The Viability Trap
Why every internal process decision is actually a business decision in disguise
You're probably familiar with that classic Venn diagram showing how a successful product needs to be viable, feasible, usable, and desirable. Today, let's have a look at two of these aspects: viability and desirability.
Understanding desirability vs. viability
Desirability is all about the value your product creates for customers and users. It answers the question: "Do people actually want this?" When you focus on desirability, you're thinking about user needs, pain points, and the benefits your product delivers.
Viability, on the other hand, centers on your business model and whether you can build a sustainable business around your product. It's the financial reality check that determines if your product can actually make money and keep the lights on.
Your decisions influence desirability and viability
Both desirability and viability are directly influenced by the decisions we make every day.
Product decisions typically drive desirability
Pricing strategies (which affect revenue) and internal organizational choices (which impact costs) usually influence viability.
Time allocation: Where are you focusing?
Take a moment to reflect on your recent weeks. Are you dedicating time to enhancing customer value? Or are you caught up in endless discussions about internal process changes?
For every internal change you're considering, ask yourself this fundamental question: Will this improve our business viability, or will it actually make our viability worse?
The double standard in business cases
Many companies require detailed ROI calculations and comprehensive business cases for new software features. Yet when it comes to internal process changes, they often skip this step entirely. This is a mistake they really should address.
I've seen companies spend countless hours or days debating internal process changes that ultimately make their operations slower. What's the business case for that? Shouldn't we be making decisions as quickly and efficiently as reasonably possible?
The hidden costs of control
Many organizations tend to implement processes designed for control, gatekeeping, and reporting purposes. These initiatives are usually well-intentioned and sometimes genuinely necessary. However, there's something that's frequently forgotten in these discussions: these processes often weaken the business case.
Think about it this way: anything that slows down your teams, adds unnecessary bureaucracy, or requires additional time to complete increases your costs. Higher costs directly translate to a worse business case. And we haven't even touched on opportunity costs yet, which can be even more significant.
A simple framework for decision-making
When you're considering implementing internal changes, use this straightforward framework: Will this make us faster and therefore increase our viability?
If the answer is no, you need to have a compelling reason for choosing to lower your viability. Sometimes there are valid reasons, such as compliance requirements, risk mitigation, or long-term strategic positioning. But these decisions should be made consciously, with full awareness of their impact on your business viability.
The key is being intentional about these trade-offs rather than accidentally stumbling into processes that slow you down without providing corresponding value.
Every internal process decision is ultimately a business decision that affects your product's viability. Make sure you're treating it with the same rigor you'd apply to any other business-critical choice.
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What I read
As usual, I will list some of the best articles I read on the Internet. I will keep a list of the best articles (currently >800) at https://www.digital-product-management.com. These are today’s picks:
Digital Culture Compass: Helping cultural organisations approach, assess and improve your digital activities.
Competitors are telling you their strategy: A product manager’s guide to reading between the pricing tiers.
Understanding why your company is organized and designed the way it is: And how to survice, thrive and hack the system.