Unlike private tech, government digital services often lack basic instrumentation like user funnels. This blindness to where users drop off means millions can lose benefits due to simple software bugs or confusing design, with agencies unaware of the root cause until manual intervention.

Unlike private sector products that target specific demographics, government digital services must cater to an extremely diverse user base, including people with low income, no permanent address, and vast age differences. This necessitates a rigorous, non-assumptive approach to user research and accessibility from the outset.

Selling to government is counterintuitive for impatient founders. Government can't fail or be disrupted in the same way. The winning strategy is to first solve an urgent, existing problem within their constraints, build trust, and then gradually introduce broader innovation.

Public sector services address pre-existing, often urgent needs. The product manager's role isn't marketing or demand generation, but rather simplifying access and reducing the administrative burden for a captive, often vulnerable, user base.

Major product breakthroughs often come from solving a problem for a niche group with extreme needs. The solution developed for this 'extreme user' can then be adapted and applied to a much broader general population, creating a significant market opportunity.

Unlike private companies seeking product-market fit within a specific segment, designing digital public infrastructure (DPI) requires a different mindset. The goal is creating a level playing field that enables *everyone* to participate and allows markets to innovate on top.

In government, digital services are often viewed as IT projects delivered by contractors. A CPO's primary challenge is instilling a culture of product thinking: focusing on customer value, business outcomes, user research, and KPIs, often starting from a point of zero.

For smaller companies, sales complexity is a critical filter for their ICP. Segments with high product-market fit, like government or finance, must often be excluded. The long legal processes, procurement cycles, and multi-stakeholder bureaucracy are too resource-intensive, making them impractical targets despite their potential value.

Product teams often build on modern, powerful devices. In the public sector, users have varied access to technology. Success requires designing for older hardware, slower connections, and less tech-savvy users, ensuring accessibility for the most vulnerable populations.