According to Wikipedia, product planning is “an ongoing process articulating the market requirement that defines a product’s future set.” Two key aspects emerge from this definition:
- Ongoing Process: Product planning is not a one-time activity but a continuous effort.
- Market Requirement: It’s crucial to understand and articulate what the customers need, their problems, and their desires.
Effective product planning revolves around identifying and addressing the customers’ needs. This means understanding who the customers are, what problems they face, and what their needs are. Product planning is intricate and involves multiple teams- Product Team, Engineering Team, Sales and Marketing, Finance, and Business Strategy.
For the product management team, the two most critical aspects are:
Product Vision
Product Roadmap
Let’s explore each of these components in detail.
Product Vision
A clear product vision is essential for successful product management. It answers the “what” questions: What are we building? What problems are we solving? Here’s how to create an effective product vision.
- Identifying the Right Problem
Study your current and prospective customers to understand their main concerns. Identify the exact problems worth solving, and avoid the temptation to chase too many trends or features. Albert Einstein’s advice applies here: spend most of your time understanding the problem to ensure effective solutions.
- Understanding Customers and Creating User Personas
Know your customers’ pain points, routines, and concerns. Different users have varying needs. For example, an analyst, a manager, and a department head will use the same analytical tool differently. Develop user personas to tailor the product to meet diverse needs.
- Balancing Customer Input and Solution Design
Empathize with customers but retain control over the solution design. Customers often describe symptoms rather than the core problem. Dig deeper to identify the real issues and create scalable, viable solutions.
- Conducting Competitive Analysis
Understand your competitive landscape by researching what works and what doesn’t for competitors. Learn from their successes and failures to avoid reinventing the wheel and strike a balance between innovation and market readiness.
Tips for Effective Competitive Analysis:
- Utilize Online Tools and Templates: Many resources are available for comparing key features across competitors.
- Leverage Public Information: Use competitors’ websites and public domains for insights.
- Create Weighted Comparisons: Evaluate how well competitors meet customer needs using a weighted average approach.
Product Roadmap
Once you’ve defined your product vision—what you want to build, who it’s for, and what problem it solves—the next crucial step is developing a product roadmap. A product roadmap is more than a series of milestones with dates. It’s a strategic document that articulates how you will achieve your product vision. It should communicate the strategic direction and key steps to bring your vision to reality.
Key Challenges in Roadmap Prioritization
A recent poll showed that the biggest challenges in roadmap prioritization are lack of clarity and ever-changing priorities. To address these issues, focus on the following strategies:
(i) Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP):
- Start with a basic version that provides value to early customers.
- Test with initial users, gather feedback and iterate to improve.
(ii) Define Quantifiable Milestones:
- Set clear, measurable goals to track progress.
- Ensure milestones align with the overall vision and strategic goals.
(iii) Prioritize Value Over Features:
- Think in terms of the value each feature delivers rather than just adding features.
- Ensure each release enhances the product’s value to the customer.
Emphasizing Value
Product managers should focus on delivering value rather than just building features. The goal is to enhance the product’s value with each new version, ensuring alignment with business goals and customer needs.
Balancing Innovation and Market Readiness
Learn from competitors to balance innovation with practicality. Research competitors’ successes and failures to avoid reinventing the wheel and to strike a balance between innovation and market readiness.
Addressing Client Requests for Features
Clients often request additional features that seem minor but can introduce hidden complexities and misalign the product direction. Here’s how to handle such requests:
- Understand the Underlying Need: Ask clients why they need a feature, what problem it addresses, and how it benefits them.
- Provide Transparency: Share your roadmap and priorities with clients to explain why certain features are prioritized over others.
- Peel Back the Layers: Engage in a deeper conversation to uncover the true problem behind the feature request.
Vision vs. Strategy
Understanding the difference between product vision and strategy is key:
- Vision: Where you want to be in the future (e.g., in two to five years).
- Strategy: How you plan to get there, including the markets to target and the tools to use.
