Our product framework.

We know that a variety of challenges can make it difficult for teams to deliver outstanding work. To help ensure that our consulting efforts yield impact for our clients, our framework focuses on four key areas: Strategy, Roadmaps, Delivery, and Product team health.

STRATEGY

Your product strategy should enable your company strategy. You may also need to articulate a platform strategy and a consolidated portfolio strategy if you have multiple products.

  • Is the company and product strategy clear and broadly communicated? Are teams across the company aligned on the highest priorities for the company and is the strategy actually driving decisions?

  • Does the product strategy have the right market and business context? Are your teams validating with buyers and customers? Is the product strategy backed up with objective data?

  • Is the problem and user you are trying to solve with your product strategy clear? Are strategic priorities explicit?

  • Are business outcomes such as OKRs / KPIs defined? Are they measured?

DELIVERY

Teams need solid delivery processes paired with good communication in order to turn the roadmap into shippable capabilities and features on a predictable schedule. Clear expectations for roles across disciplinary teams help too.

  • Are team leaders working together effectively to solve problems and maintain momentum? Does everyone understand their role in making these things happen, including stakeholders?

  • Does the team have measurable release goals and scheduled releases for the upcoming 2 quarters? Are requirements consistently clear, complete, and actionable?

  • Is the team able to explicitly communicate hard vs soft commits? Do key stakeholders have visibility into status?

  • Are programs in place to gather and act on customer feedback? Are products built to be measurable? Is the team reducing risk by using alpha and beta releases?

Example assessment

ROADMAPS

Roadmaps should be predictable, drive alignment, and reduce contention. As with strategy documents, you may need to articulate roadmaps at multiple altitudes.

  • Does everything on the roadmap map back to the strategy? Do strategic priorities get broken down and sequenced into reasonably-sized deliverables?

  • Is resource allocation aligned to your strategy? Is it clear what can realistically be delivered to customers—and when?

  • Are teams partnering across the organization to estimate the effort needed to deliver? Are any internal or external dependencies understood? Is there a plan in place to address them?

  • Are roadmaps centrally located and easily accessible? Is there a predefined cadence for sharing regular updates on progress? Are teams surfacing challenges and getting help where needed?

PRODUCT TEAM HEALTH

Teams need a strong foundation to deliver a roadmap that executes a product strategy.

  • Do teams have the right decision making and communication frameworks to make good product decisions?

  • Are product meetings well-run with agendas and standard reporting templates? Do they yield actions and insights?

  • Do people across your company waste time hunting for product-related information? Are teams taking advantage of the tools and automation available?

  • Is the product role clearly articulated and able to be objectively evaluated? Are career paths well understood? Are hiring processes consistent and fair?