Product Decisions I Didn't Notice — but Use Every Day
by Cheerly Tannia Hartono • 31 March 2026
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Unlocking your phone with Face ID, Google Maps rerouting you without asking, and Spotify auto-playing the next song.
You didn’t stop to think or consciously decide, yet you followed along anyway.
That’s not luck; that’s product decisions working quietly in the background.
As PMs, we often celebrate the big features, like launches and redesigns. But some of the most impactful product decisions are the quiet ones – the defaults, nudges, and micro-interactions users barely notice. And yet, those are the decisions shaping behavior every single day.
Using examples from the apps you open every day — Netflix, Spotify, Grab, and Instagram — let’s unpack the product decisions hiding in plain sight.
The Power of Defaults
The Power of Defaults
Let’s go back to the last time you changed your default settings, whether it’s dark mode on your phone or Google as your default search engine.
Defaults are silent decisions PMs make for users, and most users never change them.
From a PM perspective, defaults answer a powerful question:
What do we believe is the best experience for most users?
Take auto-play on Netflix. When one episode ends, the next starts counting down. You could stop it... but you usually don’t. This single decision massively impacts watch time and retention.
Friction: Added on Purpose
Friction: Added on Purpose
PMs talk a lot about removing friction: faster onboarding, fewer clicks, one-tap payments. But not all friction is bad.
Think about:
“Are you sure you want to delete this?”
Password re-entry before changing account settings
Instagram asking “Save draft?” before you exit
These moments slow you down, and that’s the point.
Behind the scenes, PMs are asking: Where could a user regret this action?
Adding friction in high-risk moments protects users and builds trust. You may find it annoying in the moment, but you’d be far more annoyed if your data disappeared with one accidental tap.
In this case, good defaults reduce cognitive load. Bad defaults, however, create friction. And invisible defaults? They shape behavior at scale.
The Illusion of Choice
The Illusion of Choice
When you order a Grab car, you are shown 3-4 ride options. But not all choices are equal: one is highlighted, one is cheaper but slower, and the other is premium and tempting.
This is choice architecture.
Users feel like they’re freely choosing – and they really are. But the way options are framed, ordered, and highlighted shapes the ultimate decision. As PMs, we know too many choices create paralysis. So instead of offering infinite flexibility, we guide users’ attention.
Well-designed choice architecture helps users decide faster and feel confident about it while the poorly designed ones overwhelm and increase drop-off.
Microcopy That Saves The Day
Microcopy That Saves The Day
You wouldn’t remember most product copy – except when it’s bad.
Small phrases like:
“You can undo this later”
“We will remind you 3 days before this ends”
These tiny words reduce anxiety by removing doubt at the exact moment a user might hesitate. For PMs, microcopy is a conversion tool, a trust signal, and a UX safety net: all in one sentence.
Progress without Pressure
Progress without Pressure
Have you ever wondered why streaks or progress bars work so well?
Take Duolingo’s daily streak or LinkedIn profile completion bars; they create momentum without explicit pressure.
You don’t have to continue, but now you want to.
This is a product decision rooted in behavioral psychology: people hate breaking progress. The best part is that users feel motivated instead of forced; and that’s the sweet spot PMs aim for.
What This Means For PMs
What This Means For PMs
These decisions rarely show up in launch announcements. They don’t even trend anywhere or feel “flashy”, but they compound. As PMs, our real influence often lies in: the default we pre-select, the option we visually highlight, or the one extra line of copy beneath a CTA.
Individually, they seem insignificant, but collectively, they shape how a product feels and how it performs. Whether it’s a 2% lift in activation for clearer onboarding, or a slight drop in churn for users to feel safe making changes; no single decision is dramatic, but stacked together, they change the whole product experience.
We often associate great PM work with big bets: new markets, new features, or bold launches. At the end of the day, however, great products are shaped by invisible decisions, most of which will never be noticed but felt by users; and that’s the point.
If you’re a student exploring product management, you can start training this muscle early.
If you’re already a PM, you can try revisiting the small decisions you’ve normalized!
About the Author
About the Author
#90: Cheerly Hartono
#90: Cheerly Hartono
Cheerly is an Industrial Systems Engineering freshman with a passion for languages, problem-solving, and learning new skills outside the classroom. Prior to joining NUS Product Club, Cheerly led her high school's student council as its president - honing her detail-orientedness in ensuring the smooth operation of organising various events.
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