This is a summary of Product Vision & Strategy lecture by Yusuf Aria Putera (CVM Lead)
Is it that important to define product vision?
Yes, because…
Your product without vision be like:
No one can understand where they are going. The effect? scattered teamwork.
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Vision is the ability to close your eyes and imagine a future that not yet exist. It is the ability to see beyond the mess that may be in front of you, abstract from it, clean it up, and see a (hopefully better) future that does not yet exist.
-Sanjiva Weerawarana
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Product Vision is the future of your product in which way it gonna serve the customer at what impact on the industry
A clear product vision will help everyone. To understand their direction in the team. Make a better decision. People will know their purpose. And what it means for them, the company, and the world.
Everybody will be inspired to work together.
To build a great product.
A good product vision you may ask?
It is CSDX
Customer-centric
Stretch yet achievable
Differentiation
X Year
What’s the difference between Company Vision & Product Vision?
Some companies did not differ in their company and product vision. It depends on the size. Also the range of products they have.
Company Vision
- Where the company will stand in the world
- The overall desired future position of a company
Product Vision
- Where the product will serve the customer in 2-5 year
- Aligning everyone toward the company vision
Simply product vision will follow the company vision.
Microsoft for the example
They want to empower every people and organization to achieve more
One of the products, let’s say Microsoft Surface, will become the tools to help business users in productivity.
So it’s safe to assume they will not build a high-end gaming laptop. But rather a lightweight portable laptop for going to work. Because it follows their core vision. Which is to help people achieve more.
What about a mission?
Vision defines where the company will be going.
The mission is about the company’s business, objectives, and how to reach them.
Some companies combine vision and mission to create a statement.
It is often used as a single purpose to avoid confusion.
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A Mission Statement defines the company’s business, its objectives and its approach to reach those objectives. A Vision Statement describes the desired future position of the company. Elements of Mission and Vision Statements are often combined to provide a statement of the company’s purposes, goals and values. However, sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably.
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Here is an example of Amazon Company Vision/Mission Statement
How do we turn those visions into reality?
There comes the strategy. Product Strategy Stack as they say.
While strategy is a way to achieve.
Product Strategy Stack is a system to both plan and executes company objectives
The Product Strategy Stack helps us solve one of the biggest reasons of startup failures—ambitious goals that are untethered with a clear strategy. Slack and Discord have been able to succeed in very different markets—not because of its very different products, but because each aligned its product strategy, roadmaps, and goals, to a well-defined company-level mission & strategy
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Product Strategy is not a stand-alone.
Achieving vision comes from an alignment of a mission, company strategy, roadmap, and goals.
This alignment is called a Product Strategy Stack which consists of multiple layers.
Each layer act as a “pre-requisite” for the next layer.
We can’t decide on product goals before the roadmap.
Because it needs a roadmap’s clarity to be aligned.
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That one layer that connects each other is the Product Strategy.
Product Strategy becomes a bridge. To turn an ambitious vision into reality.
While also providing for the need of the company.
Product Strategy can be done by defining from the Top-Down (planning from the mission)
And evaluating from the Bottom-Up (execution from the product goals)
How to define the product strategy?
The 4 Types of Product Strategy
Feature Work (tap here)
Creates and captures value by extending a product's functionality and market into incremental and adjacent areas
Growth Work
Creates and captures value by capturing more of the existing market. Connecting customers to the value that already exists in the product, rather than creating new value
Scaling Work
Ensures the product team maintains the ability to ship new things across feature, growth, and product-market fit expansion work
PMF Expansion
Creating more value by significantly expanding into adjacent products or markets
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What to do and what not to do with product strategy?
Remember the Product Principle. It’s the fundamental value.
That will guide our company and our product. In what we believe and what is important to us.
Example of Twitter’s Principles
- Promoting health (healthy conversation)
- Earning people’s trust (stay reliable and credible)
- Making it straightforward (transparent and to the point)
- Uniting profit and purpose (does good philanthropy)
- Being fast, free, and fun (be ourselves)
Everything that strays from the core value will be dismissed.
And every approach that leads to the core value will be welcomed.
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Finally, If some companies have a similar product
How do they win the competition?
Setting Up Winning Proposition.
A competitive focus in which arena will the company compete, which customer will they serve, and what will they offer to them.
It can use one of these 3
Greater Value
- Unique benefit of the product that will deliver to customers
Superior Profit
- Get the most financial return to the company through efficiency
Key Priorities
- A priority for a few things that will make difference
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Slack and Discord are slightly different.
But they have almost the same products.
- Both are messaging app
- Both apps can react to a comment,
- Both apps have similar core UX
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But both have a different vision.
Slack is more for productivity work. While Discord is for play
And they win in their own market.
The difference in competitive focus, that goes back to the company vision.
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And, every company with its product has its own stage
Understanding which stage are we currently in.
Will help to decide the right strategy
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