PM Pitfalls

Running the five phases as a one-way sequence and interpreting a return to an earlier phase as a failure. In practice, a test result that sends you back to Define is the process working correctly.

"Users loved it in testing" is not validation. Users are polite in moderated sessions. What matters is whether they completed the task, how long it took, and whether they chose it over their current solution.

Pressure to "move fast" pushes teams from Empathize directly to Ideate. Without a shared problem statement, every idea is evaluated against a different invisible criterion and alignment is impossible.

Building a pixel-perfect prototype to test a concept that a paper sketch could have validated. High fidelity biases users toward aesthetics rather than concept validity and creates sunk cost pressure to proceed regardless of results.