Product sense is the ability to predict which product decisions will succeed, built from patterns learned through deliberate experimentation and knowing when those patterns apply. Nielsen Norman Group argues the term has been muddied since Jules Walter's 2022 definition in Lenny's Newsletter became the default reference point, creating more confusion than alignment among designers, engineers, and PMs.
The pressure behind this debate is real. AI now handles execution tasks that once justified hiring specialists, forcing product builders to prove value through judgment, not craft. The question of what to build has replaced how to build it as the core competency under scrutiny.
The full article is worth reading not just for its definition but for its systematic critique of existing frameworks and the specific mechanisms it proposes for actually developing product sense over time. If you work in product and have nodded along to the term without being able to define it precisely, that is exactly the gap this piece targets.
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