Focus on Product Sustainability
We apply rigour and discipline to assess the contextual factors that are most likely to impact the long-term sustainability of our products. We then look at the responsibilities of organisational leaders and product managers in supporting the sustainability of their products.
In a Nutshell
We apply rigour and discipline to support the long-term viability and relevance of our products. In particular, we work to ensure:
the product portfolio aligns to the organisation’s goals
individual products align to the portfolio
people are aware of any strategic themes that exist between products
the organisation’s technological development keeps pace with customer and user demand
funding is available and aligned to the product’s roadmap
organisational structure does not impede product development
We engage with our leaders to ensure there is individual and collective accountability for each of the above. We then work with leaders at all levels to ensure that our ways of working support product and portfolio development. For example, does prioritisation and decision making fix an immediate issue but sacrifice the longer term sustainability of the product?
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Practices
An alternative to assessing the health of the team is to assess the health of the product they are working on. Product Health focuses on the whole product life-cycle; it covers both rate of development and quality of service. Product Health assessment recognises that the health of many teams is largely determined by the context in which they work. In a scaled environment, multiple teams can participate in the assessment of the same product.
The Product Roadmap provides a simple view of how the product will grow towards its vision. As a forward looking view, the roadmap does not set fixed priorities or deadlines. Rather it is a fluid view that evolves as our understanding of customers’ needs evolves. Roadmaps are influenced by concerns in addition to the customers’ needs. These may include our capability and capacity to deliver change and the business, financial and legal context in which our product operates.
The Product Strategy provides the route map to achieve the current vision. It describes how different aspects of the product will evolve to realise the vision. Aspects described in the strategy include features, qualities and technologies. Specific products may need additional aspects to be described within the overall product strategy.
The product vision gives us the point on the horizon that everyone involved in the product is aiming for. The vision is a shared point of view created by the organisation through an understanding of what its customers are demanding. The vision focuses on the why of the product. This is the organisation’s unique view of the services that will be provided that makes it compelling for customers to use.