Without a Compelling Product Vision, Teams Become Feature Factories

Lacking clear direction, teams will act like dogs chasing their tails.

For many years I struggled with prioritization. Several business people wanted their wishes to come true. Many used their power of influence to get a slice of the cake. Unfortunately, this story often ends the same ugly way. It’s an endless dogfight based on opinions that lead nowhere but to disaster.

All the companies I joined had a different approach to prioritization. Yet, the results were very alike. We built dozens of useless features. We continuously missed our goals. But why did it happen?

Without a clear direction, teams are like dogs chasing their tails.

One sentence can dramatically change this dreadful scenario. However, many teams ignore it. They fall into the build trap pitfall. It’s a deadly loop: prioritize, build, and ship. But don’t panic. A Compelling Product Vision can put us on a successful path. We have a way out of this nightmare.

Why Do Teams Ignore The Product Vision?

It’s easier to say yes than no. Without conflicts, we cannot define a crystal clear direction. People have different opinions and perspectives. To focus on what matters the most, we have to be ready to face criticism.

It’s impossible to please everyone. But many companies prefer to avoid conflict. Instead of crafting a Product Vision and saying “No” to ideas that don’t align, most keep trying to please everyone. This scenario is an easy path to failure. Don’t take it.

“If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader, sell ice cream” — Steve Jobs

The Scrum framework doesn’t have any direct mention of the Product Vision. But it mentions that the increment is a step toward the Product Goal. Yet, it doesn’t give details of how you should make that possible.

The Importance of Product Management

The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value. That’s how the Scrum Guide defines this accountability. But how this happens will vary widely. In other words, have fun, my friend. You’re on your own.

The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. How this is done may vary widely across organizations, Scrum Teams, and individuals.

— The Scrum Guide, Nov 2020

I love working with Scrum. It’s a simple and powerful framework. Teams become more collaborative, and the work becomes smoother. But Scrum mainly focuses on the team and the execution. It is impossible to be successful with Scrum alone. A Product Owner cannot succeed without a vast knowledge of Product Management.

When I had my first contact with Scrum, I didn’t believe teams could thrive only by doing Scrum. I think I was right. Scrum alone isn’t enough to build successful products. We need to connect to more disciplines. Scrum helps us organize our work so that we can focus on what is essential.

However, Scrum puts much pressure on the Product Owner. This person is responsible for setting a direction for the Development Team to maximize the value. Thus, knowledge and experience in the field of Product Management are vital. With that, the Product Owner will achieve good results.

Product Owner is a role you play on a Scrum team. Product Manager is the job.

If you take your Scrum team away, if you take Scrum away as a process for your organization, you are still a Product Manager. Product Management and Scrum work together well, but Product Management is not dependent on Scrum. It can and should exist with any framework or process.

— Melissa Perri, Product Manager vs Product Owner

From my experience, many Product Owners need more Product Management expertise to set a Product Vision. In this case, I included myself. I often needed help crafting a Product Vision, which led teams to build useless features. After failing, I learned. Now, I can only see myself working with a Product Vision.

The Absence of Product Vision Transforms Teams in Feature Factories

In 2017 I was part of an e-commerce company. One specific event always annoyed me — the quarterly roadmap planning. I felt like we were running in circles. Everything was about opinions and wishes. Something was missing. We forgot to align with a long-term vision, which we didn’t have.

We prioritized improving the product detail page, search, and referral program during our roadmap discussions. They have no connection to each other. Worse than that, we defined the roadmap based on the best guesses of the executives. We focused on the output instead of the outcome.

The referral program was successful. We brought a new acquisition channel cheaper than the others. But, the other features delivered at the end of the quarter brought no impact at all. We could have used the time better. We could have solved a real problem instead of shipping features.

Until we have a compelling Product Vision, everything can become relevant. Yet, disaster is inevitably on the way.

The Power of a Compelling Product Vision

An excellent Product Vision allows teams to focus on what matters the most. The teams know why they are building the product. The team can say no to everything, which will not help them to get closer to the vision. Discussions shift from wishes to how to reach the vision.

So what is a Product Vision? It’s a simple sentence capable of fostering collaboration and guaranteeing focus. My favorite definition is:

The product vision communicates why you are building something and what the value proposition is for the customer. This simple statement describes the problem the user is trying to solve and the capabilities it enables them to solve.

— Melissa Perri, Escaping the Build Trap: : How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value

Crafting a Product Vision will take some time because it requires intensively collaborating with the customers, team, and stakeholders. This simple sentence is vital to building something meaningful. Thus, we need to craft it mindfully. A Compelling Product Vision has the following characteristics:

• Directive: it sets a precise destination where the team should land. Every team member knows what problem the product should solve.
• Clarity: the team knows for whom they are building the product. They have a clear picture of the target audience. The team members can feel the customers’ pains.
• Challenging: it brings a significant challenge to the team, which they are motivated to overcome. Every team member knows the problem the product solves, so the team strives daily to make it a little better.
• Accelerate Decisions: it allows the team to say no to distractions. They can challenge requests by asking, “How would this feature put us closer to achieving our vision?”

Product Owners can craft the Product Vision in many different ways. I think the format itself doesn’t matter. However, it is crucial to have the characteristics I mentioned. Such characteristics allow the team to benefit as expected from the Product Vision.

If you are curious to get some options on how to craft the Product Vision, I have some suggested reading for you:

• 8 Tips for Creating a Compelling Product Vision
• 10 Tips for Product Owners on the Product Vision
• A Surprisingly Simple Technique for a Rockstar Product Vision

Final Thoughts

For years I’ve searched for techniques on how to prioritize better and how to handle multiple stakeholders. I concluded that methods may be helpful but won’t address the root cause. Yet, a Product Vision will address the right problem: alignment.

Without a clear vision to achieve, everything can be discussed. As Product Owners, we end up frustrated because we have pressure from everywhere to build everything. If we don’t know where we want to go, every road will take us there.