Working in Product - Building a Pipeline: Product Development in Practice 5.27

Summary

Theo Lista explores the balance between being a 'feature factory' and a strategic product development in this insightful presentation. He discusses the importance of aligning product features with a company's vision, using the 2019 iPad Photoshop launch as a cautionary tale. The talk delves into creating a robust product pipeline, emphasizing the need for strategic filtering of ideas, economic viability checks, and iterative validation with customers. Lista also touches on the challenges of product discovery, the unpredictability of the process, and the importance of opportunity assessment to avoid feature factories and ensure meaningful product development.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between a product pipeline and a roadmap, highlighting the potential pitfalls of being a 'feature factory' without a clear underlying vision or strategy.
• 🔍 The transcript discusses the balance needed between producing features and maintaining a strategic vision, using the example of Adobe's 2019 iPad version of Photoshop, which was criticized for missing critical features.
• 🛠️ The speaker introduces the concept of a product pipeline, which is a process that filters ideas from inception to concrete features, aligning with the company's vision and strategy.
• 📈 The sales pipeline is used as a metaphor to describe the product pipeline, illustrating how ideas are filtered and curated to ensure they meet strategic and economic criteria before development.
• 🚫 The necessity for product teams to learn to say 'no' is highlighted, as not all ideas will align with the company's strategic vision, and this is a crucial part of the filtering process.
• 🔄 The transcript touches on the iterative nature of product development, with regular reviews of the strategy and pipeline to ensure alignment with current business objectives.
• 🔮 The importance of opportunity assessment is mentioned, suggesting the use of frameworks like the 'opportunity canvas' to evaluate the potential of ideas before committing resources to them.
• 👥 The speaker discusses the role of multidisciplinary teams in the product development process, including product councils and committees, to ensure a diverse set of inputs and validation.
• 🔧 The transcript acknowledges the challenges of the product discovery process, which can be unpredictable and require flexibility and creativity from product managers.
• 💊 An analogy is made to the pharmaceutical industry, which also deals with a high degree of uncertainty in the discovery phase, to illustrate the inherent challenges in product development.
• 📝 The final takeaway is a reminder of the need to focus on solving real problems and providing value, rather than simply executing on predefined solutions or features.

Q & A

What is the primary difference between a product pipeline and a product roadmap?

A product pipeline refers to the process of how ideas progress from concept to concrete features, including multiple layers of filtering and alignment with company strategy. A product roadmap, on the other hand, is a higher-level view of the direction the product is heading, linking the pipeline to the overall strategy and vision of the company.

Why are companies sometimes referred to as 'feature factories'?

Companies are called 'feature factories' when they are solely focused on producing features without a clear underlying vision or strategy. This can result in a spreadsheet of features with due dates, but may lack coherence and direction in terms of what the company is trying to accomplish.

What was the outcome of Adobe's launch of the iPad version of Photoshop in 2019?

The 2019 launch of the iPad version of Photoshop was not well-received because it was considered a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with critical features missing, such as filters, pen tools, vector drawings, and color spacing. This led to negative criticism and was a humbling lesson for Adobe's Chief Product Officer about the importance of not just shipping an MVP but ensuring it meets user expectations.

What is the importance of balancing vision and feature production in a company?

Balancing vision and feature production is crucial because while companies need to produce features to meet market demands, they must also ensure that these features align with the company's overarching vision and strategy. This prevents companies from becoming mere feature factories and ensures that product development is purposeful and directed.

How does the sales pipeline model relate to the product pipeline?

The sales pipeline model, which involves sourcing leads, qualifying them, and eventually closing sales, can be seen as a parallel to the product pipeline. In the product pipeline, ideas are sourced from various inputs, filtered through strategic and economic considerations, and eventually developed into features that align with the company's vision.

What is the role of a strategic filter in the product pipeline?

The strategic filter in the product pipeline ensures that the ideas being considered are in line with the company's strategic direction. It helps to focus on ideas that are likely to contribute to the company's goals and to discard or defer those that do not align with the current strategy.

Why is it necessary for product teams to learn to say no?

Product teams need to learn to say no to ideas that, despite being excellent, do not meet the strategic vision of the company. This is important to maintain focus on projects that will contribute to the company's goals and to avoid diluting resources on initiatives that may not be strategically valuable.

What is the significance of the selection points in the product pipeline?

Selection points in the product pipeline are crucial for determining the viability and business sense of potential features or products. They involve assessing whether an idea will be economically feasible and if it makes sense in the context of the company's direction.

How does the product pipeline link to the product roadmap?

The product pipeline feeds into the product roadmap by providing a stream of ideas and features that have been filtered and refined according to the company's strategic vision. The roadmap then outlines the short-term and long-term direction of the product, showing how the ideas from the pipeline will be developed and released.

What is the purpose of regularly reviewing the company's strategy in relation to the product pipeline?

Regularly reviewing the company's strategy helps to ensure that the product pipeline remains relevant and aligned with the current goals and vision of the company. It allows for adjustments to be made to the pipeline and roadmap to reflect changes in the market, technology, or business objectives.

How does the process of product discovery differ from the idea of a predictable, step-by-step process?

Product discovery is often more complex and less predictable than a step-by-step process. It involves multiple stages of customer interaction, prototyping, and validation, which can be subject to change based on feedback and evolving understanding of the problem. It requires flexibility and adaptability, rather than a rigid, predictable approach.

What is an 'opportunity canvas' and how is it used in product management?

An opportunity canvas is a tool used to quickly assess and map out the potential of various product opportunities. It helps to determine which ideas are promising and which are not by asking key questions about the problem being solved, the value proposition, and other factors that contribute to the viability and attractiveness of an opportunity.

Why is it important for product managers to understand the problem they are solving before jumping to solutions?

Understanding the problem is crucial because it provides the foundation for developing a solution that truly addresses the needs of the users or market. By focusing on the problem first, product managers can avoid developing solutions that may not be necessary or effective, and instead create products that deliver real value.