The success of the Product and Product Owner depends on 3 Vs – Vision Value and Validation. Product Owners should bring empowerment and entrepreneurship to the role by initiating innovation and functionality, not just receiving it. The Product Owner is a strategic level role. Scrum Guide can not tell all the strategic work the Product Owner should do as Scrum is just a framework. As an entrepreneur, the Product Owner’s job is to maximize value. A few reasons behind Product Owners finding difficulty in ownership over the product and how 3 Vs – Vision Value and Validation can help them to succeed
The lack of Scrum Masters with strong servant leadership in an organization is one of the reasons many Product Owners can not own the product.
The other reason is, trust from the management for the individual to take ownership of the product.
Sometimes, the lack of trust is because of the Product Owner’s current capability and knowledge.
Vision, Value, and Validation
Product Vision
The vision for the product is a clear and compelling statement of what the product aims to achieve. It should outline the benefits the product will provide to users and how it will solve their problems or meet their needs. For example, the vision for a new project management software might be “to provide a simple and intuitive tool for teams to collaborate on projects, streamline communication, and increase productivity.”
Vision establishes Transparency because it forms the basis for all following conversations, leading to a common understanding of why you are building the product and what your customers’ needs are.
Why are we building it?
Whose lives will be improved by it?
How clear is your product vision?
Do the people who create the product know it?
Do your stakeholders?
Does your Product Backlog reflect the vision?
Are your release plan and Sprint Goals in line with the vision?
Benefits of Product Vision
A well-defined product vision can have several benefits, including:
Alignment: A product vision helps align the development team’s efforts toward a common goal. It ensures everyone is working towards the same vision and helps prioritize development efforts.
Focus: A product vision helps the development team stay focused on the most important aspects of the product. It helps them prioritize features and avoid scope creep.
Motivation: A product vision can help motivate the development team by providing a clear sense of purpose and meaning to their work. It helps them understand how their work is making a difference and contributes to a larger goal.
Communication: A product vision can be used to communicate the value of the product to potential users and stakeholders. It helps them understand what the product is trying to achieve and how it will benefit them.
Overall, a well-defined product vision can help guide product development efforts and ensure that the product meets the needs of its target users.
Tips for Defining Product Vision
Think about the ‘why’ of your product.
Share your belief about the product. Why do you want to build this product?
Define the positive change that this product brings to the target customers/users’ life after using it.
Establish and communicate a clear product vision.
Ensure all product stakeholders share a common understanding of the vision
Example – Fitness Tracking App
A product vision is a clear and compelling statement of what a product aims to achieve. It should outline the benefits the product will provide to users and how it will solve their problems or meet their needs. Here is an example of a product vision for a new fitness-tracking app:
“Our fitness tracking app aims to empower people to live healthier lives by providing a simple and intuitive tool for tracking their physical activity, nutrition, and sleep. With features like personalized workout plans, community support, and progress tracking, our app will help users set and achieve their fitness goals, boost their motivation, and lead healthier, more active lives.”
This product vision statement clearly outlines the benefits of the app and how it will help users achieve their fitness goals. It also provides a clear direction for the development team to work towards.
Product Value
The value of a product is the benefit it provides to its users. It should be clearly defined and communicated to potential users in order to convince them to try the product. For example, the value of project management software might be that it helps teams stay organized and on track, reduces the time and effort needed to complete tasks, and improves the overall efficiency of the team. Defining Value provides you with something to Inspect.
A few good measures of value
Growth– Customer Acquisition, Revenue, number of downloads, etc.
TCO– Cost of product ownership including Capex, Opex, and other costs
CLV– Customer Lifetime Value, which is also a proxy for profitability
NPS– Net Promoter Score- The likelihood of your customers being your promoters. This ranges from -100 to +100 and the goal is to always stay above 0; preferably higher than 50.
Value is how you measure your progress toward your Vision.
Is it customer satisfaction?
Operating costs?
Registrations?
How will we measure it?
How do we know when the value received no longer outweighs the costs?
How are you measuring value?
How often are you measuring it?
Are you maximizing return on investment?
Are your customers happier?
How about your Development Team?
How much of your budget is being spent on new innovative features that your customers are asking for rather than maintenance?
Benefits of Product Value
Clearly defining and communicating the value of a product can have several benefits, including:
Attracting customers: Clearly communicating the value of a product can help attract potential customers and convince them to try the product. It helps them understand the benefits the product will provide and how it will meet their needs.
Differentiating the product: Clearly defining the value of a product can help it stand out in a crowded market. It helps users understand what makes the product unique and why they should choose it over other options.
Prioritizing development efforts: Clearly defining the value of a product can help guide development efforts and ensure that the most important features are implemented first. It helps the development team prioritize features and make informed decisions about what to include in the product.
Improving user satisfaction: Clearly defining the value of a product can help improve user satisfaction by ensuring that the product meets the needs of its target users. When users understand the benefits of a product and how it can help them, they are more likely to be satisfied with it.
Overall, clearly defining and communicating the value of a product can help attract and retain customers, differentiate the product in the market, and improve user satisfaction.
Tips for Defining Product Value:
Think about how your product can make life/work easier than now for the target customers/users.
Define the customer’s/users’ jobs to be done and the related pains and gains.
For each pain and gain, try to describe one or more pain relievers and gain creators.
Understand the business and customer value of each item
Quantify value delivered via metrics
Example – Fitness Tracking App
The value of a product is the benefit it provides to its users. It should be clearly defined and communicated to potential users in order to convince them to try the product. Here is an example of how the value of a new fitness-tracking app might be communicated to potential users:
“Our app helps you live a healthier life by providing a simple and intuitive way to track your physical activity, nutrition, and sleep. With personalized workout plans and progress tracking, you’ll be able to set and achieve your fitness goals with ease. Plus, with our community support feature, you’ll never have to feel alone on your journey to better health. Our app saves you time and effort and helps you lead a more active and fulfilling life.”
This value statement outlines the specific benefits of the app and how it can help users achieve their fitness goals. It highlights the features of the app that are most relevant to users and makes it clear why they should choose this app over others.
Product Validation
Validation: Validation is the process of verifying that the product meets the needs of its target users. This can be done through user research, testing, and feedback gathering. For example, the project management software might be validated through user interviews, usability testing, and beta testing to ensure that it meets the needs of project teams and provides value to its users. Run (small) Experiments to Reduce the Cost of Failure.
Validation is knowing whether to continue in one direction (Persist) or Pivot based on your Inspection outcomes; leading to Adaptation– the third Pillar of Scrum.
Most business assumptions are wrong, so validate product ideas ASAP.
Ultimate validation comes from customers and users interacting with the product.
Release as frequently as the business can support.
Validation in the context of product management is about product validation: building the right thing. Validation provides data upon which to base product vision and value definition choices.
Questions:
Are you validating the product with your stakeholders and the marketplace?
How often are you doing it? Are you adjusting the product’s direction accordingly?
Is the quality of the product consistent enough to release whenever needed?
The two core feedback loops in Scrum are on the process side and the product side:
Process validation is about inspecting and adapting how the Scrum Team is working.
Product validation is about inspecting and adapting what the Scrum Team is building.
Benefits of Product Validation
Product validation is the process of verifying that a product meets the needs of its target users. Conducting product validation can have several benefits, including:
Identifying issues: Product validation can help identify issues with the product that may not have been apparent during the development process. This can include usability issues, technical problems, or user needs that were not adequately met.
Improving the product: By identifying and addressing issues through product validation, a development team can improve the overall quality and user experience of the product. This can lead to better customer satisfaction and increased adoption of the product.
Reducing risk: Product validation can help reduce the risk of launching a product that does not meet the needs of its target users. By gathering feedback from users and making adjustments based on that feedback, a development team can ensure that the product is well-received by its target market.
Increasing confidence: Product validation can increase the confidence of the development team and stakeholders in the product. By verifying that the product meets the needs of its target users, the team can feel more confident in its ability to succeed in the market.
Overall, product validation is an important step in the product development process that can help improve the quality and user experience of the product, reduce risk, and increase confidence in the product.
Tips for Product Validation:
Gather a list of validation topics related to assumptions or questions.
Categorize these items into two categories: Problem Space – Solution Space
Validate the problem space items with journey maps and value props canvas.
Validate the solution space items with low-fidelity or high-fidelity prototypes or even a light-developed version of your product.
Example – Fitness Tracking App
Product validation is the process of verifying that a product meets the needs of its target users. This can be done through user research, testing, and feedback gathering. Here are some examples of ways that a product development team might validate a new fitness-tracking app:
User interviews: The team could conduct interviews with potential users to understand their needs, preferences, and pain points when it comes to fitness tracking. This can help the team identify areas where the app can provide value and make adjustments to the product based on user feedback.
Usability testing: The team could conduct usability testing to see how well users can navigate and use the app. This can help the team identify any issues with the user interface or user experience and make improvements.
Beta testing: The team could release a beta version of the app to a small group of users and gather feedback on their experience. This can help the team identify any issues with the app and make improvements before launching it to the general public.
By gathering feedback from users and making adjustments based on that feedback, a product development team can ensure that its product meets the needs of its target users and provides value to them.
Summary
Vision, value, and validation are three key concepts in the field of product development. They can be used to guide product development efforts and ensure that the product meets the needs of its target users.
Vision: A product vision is a clear and compelling statement of what a product aims to achieve. It should outline the benefits the product will provide to users and how it will solve their problems or meet their needs. A well-defined product vision can help align the efforts of the development team, keep them focused on the most important aspects of the product, motivate them, and communicate the value of the product to potential users and stakeholders.
Value: The value of a product is the benefit it provides to its users. It should be clearly defined and communicated to potential users in order to convince them to try the product. Clearly defining and communicating the value of a product can help attract and retain customers, differentiate the product in the market, prioritize development efforts, and improve user satisfaction.
Validation: Product validation is the process of verifying that a product meets the needs of its target users. This can be done through user research, testing, and feedback gathering. Product validation can help identify issues with the product, improve the product, reduce risk, and increase confidence in the product.
Overall, focusing on vision, value, and validation can help ensure that a product meets the needs of its target users and provides value to them.