INSPIRED, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 8Key Concepts

In this book, I refer to a set of concepts that form the foundation of modern product work. I'd like to briefly explain them here.

Holistic Product

I have already been using the term product pretty loosely. I did say I'm only talking about technology‐powered products. But, more generally, when I refer to product I mean a very holistic definition of product.

This certainly includes the functionality—the features.

But it also includes the technology that enables this functionality.

It also includes the user experience design that presents this functionality.

And it includes how we monetize this functionality.

It includes how we attract and acquire users and customers.

And it can also include offline experiences as well that are essential to delivering the product's value.

If, for example, your product is an e‐commerce site, then this would include the merchandise‐fulfillment experience and the merchandise‐return experience. In general, for e‐commerce businesses, product includes everything except the actual merchandise being sold.

Similarly, for a media company, we refer to the product as everything except the content.

The point is to have a very inclusive and holistic definition of product. You are not just concerned with implementing features.

Continuous Discovery and Delivery

I explained previously that most companies still have a process that is essentially waterfall at its core, and I told you that what we do in a modern team is very different.