Dovetail’s Post

🎯 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽: "𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀" 😊 Let's discuss product vision today! Just like in life, having a clear vision when embarking on any project guarantees focused effort, provides the drive to push through challenges, and gives a concrete goal to work toward. In product management, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 "𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫" 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨. Without a well-defined vision, the product risks drifting, with efforts scattered, lacking direction; and any effort that is not channeled cannot be maximized. However, 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. In my experience, I believe 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. When discussing features, we should ask, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯? When drafting the roadmap, we need to question,𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯? When defining strategy, the key question is always, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯? It’s easy to lose sight of the vision amid day-to-day tasks. Yet, it’s crucial that every decision—whether about what to build, which problem to solve (and why), or even who to hire—should be measured against the vision. 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 otherwise, we risk a lot of wasted effort and resources. Lastly, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘁, 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆. This keeps us on track to achieve the vision in the most effective, competitive way possible I hope you enjoyed the read! Until next time; happy producting. 😉

Which product roadmap format is best? It depends - organizational culture, company stage, team setup, the nature of your product... All these factors play a role in selecting the right format for your roadmap. Every product roadmap should consist of three foundational elements: When - the horizontal axis on a roadmap that indicates the timeline of your initiatives. These might be actual dates (months, quarters or something else) - or Now, Next, Later * What - the core items on your roadmap that represent what you will be working on. These might be features, problems, outcomes, or other initiatives. Categories - use categories to group initiatives on a roadmap. * A Notes on Now, Next, Later The Now-Next-Later roadmap was invented by Janna Bastow, co-founder of Mind the Product. The idea is to remove the false certainty of absolute dates by replacing them with relative timeframes: - What are we working on now? - What will we start next? - What are we saving for the future? A Now-Next-Later roadmap can help your organization escape the certainty trap. Instead of wasting time discussing when things will be done, it forces a discussion on what is more important.

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕? Recently, someone asked me: "𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆?" It’s a great question. Personally, I’ve been in similar situations, and being biased toward your own ideas is not uncommon. But here’s where Marty Cagan’s powerful advice from 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 completely changed my approach: ✨ "𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏." ✨ This shift in perspective helps you step back and evaluate ideas more objectively while focusing on the ‘why’ behind decisions. To do this effectively, I recommend asking yourself these key questions: ● 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞? ● 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝? ● 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚? ● 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬? The goal is never to cling to your solution but to focus on solving the problem in the best possible way. Whether that means embracing change or sticking to current methods, the focus should always be on improving the product. Remember, it’s not about winning an argument—it’s about making the product better. After all, great products are born from collaboration, not attachment to any single idea. #ProductMindset #Teamwork #ProductDevelopment #Innovation #ProblemSolving

Goals? 👍👎 Setting effective goals is essential for guiding development teams and stakeholders towards success. Thoughtfully crafted goals foster a shared purpose, align efforts, and empower individuals to drive progress Over the years, I’ve been following a refined chain of product-centric, cascading goals that establish clarity and cohesion across all levels of product development. The Chain of Goals will help you Connecting Vision to Execution I follow a structured approach that connects the product vision to actionable sprint objectives. Picture these goals as links in a chain. ⛓️ ⛓️ 1. Product Vision: Defines the ultimate purpose and long-term aspirations of the product. ⛓️ 2. User and Business Goals: Align customer needs with business outcomes. ⛓️ 3. Product Goals: Translate broader objectives into tangible deliverables. ⛓️ 4. Sprint Goals: Break down product goals into actionable steps for each sprint. This hierarchy ensures that every sprint goal is a deliberate step towards achieving product goals , which advance user and business goals while reinforcing the overarching vision. 💁♂️ Why This Matters This cascading approach includes a feedback mechanism; unmet sprint goals may necessitate adjustments in product goals, influencing user or business goals and sometimes prompting a reassessment of the product vision. Regular reviews through Key Takeaway 🗝️ Setting the right goals is a dynamic process. It involves continuously synchronizing your vision, strategy, and execution to navigate challenges effectively. I’d love to hear how you approach goal-setting in your teams! Share your thoughts below! #sprint #retrospective #product #pdlc

Building the right product takes a lot. . . . . . . 1. Putting efforts into thinking about what to do, when to do and how to do it. 2. Being creative to make it usable. 3. Making it scalable for the future to avoid effort in future. 4. Cutting down creativity to get it out on time. 5. Finding the right people to get your vision executed. 6. Clearing hurdles for your team along the way. 7. Keeping yourself sane while telling stakeholders what you did and why you did it. People say if you do it in a structured manner, you'll do it in a better way. I don't buy it. Every person and feature has its journey based on constraints, conditions etc. You have to figure out your way! #product #productmanagement #business

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥? Every great product begins with a vision. The challenge—and opportunity—lies in transforming that vision into a reality that not only meets market needs but also resonates deeply with consumers. Here’s how you can master this: 1. Vision Clarity: Start with defining what your product does and why it matters. A clear vision sets the direction and energizes the entire team. 2. Engage Stakeholders: Early involvement of stakeholders ensures alignment with both business goals and user expectations, crucial for strategic direction. 3. In-depth Research: Leverage both market and user research to validate assumptions and refine your product concept based on solid data. 4. Iterative Prototyping: Employ rapid prototyping and iterative feedback to evolve your product. This agile approach ensures your final product truly meets user needs. 5. Strategic Roadmap: Translate insights into a practical roadmap, prioritizing features that offer the highest value and align with your resources and timelines. Why This Matters? Learning Product Discovery is about more than just launching products—it’s about launching the right products that make a lasting impact. If you equip your team with the right tools and knowledge, your visionary ideas can turn into successful realities. #ProductManagement #AgileDevelopment #ProductDiscovery #TechLeadership

Product Management! [The Most Expensive Feature?] Here’s a plot twist: The most expensive feature isn’t the one that costs the most to develop—it’s the one you build perfectly... but it's the wrong one! 😬 So, should we just build exactly what customers ask for? Sure, it’s tempting to say “Yes,” but hold on a sec. 🤔 Imagine this: The requirements are crystal clear. The tech side is all figured out. It’s delivered on time. But… it still fails. Why? Because "The loudest request may not always be the right one!" 🎤 What should we do instead? ✔️ Look beyond the surface request. ✔️ Reframe the problem: Is there a smarter way to solve it? ✔️ Think 360: what are we missing? Sometimes, what looks like a massive development project turns into a simple, elegant workflow change. 🤯 What’s your approach when evaluating feature requests? Got any tricks up your sleeve? 💬💡 #ProductManagement #FeatureDevelopment #TechTalk #Innovation #SmartSolutions #DevLife #ProductStrategy #CustomerFocus #WorkflowMagic #ProductGrowth #BusinessSavvy #AgileMethodology #LeanStartup #MVP #TechInnovation #CustomerExperience #ProductDesign #StartupLife #ProblemSolving #Productivity #FeaturePrioritization #TechLeadership #ProductThinking

Building products is more than delivering features    It’s about delivering impact.     Our job isn’t just about shipping the next update;     It’s about understanding the deeper why behind each line of code, every user story, and each decision.    In today's world, staying focused on the big picture—how our product changes lives or transforms industries—sets us apart.    I’m here to share insights on aligning vision with execution, so we don’t just build products, we create value that lasts.    Let’s shift the focus from “what’s next” to “why it matters.”    Who’s with me?      #ProductManagement #BigPictureThinking #TechLeadership #ValueDriven   

RICE, MoSCoW, HEART... There are countless product prioritization frameworks out there. But let's be honest, they are all flawed: - they don't fit your unique context - they require a lot of effort to implement - they only work for specific prioritization tasks What if there was a prioritization framework that avoided these pitfalls while keeping all the good practices? Introducing 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 🔻 The Funnel is an efficient way to filter all your product ideas and initiatives, allowing you to focus on what really matters and discard the rest. Simplicity is key—choosing from 10 options is far easier than from 100. The funnel filters in action: 🔍 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻/𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆: Ditch what doesn't align. 🎯 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀: Skip what's not driving your objectives. ⛓️ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀: Cut out what's beyond your resources. 📊 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮: Follow the numbers that promise success. Leverage the Product Prioritization Funnel to turn prioritizing from a tedious task into a straightforward path to Product Success. Filter. Focus. Build. 🌟

In product development, the decision to move forward or not can determine a project's success. Check out Agile Testing Fellowship blog, to dive into this critical decision-making scenario, uncovering who holds the authority and why it matters. 💚