Customer Value

At Level 1, customer value starts with recognizing that your work contributes to something bigger. You may not yet know how to define or measure value, but you’re learning to ask how what you’re building actually helps the customer. You begin to notice that clean code and working features aren’t enough—what matters is whether they solve the right problem. You’re learning to see through the customer’s eyes, even if you’re not yet shaping what they receive.

Key Behaviors

  • Asks how their work connects to customer goals or problems
  • Pays attention when product or support teams share customer feedback
  • Takes note of features or bugs that impact user trust or satisfaction
  • Begins to understand how their work contributes to delivering outcomes
  • Recognizes the difference between output and value

Common Struggles

  • May focus only on building things correctly, not on solving the right problem
  • Can conflate technical completion with customer success
  • Might hesitate to ask about customer context

Success Indicators

You know you're successful when you:

  • Show curiosity about whether what you're building will truly help someone
  • Begin to differentiate between "what works" and "what matters"
  • Ask how your team will know if a change is valuable
  • Care about whether your work makes a real difference—not just whether it gets merged

Mindset Shift

From:

"Did I build it right?"

To:

"Did it solve the customer’s problem?"

Questions to Ask Yourself

  • What outcome is this feature or fix meant to improve?
  • What does success look like from the customer’s point of view?
  • How would we know if this didn’t actually help?

Build These Habits

  • 1
    Ask product or support teammates about recent customer wins or pain points
  • 2
    Skim user research or customer responses when available
  • 3
    Reflect on whether your most recent work delivered visible value

Seek Feedback

  • "What’s the customer need behind this ticket?"
  • "Is this the best way to solve the real problem?"
  • "How do we know this is working for users?"

Signals You're Ready to Level Up

  • You talk about outcomes, not just tickets
  • You bring customer impact into planning conversations
  • You care about solving the right problems—not just building fast

Focus Summary

  • Ask what matters
  • Look for outcomes
  • Begin with impact

At Level 1, customer value is about curiosity. It’s the moment you realize your work is more than a task list—it’s part of someone’s success.