Over late-night coffee, a friend who moved from big tech to a startup confessed, “At my old company, we had a framework for everything. Additionally, I also saw some posts on Linkedin about selling product course with tons of frameworks offering.
Now I actually have to think and be worried about product sectors in VN, which is runing in hand of Framework product managers.”
After years in product management, I’ve seen the framework obsession reach absurd levels. I can tell you a story that still makes me laugh (or cry, depending on the day).
Last year, I watched a fintech company spent three weeks applying the RICE framework to change a simple payment button. Three weeks, for a button.
Meanwhile, their competitor shipped the same feature and gathered real user feedback. And let’s be honest, there’s no such thing as ‘one size fits all’. So, are they helping or just making things more complicated?
But wait…if product problems could be distilled into formulas, we wouldn’t need PMs, but why people addicted to frameworks?
[1] Fear of being wrong, frameworks feel safe like recipes, but product development isn’t cooking sometimes you need to trust your gut/product sense.
[2] Looking smart in meetings, when some product folks say “according to our RICE score…” sounds more impressive than “I think…I thought”, but logical stakeholders care about outcome, no matter abt your frameworks.
[3] The course-selling machine, which is making the product industry in VN like crap and bullshit things, has some people with one year in product management selling frameworks as magic spells, because they don’t have anything else.
I’ve seen a bank waste six months running every tiny decision through CIRCLES until their CPO finally asked, “Are we serving the framework or our customers?”
But, don’t get me wrong, frameworks aren’t useless. They’re like maps: great for guidance, terrible as blindfolds. The best PMs I know use frameworks like experienced chefs use recipes, as starting points, not holy texts.
When frameworks are useful
[1] For complex decisions involving multiple stakeholders
[2] When you need to communicate your reasoning clearly
[3] As a checklist to ensure you haven’t missed anything important
Don’t rely on frameworks when
[1] For obvious improvements (“fix this bug?” doesn’t need RICE)
[2] When speed matters more than perfection
[3] When your gut and data are already aligned
Really matters when we understand users (not just their metrics) with strong product intuition (built from experience, not frameworks). Don’t wait until everything is clear; make decisions (even when the RICE score is unclear).
Last but not least, just ship it (because your competitors won’t wait for your analysis). A framework should be like a good assistant, helpful when needed, invisible when not. The moment your framework starts feeling like a straitjacket, you’re doing it wrong.
P.S. Next time someone pitches you a framework as the solution to all your product problems, remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Just like those “get rich quick” schemes in Vietnam : )), but with more spreadsheets and slides.
Reach me if you have other perspectives, or just want to say hello.
Say something.