode, Linear) emphasizes the need for unique perspectives beyond common goal-oriented approaches.

Identifying Emotional Hooks

To differentiate products, it's essential to identify emotional hooks experienced during work processes. Many project managers may overlook these feelings due to their analytical nature.

Recognizing moments of frustration (like "I hate Mondays") can lead to solutions that alleviate those negative experiences.

Addressing User Pain Points

Paul Graham's concept of "schlep blindness" is introduced; it refers to being unaware of the burdens one carries daily. An outsider perspective can help identify areas needing improvement.

Example: Triage Management Feature

A notable feature in Linear is Triage Management, which organizes issue reporting and notifications effectively. This addresses user frustrations related to managing tickets manually.

Users often felt overwhelmed or lost with ticket management due to lack of organization; this feature automates and streamlines the process.

Summary of Linear's Success Strategies

User-Centric Product Development

Understanding User Needs and Misaligned Incentives

The importance of focusing on specific users when addressing feature requests rather than generalizing feedback. Identifying the actual user who needs a feature is crucial.

Recognizing the nuances in user experiences, particularly where incentives may be misaligned between different roles (e.g., managers vs. individual contributors).

Highlighting the need to navigate trade-offs carefully when addressing conflicting user needs, ensuring that solutions benefit all parties involved.

Building a Mental Model of Users

Emphasizing the significance of developing a mental model of users based on research and data, which informs product development decisions.

The iterative process of refining this mental model through continuous engagement with users, allowing for adjustments in understanding their needs.

Managing Product Backlogs Effectively

Discussing how to manage a backlog filled with potential product opportunities while maintaining clarity on priorities and readiness for action.

The challenge of sharing mental models among team members; effective communication is essential for collaborative decision-making regarding product direction.

Addressing Specific Challenges in Product Development

Capacity planning as an ongoing issue faced by managers; current solutions are inadequate, leading to exploration of automation possibilities within existing frameworks.

Continuous dialogue with users experiencing challenges helps refine understanding and develop tailored solutions over time.

Balancing Problem Scope and Team Capacity

Acknowledging that not every aspect of a problem can or should be solved at once; identifying manageable portions is key to successful implementation without overpromising results.

How to Systematically Enhance Creativity in Product Development

Understanding the Creative Process

The speaker discusses a systematic approach to creativity, emphasizing that many struggle with extrapolating ideas beyond immediate possibilities.

A common issue is the inability to envision future steps, leading to overwhelming options and indecision.

The concept of pushing boundaries is introduced, referencing Brian Chesky's idea of the "11-star experience" as a way to think about extreme product versions.

By discarding constraints like cost and practicality, teams can explore broader possibilities for innovative solutions.

The goal is to expand the search space for decisions, ensuring that teams do not overlook potentially better options.

Breaking Out of Conventional Thinking

Many people fail to think radically enough, resulting in mediocre choices; breaking out of this mindset is crucial for innovation.

The speaker emphasizes that while it may seem easy to brainstorm extreme ideas, implementing this practice effectively leads to significant insights.

Building an extreme version of a product allows teams to learn more about what works and what doesn't through practical experience.

Practical Example: Draft Saving Feature

An example from Linear illustrates how they approached creating a draft-saving feature for issue tracking.

Initially focused on speed, they aimed for a seamless draft-saving experience without interruptions or pop-ups.

Concerns arose regarding user safety when saving drafts automatically without confirmation prompts; this was acknowledged during development.

They explored auto-saving as a solution but faced issues with cluttered document spaces due to excessive untitled files created by automatic saves.

What Are the Design Choices in Issue Creation?

Interruptions and Auto-Saving Mechanism

When creating a new issue, interruptions are necessary to ensure user safety; users can save drafts to avoid losing work.

For existing drafts, auto-saving is implemented without prompting the user again, allowing seamless modifications without creating new objects.

Decision-Making Process in Product Development

The design choices made during product development often involve extreme approaches to find a balanced solution that meets user needs.

Companies should consider the promise their product makes to customers when determining operational attributes; this involves trade-offs between availability and predictability.

Working Backwards from Ideal Scenarios

The concept of "working backwards" involves designing ideal scenarios and then iterating towards practical solutions based on extreme versions of specific attributes.

Testing extremes helps identify effective elements and areas needing improvement, leading to better overall solutions.

How Does B2B Software Shape Work Practices?

Adoption of Processes Through Software

B2B software often emerges from internal processes within companies that prove successful; these tools encapsulate practices that become standard for users.

Adopting marketing software means not just solving problems but also integrating established practices like campaign organization and performance measurement into workflows.

Implications of Software Adoption

Understanding ERP Adoption and Internal Collaboration

The Pain of ERP Adoption

Adopting an ERP product is likened to "deep surgery," requiring companies to overhaul internal processes, inventory management, and more.

Companies are motivated to adopt these systems as they represent a proven method for effective resource management, signaling a maturation in their operational practices.

Opinionated Approaches in Product Management

Linear avoids excessive customization requests from users, promoting a standardized way of operating that enhances product functionality.

The concept of the "Linear method" is introduced, which outlines best practices for product teams based on successful models observed across high-performing organizations.

Consensus Over Arbitrary Opinions

The discussion emphasizes finding consensus among high-performing teams rather than relying on arbitrary opinions when establishing operational practices.

Tools should be chosen thoughtfully as they will inherently change organizational operations; it's crucial to align tool selection with desired work methodologies.

Unique Internal Collaboration Strategies

A distinctive aspect of collaboration at Linear involves integrating product management with sales and marketing efforts, treating it as a go-to-market discipline.

This approach contrasts with traditional views where engineering, product, and design collaborate separately; instead, it fosters synergy between all functions.

Language Sensitivity in Communication

Emphasizing the importance of language accuracy when communicating with expert practitioners who can easily detect insincerity or inaccuracies in terminology (e.g., avoiding terms like "project managers").

A dedicated product marketer plays a crucial role in crafting messaging for releases and campaigns while ensuring alignment with customer expectations through direct feedback from sales interactions.

Visualizing Collaborative Structures

The "double triangle" model illustrates the relationship between PM (Product Management), engineering/design on one side, and sales/marketing on the other.

Connecting Product Management and Marketing

The Role of PMs in Marketing

Discussion on how product managers (PMs) are increasingly taking on marketing roles, aligning with Brian Chesky's philosophy that PMs should engage in marketing activities.

Emphasis on the importance for B2B PMs to integrate more with sales and marketing efforts to maximize their impact within the company.

Enhancing Sales Collaboration

Inquiry into practical steps for PMs to become more involved in sales processes, including participating in sales calls.

Importance of originating messages directed at customers; PMs should leverage their deep understanding of customer needs to inform marketing strategies.

Contribution to Content Creation

Encouragement for PMs to actively participate in product marketing tasks such as writing emails, headlines, and website content.

Acknowledgment that while "product marketing" encompasses various functions, there is a significant opportunity for PM involvement in content creation.

Job Search Strategies for Product Managers

Unique Approaches to Job Hunting

Introduction of a distinctive method for job searching shared by the speaker, highlighting experiences from previous roles at Mode and Linear.

Understanding Hiring Needs

Insight into the unique nature of project management roles where candidates can differentiate themselves by identifying specific problems hiring managers need solved.

Advice on framing oneself as a solution provider during interviews rather than just showcasing general skills or strengths.

Specificity Over Generalization

Discussion about how candidates should focus on articulating how they can address specific challenges faced by potential employers instead of presenting broad capabilities.

Engaging with Potential Employers

Suggestion to act as if already employed at the company during interviews; asking targeted questions about current objectives can provide deeper insights into employer needs.

Investment in Targeted Applications

Understanding the Importance of Over-Delivering in Interviews

The Role of Preparation and Insight

Emphasizes the value of investing time in roles where you can exceed expectations, highlighting that understanding the problem at hand increases your chances of success during interviews.

Discusses the challenge of lacking sufficient information as an outsider, which may lead to incorrect assumptions about solutions. Encourages reaching out to team members for clarity.

Engaging with Team Members

Suggests initiating discovery questions during interviews and seeking connections with engineering managers to gain deeper insights into problems being addressed.

Notes that asking insightful questions can provide unique feedback during debrief processes, showcasing a candidate's depth of thought.

The Reality of Deadlines in Project Management

Perspectives on Deadlines

Shares a personal viewpoint on deadlines, noting how they often lead to disappointment when not met. Highlights engineers' skepticism towards deadlines as "fabrications."

Advocates treating deadlines as top priority (P0), suggesting that all other tasks should be deprioritized to meet these critical timelines.

Strategies for Meeting Deadlines

Advises project managers (PMs) to minimize scope effectively to ensure deadlines are achievable while maintaining product viability.

Stresses the importance of having a product ready for shipping, even if it lacks some desired features, allowing for informed go/no-go decisions.

The Significance of Marketing Timelines

Timing and Communication

Identifies external marketing events as key triggers for setting deadlines, emphasizing their impact on communication strategies with customers.

Warns against underestimating launch dates; missing opportunities can have lasting consequences since they cannot be revisited later.

Balancing Stress and Efficiency

Acknowledges the stress associated with meeting deadlines but emphasizes cutting scope and accurate estimating as essential levers for managing this pressure.

How to Build Better Products Through Iteration

The Importance of Early Iteration

Emphasizes the need for early iterations in product development, suggesting that if a working version is ready within 10% of the allotted time, it allows for better decision-making on whether to iterate further or polish the product.

Stresses that commitment to a fast-paced iterative process must start from the beginning, contrasting this approach with traditional company practices.