What Kind Of Product Are You Building?

And how understanding it can lead to better outcomes.

We’re familiar with the zero-sum and positive-sum games.

Just to revise them, a zero-sum game occurs when one player can only gain something if another player loses something. For e.g. Tennis. It has one winner and one loser. The winner gains points and advances in a tournament, while the loser experiences no gain in points.

And a positive-sum game, on the other hand, can have a sum of gains and losses greater than zero. For e.g. Building a sandcastle together. Two friends collaborating to build a sandcastle create something more enjoyable than either could have alone.

I recently read the same theory for products (credit — workingtheorys). I then realized this can be applied to anything, including sports, international trade, or negotiation at a flea market etc.

So how does this relate to products?

Here’s is how it looks like. We know for a fact that products exist within a category of other players as well.

Now you might ask, are you just talking about products being in competition with each other? Umm… from what I understood, yes.

Because not every competitive product is a strictly competitive product.

Zero-sum products are like tug-of-war: users can only choose one winner in the category. They are strictly competitive.

Positive-sum products are like sharing a pie: users can enjoy both products in the same category, even though they might compete a bit. They aren’t strictly competitive

But why does it all matter if something is zero-sum or positive-sum?

It’s significantly harder to be a new entrant in a zero-sum product category. You have to add a lot of effort to make the impact.

Whereas it’s easier to be a new entrant in a positive-sum product category, but it’s hard to find their USP.

There was this awesome example mentioned where I was reading about this theory for products. 👇

Think about it this way: would you rather try to build the next YouTube or the next big YouTube channel? (YouTube is the more zero-sum product and the channel on YouTube is the less zero-sum product)

Oh, and one more thing, here’s this theory applied to UX.

Take the placement of the “Close window” button as an example. Windows OS places it on the top-right, while MacOS places it on the top-left. This difference creates a zero-sum situation for users who switch between platforms. They need to adapt their mental models to the new location, which can be frustrating and hinder their experience.

On the other hand, companies that design interfaces following industry practices, such as using common icons, colors, and button placements, are playing a more positive-sum game. By leveraging established user expectations, they make switching between products smoother and less jarring. While competition still exists, both the company and the user benefit from a more intuitive experience.

Ultimately, there’s no single “right” or “wrong” approach, but understanding the potential impact of your design decisions through the lens of zero-sum and positive-sum games can help you create more user-friendly experiences.