Karri Saarinen argues that software carries the perspective of its makers. Two teams can hear from similar customers and use the same technology, yet build very different products. What matters is how they interpret what they learn and keep the pieces working together.
- Intuition comes from experience. At Linear, Saarinen describes judgment built through customer conversations, mistakes, and sustained attention to the problem.
- A working feature can weaken the product. Someone needs a clear view of the whole to decide whether an addition belongs.
- Adding is easier than rethinking. New capabilities accumulate while the core experience stays unresolved.
- Shared judgment keeps separate changes coherent. Individually reasonable contributions can pull a product in competing directions.
“A feature can work perfectly well on its own and still make the product worse” is a good question to carry into a design review. Alongside correctness and demand, ask what the change does to the experience people already rely on.
Saarinen’s account also gives intuition a feedback loop: make a call, stay close to customers, and find out whether it holds up. Product taste earns trust through that continuing work.