Definition
The process of defining something is hard, and can be a long iterative process. However, one gains value and insight while trying to define it. That makes the process super useful.
Many attempts have already been made (Data product#Literature referred) in defining data products and will continue to be made as the landscape evolves - I share the one that is closest to me:
A data product, (like any product) is a cohesive bundle of functionalities that enables its intended users to take data-driven decisions or actions in self-serve or automated manner, hiding as much of the accidental complexity as possible.
Criticism
- Does this cover AI use cases?
Why differentiate data product and just a product?
One of the reason to name something, is to differentiate it from what already exists - so that the community can choose to pay attention if they choose to.
1. Doing Justice
The differentiation does justice and gives opportunities to the uninvited data workers to benefit from improvements in the product management and operations space - a party that the counterpart of data product, API as a product has been enjoying since a long time.
These include practices like a dedicated team, documented scope, established KPIs, established metrics, project management, sprint planning, coding and architectural standardisations with known tradeoffs, standardized operations, deployment and support models.
In my opinion, one of the big wins in the
2. Providing Clarity
While (software) products in general provides efficiency in a workflow (like buying a movie ticket or delivering food), data products on the other hand provide clarity.
Author, Yuval Noah Harari wrote:
In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power.
Examples of data product
- ChatGPT
- Google analytics
- Adobe Analytics
- Newsletters?
- Netflix
- Amazon
Related
Literature referred
- What Exactly is a Data Product?. This blog has taken much longer to⦠| by Sanjeev Mohan | Data Mesh Learning | Medium
- What Is A Data Product And What Are The Key Characteristics? (forbes.com)
- The Data Product ABCs - Bringing Product Thinking to Data (datasciencecentral.com)
- Understanding Data Products: A Comprehensive Guide | Integrate.io