Product decisions are often only obvious looking backward.

One example was an early discussion about the Bloomberg keyboard.

There was a debate about whether to adopt a standard typewriter QWERTY keyboard or one with the keys in alphabetical order from the top left.

It sounds hard to believe, but it wasn’t as clear four decades ago.

Initially, clients used the terminals to look up bond identification numbers and calculate yields. PCs were not widespread. People weren’t using Bloomberg to type long sentences.

In the end the firm adopted the standard keyboard, which seems fortunate because it allowed the product to evolve and play a wider array of roles.