Escaping the Build Trap

Chapter 15. The Product Kata

As discussed earlier, and as seen in Figure 15-1, The Product Kata is the process by which we uncover the right solutions to build. It’s a systematic way that teaches product managers to approach building products from a problem-solving standpoint. The Product Kata helps product people form incredibly impactful habits. Doing it over and over again, exactly like a martial arts kata, ingrains the process in your brain. After practicing for a while, this pattern of thought becomes second nature.

Figure 15-1. The Product Kata, by Melissa Perri

We go through these steps to uncover the product initiatives and the options.

The first task is to get to the product initiative. To do this, you need to understand the strategic intent, evaluate the current state of that strategic intent in relation to where your products can help, and determine what problems you can solve to further that strategic intent. This is what Marquetly did during its research and analysis to arrive at the product initiatives of increasing content and building out a more robust assessment.

There can be many options that help reach the product initiative, as we saw with the three we had to produce more content at Marquetly. One or all of these might be what it takes to get us to the successful outcome of the initiative, and that’s okay. To determine whether we are getting closer to achieving ...