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User Research · MVP Prioritization · VDF Framework · JTBD
I have observed the residents of my village burning and burying waste daily because there was simply no alternative. When I began learning product thinking, this was the first problem I wanted to apply it to — not because it was easy, but because I already had deep firsthand context and genuine empathy for the people affected.
Through direct observation and community conversations, I identified two core users most affected by this problem. The obvious user was the villager — but the more I dug in, the more I realized the sanitation worker was equally critical and almost entirely overlooked.
👨
Rahul, 29 — The Villager
Travels 7km to work every morning. No fixed disposal point forces him off-route daily, making him consistently late. Too caught up in routine to seek a solution himself.
Hired the app to:
Start his day without guilt and reach work on time
👷
Ramesh, 45 — The Sanitation Worker
Hired by panchayat but receives zero daily coordination. Sits idle without scheduled work, income unpredictable, no way to log work completed.
Hired the app to:
Feel like a legitimate professional with a predictable livelihood
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This was my key insight — Rahul's problem can never be solved without Ramesh being enabled first. The app had to serve both simultaneously.
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Before jumping to solutions, I ran the idea through the VDF framework to ensure this was worth building:
Desirable
All three user groups had clear unmet needs. Villagers wanted reliable pickup. Workers wanted structured work. Panchayat wanted accountability. Demand existed across the entire ecosystem.
Viable
₹20-50/month per household across 1000 households generates sustainable recurring revenue covering worker wages and operational costs from month 3 onwards.
Feasible
No new infrastructure required. Existing sanitation workforce + basic smartphone app. Core features buildable with a small team in 8-10 weeks.
With limited resources for a pilot, I had to prioritize ruthlessly. I asked one question for every feature: does this directly enable the core job to be done?