A lot of times you are going into existing, older markets where there isn't just a "set of requirements" to be defined by a good PM. Commercial real estate is a great example. The existing processes in renting are extremely case-by-case and specific. You need to go in and first define how you will start to standardize things, and get buy-in from the industry around that process. So you start with the manual, and then automate as you find fit.
This is different from creating enterprise software as a vendor. When you go to one large corporate and they want software automation added around their process, they usually have a process to be standardized. So then you can just figure out and write up the requirements. When you are building a more generalized, SaaS-type product for an industry as a whole, no one yet even has a vague idea of what the process and requirements are.
This is different from creating enterprise software as a vendor. When you go to one large corporate and they want software automation added around their process, they usually have a process to be standardized. So then you can just figure out and write up the requirements. When you are building a more generalized, SaaS-type product for an industry as a whole, no one yet even has a vague idea of what the process and requirements are.