Product Direction: How to build successful products at scale with Strategy, Roadmaps, and Objectives and Key Results
Produktstrategie

Product Direction: How to build successful products at scale with Strategy, Roadmaps, and Objectives and Key Results

Nacho Bassimo, 2021

Inhaltsverzeichnis des Buches

  • Praise for Product Direction
  • Table of Contents
  • Preface
  • DIRECTIONLESS
  • FINDING DIRECTION FOR GOOGLE ASSISTANT
  • THE JOB OF PRODUCT DIRECTION
  • What is Product Direction?
  • The Dinner Party
  • Why Should We Change? (Pushing Forces)
  • Why Don’t We Change? (Blocking Forces)
  • Benefits
  • Benefit 1: Team alignment and autonomy
  • Benefit 2: Focus and positioning
  • Benefit 3: Scale and consistency
  • Direction drives recognition
  • HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
  • A word of caution on non-linearity
  • Different Stages and Portfolio Sizes
  • Extra Tips and Stories
  • Section 1: Setting the Product Strategy
  • Chapter 1.1: INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGY
  • Mindset Problems With Product Strategy
  • Vision and High-level Goals
  • Chapter 1.2: THE PROCESS OF STRATEGY CREATION
  • 1. Inputs
  • 1. Vision & Mission statement
  • 2. Customer segments, personas, and needs
  • 3. Company results
  • 4. Product results
  • 5. Customer feedback
  • 6. Customer research
  • 7. Market and Industry analysis
  • 8. Benchmark
  • 9. Technology status
  • 2. People Involved
  • - A note on stakeholders collaboration
  • - Accountability
  • 3. Cadence
  • Process Diagram
  • Chapter 1.3: STEP 0: GATHER INFORMATION
  • Chapter 1.4: STEP 1: INSIGHTS
  • Frameworks to Consider Insights
  • Insights Matrix
  • Internal-Business insight
  • Internal-Customer insight
  • External-Business insight
  • External-Customer insight
  • Sources of innovation
  • Insight Tools
  • Previous insights!
  • Insights Tool 1: Core value proposition + ERRC
  • Insights Tool 2: Top of opportunity solution tree or impact mapping
  • INFO: Insights Iteration
  • Insights tool 3: The three horizons of growth — McKinsey
  • Insights with other models and canvases
  • TIPP: Insight session
  • Connecting your vision and target customers to the insights
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 1.5: STEP 2: SELECT
  • INFO: Considering positioning
  • High-Level company goal
  • Selecting to Win
  • Tools for Selection
  • Previous Strategy and Insight tools
  • Selection Tool 1: Strengthen the core
  • INFO: Evolving competitive advantages
  • How to use it with your product or portfolio
  • INFO: Repositioning your core
  • Selection Tool 2: Google’s 70/ 20/ 10
  • INFO: Number of experiments outside your core business
  • Selection Tool 3: Gibson’s DHM framework
  • How to use the tool with your product or portfolio
  • Alignment Filter
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 1.6: STEP 3: GOALS AND ASSUMPTIONS
  • Strategic Assumptions and Hypotheses
  • Evaluating assumptions
  • Time Horizon Consideration
  • INFO: Avoiding “Build X” goals
  • INFO: Measuring with the same stick
  • High-level Resource Understanding
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 1.7: STEP 4: SYNTHESIZE
  • Tools to Synthesize
  • Tool 1: Drivers Model
  • Tool 2: Kernel
  • Other options
  • INFO: The Bull
  • Completing the Strategy Document
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 1.8: STRATEGY COMMUNICATION
  • Stakeholder Collaboration
  • Interaction options
  • Shared understanding
  • Reaching agreement
  • Communication Sessions
  • 1. Top management
  • 2. Product leadership team and complete product team
  • 3. Specific product stakeholders and groups
  • Other Communication Opportunities
  • Wall “decoration”
  • Link to drivers in goals or initiatives
  • Repetition
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 1.9: STRATEGY EXAMPLE
  • Current Status
  • Current Strategy
  • SquadStats High-level Goal
  • Gathering Information for SquadStats
  • SquadStats Insights Output
  • 1. A “Wall of Insights”
  • 2. Opportunity solution tree
  • 3. Horizons of growth
  • SquadStats Selections Output
  • 1. Strengthen the core
  • 2. 70/ 20/ 10 allocation
  • 3. Stakeholders and direction to win
  • SquadStats Goals and Assumptions Output
  • Goals summary
  • Assumptions
  • SquadStats Strategy Synthesis
  • Closing the Example Section
  • Chapter 1.10: ITERATION AND FEEDBACK LOOPS
  • Immediate Feedback - Initial Qualitative Assessment
  • One Month In - Experiments
  • Three Months In - Quarterly Objectives Results
  • Results Summary
  • Section 1 SUMMARY
  • Recommended Readings
  • Section 2: Strategic Roadmap
  • Chapter 2.1 INTRODUCTION TO ROADMAPS
  • What is a Roadmap?
  • Roadmap Arguments
  • INFO: Uncertainty and the Stakeholders Dilemma
  • The Strategic Roadmap
  • Chapter 2.2 THE PROCESS OF ROADMAPPING
  • 1. Inputs
  • 2. People Involved
  • INFO: The Top-Down versus Bottom-Up dance
  • Portfolio versus product level roadmaps
  • 3. Cadence
  • Process Diagram
  • Chapter 2.3 ROADMAP STRUCTURE
  • The Components of the Roadmap Structure
  • 1. Roadmap Principles
  • Uncertainty over time
  • Opportunities and Problems, not Solutions
  • Goal-oriented
  • Reflect all major work
  • A roadmap is not a committed plan
  • 2. Axis Definition
  • Horizontal axis
  • Vertical Axis or “Lanes”
  • Themes
  • Products or teams
  • Goals
  • Combined
  • 3. Items in the grid or “Cards”
  • A. Titles vs. Cards
  • B. Granularity
  • C. Wording choice
  • 4. Other Visual Codes
  • Information to add
  • Visual elements
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 2.4: STRATEGY GROOMING
  • 1. Breaking Down Drivers With Opportunity Trees
  • 2. Customer Journey Map
  • Building a High-level Customer Journey Map
  • Matching strategy selection with the opportunities found in journey maps
  • 3. Traditional “Slicing”
  • 4. Including Other Required Work
  • Properly Recording the Items
  • Writing theme names
  • Writing item titles and description cards
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 2.5: PRIORITIES AND TIMELINES
  • 1. The Traditional Approach (And Why You Should Avoid It)
  • 2. Time Horizons
  • 3. Priority By Strategic Outcome
  • 4. Prioritization (Not) Using Confidence Level
  • INFO: Roadmap App or Spreadsheet, and cross-team consistency
  • Considering (or Not) the Current Organizational Structure
  • 1. Move faster in a chosen direction
  • 2. Overloads and underloads detected
  • 3. New area of work not currently “owned”
  • Structure changes - final thoughts
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 2.6: COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK
  • Communication Sessions
  • Previous Consensus
  • Handling Stakeholders’ Feedback
  • Prioritization feedback
  • INFO: Different assumptions and risks
  • Uncertainty feedback
  • Uncertainty about the solution
  • INFO: Dealing with stakeholders need for solutions
  • Time uncertainty
  • Alignment
  • INFO: Combining strategy and roadmap communication
  • Communicating Roadmap Changes
  • 1. Adding details as you progress
  • 2. Changing strategy
  • 3. Unmet goals
  • Chapter 2.7: ROADMAP EXAMPLE
  • SquadStats Roadmap Structure
  • SquadStats Strategy Grooming
  • SquadStats Priorities and Timeline
  • Roadmap timeline
  • Certainty considerations
  • Structure considerations
  • Closing the Example Section
  • Section 2 SUMMARY
  • Recommended Readings
  • Section 3: Objectives and Key Results
  • Chapter 3.1: INTRODUCTION TO OKRS
  • Objective and Key Results Basics
  • 1. Objectives
  • 2. Key results
  • 3. Time limit
  • Basic OKR flow
  • Key Characteristics that set OKRs apart from other methods
  • 1. Outcome-based
  • 2. Challenging
  • 3. Transparent and Aligned (or linked)
  • 4. Agile
  • 5. Focused
  • INFO: A brief note for those not using OKRs
  • Chapter 3.2: THE PROCESS OF MANAGING OKRS
  • 1. Inputs
  • 2. People Involved
  • 3. Cadence
  • Process Diagram
  • Process Timeline
  • Chapter 3.3: DEFINING AREA AND TEAMS OKRS DRAFTS
  • Using Roadmap Themes or Strategy Drivers As Objectives
  • Grouping Problems to Solve into Objectives
  • Dividing and Regrouping KRs to Match Structure
  • Tools to Select More Specific Metrics
  • Tool 1: Metrics Frameworks
  • Tool 2: KPI Trees
  • Tool 3: Leading indicators
  • Tool 4: Segment
  • Linking Team OKRs to Unit or Company Goals
  • 1. Indirect relationship
  • 2. Lack of a related company goal
  • 3. Link to multiple business units
  • Template
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 3.4: DEPENDENCIES AND FEEDBACK
  • Dependency Management
  • Unrealistic Number of Goals
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 3.5 FINAL VALUES AND QUALITY REVIEW
  • Final Values and Quality Considerations
  • 1. Outcome-oriented
  • 2. Independent or shared
  • 3. Granular
  • 4. Well-defined measurement
  • Time specificity
  • Avoid composed results
  • 5. Proper timespan
  • 6. Counter key results
  • 7. Level of challenge
  • Additional Quality Reviews
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 3.6 OKR CHECK-INS, UPDATES, AND COMMUNICATION
  • Cross-team Review Session
  • OKR Results Leading to Changes
  • Final Check-in
  • OKR Communication
  • Expected Output
  • Chapter 3.7 OKRS EXAMPLE
  • Area and Team Drafts
  • Managing Dependency Conflicts
  • Quality Review
  • Closing the Example Section
  • Section 3 SUMMARY
  • Recommended Readings
  • Section 4 Conclusion
  • A PART OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
  • The Double Diamond
  • Time Triggered Versus Opportunity Based
  • Being Lean and Non-dogmatic
  • WHAT’S NEXT?