How do you refine your product vision over time?

1 Validate your assumptions

Your product vision is based on a set of assumptions about your customer needs, problems, and preferences, as well as your value proposition, differentiation, and market opportunity. But assumptions are not facts, and they need to be validated with evidence. You can use various methods to test your assumptions, such as customer interviews, surveys, experiments, prototypes, and analytics. By validating your assumptions, you can avoid building a product that nobody wants or needs, and adjust your product vision accordingly.

2 Solicit feedback

Feedback is essential for refining your product vision. You need to listen to your customers, users, team members, stakeholders, and experts, and understand their perspectives, opinions, and suggestions. You can collect feedback through various channels, such as reviews, ratings, comments, support tickets, social media, forums, and blogs. You can also conduct user testing, usability testing, beta testing, and focus groups to get more in-depth feedback. By soliciting feedback, you can identify what works and what doesn't, what delights and what frustrates, and what needs to be improved or changed in your product vision.

3 Monitor trends

Trends are the changes and developments that affect your industry, market, and customers. They can be technological, social, economic, environmental, or political. They can create new opportunities, challenges, threats, or demands for your product. You need to monitor trends regularly and analyze how they impact your product vision. You can use tools such as Google Trends, Trend Hunter, and Trend Watching to track and discover trends. You can also read industry reports, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, and magazines to stay updated. By monitoring trends, you can anticipate and adapt to the changing needs and expectations of your customers and market.

4 Review your metrics

Metrics are the quantitative indicators that measure the performance and progress of your product. They can be related to your product goals, objectives, outcomes, or outputs. They can include metrics such as revenue, retention, acquisition, activation, engagement, satisfaction, loyalty, referrals, and churn. You need to review your metrics regularly and evaluate how they align with your product vision. You can use tools such as Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, and Segment to collect and analyze your metrics. By reviewing your metrics, you can assess and validate the value and impact of your product, and identify areas for improvement or growth.

5 Update your statement

Your product vision statement is a concise and compelling summary of your product vision. It communicates the essence of what you want to achieve, why it matters, and who it serves. It should be clear, specific, realistic, and aspirational. You need to update your product vision statement whenever you make significant changes or adjustments to your product vision. You can use frameworks such as the Lean Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas, or the Vision Board to help you craft or revise your product vision statement. By updating your statement, you can keep your product vision fresh, relevant, and consistent.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?