I wrote a product strategy document at work this week. I wrapped it up on Friday and sent it (in confidence!) to a few stakeholders and to my line of business owner.
I’ve been thinking about that document. It’s good, but unfortunately, it’s not great. D’oh!
It has all the requisite pieces: the current state of the product, the product’s current position in the market, company strategy, financial performance of the company, financial performance of the product, competitive analysis, analysis of market conditions, future directions of the product, a high-level development roadmap, etc.
What it lacks is a story, a narrative thread.
I got so wrapped up in getting the facts straight that I forgot to tell the story of the product.
- How does the corporate strategy filter down into product strategy?
- How exactly does market information and product enhancement tie together?
- How does the proposed shift in product strategy inspire the customer?
A product strategy should be a story…and should I should have done better in employing the tools of presentation. A good mixture of story and numbers, of emotion and reason. You can bet the product managers at Apple can tell riveting stories about their products and customers.
Fortunately for me, this is a living document. I’ll be sure to carve out some time before long to make that product strategy sing.
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