In the product world, the allure of new trends can often sidetrack even the most focused product owners and managers. This phenomenon, known as Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS), poses a significant challenge, especially in the realms of product discovery and innovation. This blog aims to demystify SOS, offering insights into its identification, implications, and strategies for mitigation.

What is Shiny Object Syndrome?

Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) is a metaphorical expression used to describe the tendency of Product Owners, Product Managers, Business Owners or Organizations to get distracted by new and exciting ideas, projects, or technologies, often at the expense of their current goals and priorities. This phenomenon is characterized by the pursuit of the latest trends, tools, or opportunities with the belief that they will offer a quick fix to existing problems or lead to rapid success, without fully considering whether they solve a real problem for the users or align with long-term objectives.

In the context of product discovery, SOS can lead to constantly shifting focus, jumping from one feature to another without completing any, or investing in new technologies without a strategic plan. This not only results in wasted resources, such as time and money, but can also derail the organization from its north star matrix. Overcoming Shiny Object Syndrome involves disciplined planning, critical evaluation of new opportunities, and a strong focus on strategic priorities

The Impact

The impact of Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) on a company’s North Star Metric or in product discovery can be significant and multifaceted, detracting from a product’s core focus and strategic alignment. Here’s how SOS can affect these areas:

Impact on North-Star Matrix

The North Star Metric is a singular, key measure that a company believes is a critical indicator of the product’s long-term success, reflecting the core value delivered to end-users. SOS can undermine the alignment and focus on the North Star Metric by:

1. Diverting Focus: When companies chase “new” and  “shiny” opportunities without considering their alignment with the North Star Metric, resources and attention can be diverted away from initiatives that directly contribute to this key measure of success.
2. Diluting Efforts: Continuous shifts in focus mean that efforts are spread thinly across multiple projects, reducing the impact on any single initiative that could have improved the North Star Metric.
3. Misaligning Goals: New projects or technologies might not only lack contribution to the North Star Metric but could actively misalign with the product’s strategic direction, leading to confusion and mixed priorities within the team.

Impact on Product Discovery

Product discovery involves identifying and understanding customer needs to develop products that genuinely solve their problems. SOS can disrupt this process in several ways:

1. Shifting Priorities: Constantly chasing the latest technology or trend can shift the focus away from understanding and addressing real customer needs, leading to products that are out of touch with the users’ real demand.
2. Resource Misallocation: Investing time, personnel, and budget into exploring and integrating new technologies or trends can deplete the resources available for genuine product discovery activities, such as customer research and prototype testing. This exercise may not even yield any impactful results for the product’s long-term goal.
3. Market Misalignment: Products developed as a result of SOS are more likely to be based on what is technologically trendy rather than what is needed by the market, resulting in products that fail to resonate with customers. Sure, you can still be features that happen to be present everywhere all of a sudden. Your users may even like the integration of those features and technology and while this may seem gratifying for sometime, the goal is objectively review it’s purpose in the long-term. Does it real affect the bottom-line?
4. Loss of Competitive Edge: By not focusing on the core areas that could truly differentiate their product in the market, companies may lose their competitive edge, as they are not fully addressing the unique needs or pain points of their customers.

The Cost of Distraction

The statistics paint a concerning picture of the impact of Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) during the product discovery phase on the overall development process and organizational costs. With only 20% of all projects reaching success*, the distractions and misalignments caused by SOS can significantly contribute to the high failure rate.

This is further compounded by the fact that 50% of defects originate from inadequate requirements*, a situation often caused and/or exacerbated by SOS when teams chase new trends or technologies without fully understanding the needs or the strategic alignment of their projects.

The staggering insight that 80% of rework is attributable to insufficient product discovery* highlights the critical cost implications of SOS.

Rework not only delays projects but also consumes resources that could have been allocated more efficiently. Additionally, the reality that 70% of organizations fail to improve their product planning process* suggests a systemic issue with maintaining focus and resisting the allure of new, but not necessarily beneficial, directions.

These statistics* collectively underscore the necessity for organizations to adopt a more disciplined approach to product discovery and project management to mitigate the costs associated with SOS. Without addressing these underlying issues, companies risk inflating their development costs, prolonging time-to-market, and ultimately jeopardizing their competitive edge and profitability.

The “LinkedIn Story”

LinkedIn’s venture into the ephemeral content space with “LinkedIn Stories” serves as a real-life example of Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) affecting a major corporation. Launched in September 2020, LinkedIn Stories was aimed at capitalizing on the “era of sharing” and enabling users to post informal, short-lived videos to enhance personal branding on the platform, in direct comparison to “Instagram Stories”. However, the initiative was short-lived, with LinkedIn officially removing the feature by September 30, 2021. The decision to roll back this feature was largely due to it not being as widely adopted by users as expected. The same person switches mindsets when moving between these two platforms. LinkedIn’s assumption that users would prefer informal and ephemeral videos did not align with the desires of its user base, who favored creating lasting content that showcased their professional stories and expertise more permanently, more formally.

This misalignment highlights the risks associated with SOS, where resources are diverted to chase new trends without fully understanding or validating user needs and preferences. It’s clear that significant resources—both in terms of development efforts and strategic focus—were allocated to a feature that ultimately did not resonate with LinkedIn’s user base or contribute to its core value proposition.

The LinkedIn Stories case underscores the importance for companies, to critically evaluate new initiatives against their strategic objectives and user insights. It also serves as a cautionary tale of how SOS can lead to costly diversions from a company’s core products and services.

Identifying and Mitigating SOS

Identifying and mitigating Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) in product discovery is crucial for maintaining focus on creating products that meet customer needs and align with the company’s strategic goals.

Identifying SOS in Product Discovery

1. Frequent Shifts in Priorities: Is your backlog full of items that were paused mid-way through their design and development? Constantly changing project focuses or priorities based on new technologies or trends can indicate SOS. This often leads to abandoned or half-finished projects.
2. Mismatch with Strategic Goals: Initiatives that don’t align with the company’s long-term objectives or North Star Metric may be a result of chasing shiny objects rather than strategic decision-making.
3. Overemphasis on Novelty Over Value: Preferring solutions or ideas simply because they are new or innovative, without a clear assessment of their potential value or impact on customer needs.
4. Resource Dilution: Spreading resources too thin across too many projects or initiatives without substantial progress on any, often due to pursuing new, unproven ideas.

Mitigating SOS in Product Discovery

1. Establish Clear Objectives: Define what success looks like for your product. Ensure all initiatives align with your company’s North Star Metric, which represents the strategic focus and long-term vision of the company.
2. Implement a Rigorous Evaluation Process: Before pursuing new ideas or technologies, conduct a thorough evaluation to determine their potential impact on your product and business goals. This can involve feasibility studies, market research, and pilot projects.
3. Foster a Culture of Discipline: Encourage a work culture that values completing projects and reaching goals over the excitement of new ideas. This includes setting clear deadlines, celebrating milestones, and holding team members accountable.
4. Prioritize Based on Impact: Use frameworks like the RICE scoring model (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) to prioritize projects based on their potential impact, alignment with goals, and the resources required.
5. Encourage Open Communication: Create an environment where team members can voice concerns about projects deviating from core goals or spreading resources too thin. Regular check-ins and retrospectives can help keep projects on track.
6. Learn from Data: Use data and feedback from your market and customers to guide your product discovery process. This helps ensure that new initiatives are grounded in real user needs and market demand rather than fleeting trends.

By implementing these strategies, product teams can maintain focus on what truly matters, ensuring resources are invested wisely.

Shiny Object Syndrome represents a significant challenge in the business landscape, particularly in the area of product discovery. However, by understanding its dynamics and implementing strategic measures to counter its effects, businesses can safeguard their innovation processes. It’s about striking the right balance between exploring new opportunities and staying true to the core objectives that drive long-term success.