Balancing Roadmaps with 50-40-10 Delight Framework

Nasreen Shengal's Product Delight Framework provides a systematic approach to creating emotionally resonant product experiences that drive retention and growth.

The framework is built on the understanding that delight is the combination of joy and surprise, and requires satisfying three key pillars:

The Three Pillars of Product Delight

1. Removing Friction

   • Identify "valley moments" where user emotions are at their lowest (stress, anxiety)
   • Create solutions that eliminate these pain points
   • Example: Uber's two-click refund process when a driver cancels, transforming a stressful situation into a seamless experience

2. Anticipating Needs

   • Provide solutions before users explicitly ask for them
   • Create positive surprise by understanding deeper user contexts
   • Example: Revolut adding eSIM purchasing capability within a banking app for international travelers

3. Exceeding Expectations

   • Go beyond what users expect to receive
   • Deliver additional value they didn't know to ask for
   • Example: Microsoft Edge automatically finding and applying discount coupons during checkout

The Four-Step Delight Model

Nasreen's systematic approach to implementing delight consists of four key steps:

1. Identify User Motivators

   • Map both functional motivators (what users want to accomplish)
   • Map emotional motivators (how users want to feel)
   • Example: Spotify users might want to find specific songs (functional) or feel less lonely (emotional)

2. Convert Motivators to Opportunities

   • Transform identified motivators into concrete product opportunities
   • Frame these as "How might we..." statements
   • Focus on both functional and emotional dimensions

3. Identify Solutions Using the Delight Grade

   • Categorize potential solutions in a matrix of functional vs. emotional value:
     • Surface Delight: Solves only for emotional needs (e.g., Spotify Wrapped)
     • Low Delight: Solves only for functional needs
     • Deep Delight: Solves for both functional and emotional needs simultaneously

4. Validate with the Delight Checklist

   • Ensure solutions create user impact
   • Confirm business alignment and feasibility
   • Check for inclusivity (will this delight all users or potentially upset some?)
   • Consider familiarity (too much surprise can be jarring)
   • Plan for maintaining delight over time (avoiding habituation)

The 50-40-10 Model for Prioritization

When building a product roadmap, Nasreen recommends balancing different types of delight:

• 50% Low Delight (functionality-focused features)
• 40% Deep Delight (features addressing both functional and emotional needs)
• 10% Surface Delight (purely emotional features)

Creating a Delight Culture

To foster delight as an organizational value:

• Make delight a permanent pillar in product strategy
• Incorporate it into regular team rituals (like squad health checks)
• Hold dedicated "delight days" for teams to ideate on delightful features
• Recognize that working on delightful features increases PM motivation and engagement

When to Invest in Delight

• Delight is not just for B2C products - B2B products should also consider the human emotions of their users
• In competitive markets, delight becomes a key differentiator
• Products should be "humanized" by asking: "If my product was a human, how would the experience be better?"
• Even in B2B contexts, emotional connection drives loyalty and word-of-mouth

The framework emphasizes that delight is not about superficial "confetti" but about creating meaningful emotional connections that serve both functional and emotional needs simultaneously.