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¶ Product Strategy and Planning
¶ What it is
Product planning is based on the market environment, user needs, corporate strategy, competition landscape, and product objectives to design and develop the direction that can meet the needs of users and the market, formulate comparative competitiveness, and achieve strategic goals and product objectives of the company. It should fully align with corporate strategy and reflect on the product side.
Product planning can be long-term planning and short-term planning. Long-term planning focuses on long-term goals and value sets, while short-term planning focuses on actions and tasks of product iterations.
¶ Why it is useful
We might encounter many problems in our daily work, but if there is clear and internally aligned product planning, it is easier to address the issues. Without product planning, it's easier to slip into a good, off-target direction.
¶ How is it done
- Compile all relevant information and input materials, and ensure you have sufficient data to make the right decisions. This includes:
- Corporate strategy
- The core value of the product
- User needs and priorities
- Product positioning
- Existing capabilities
- KPI or OKR
- Existing resources
- Business objectives
- Review and discuss them with the team to align on critical strategic choices related to the product strategy and roadmap.
- In the end, we should output the following as deliverables of long-term strategy and planning:
- Product strategy: including product positioning, comparative advantage, business model, etc
- Roadmap: Important milestones, what to achieve in which time frame, resources needed, i.e., workforce, finance, etc
¶ Do's & Don't
Do's
- Involve all key stakeholders in this discussion to ensure a broad coverage of different viewpoints.
- Backtest the outcomes against the inputs to ensure that the translation of critical inputs was done correctly.
- Look at the product strategy and roadmap key elements and ensure they are consistent.
¶ Example
