Product Roadmaps Relaunched

Chapter 4. Establishing the Why with Product Vision and Strategy

What you’ll learn in this chapter

The difference between mission, vision, and values

How to create and communicate your product vision

How to develop a product strategy for achieving your vision

The importance of defining metrics for success

A product vision should be about having an impact on the lives of the people your product serves, as well as on your organization.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the various concepts and terminology surrounding product development, and even more when you start to consider the terminology involved with strategy.

There are mission statements, company visions, values, goals, strategy, problem statements, purpose statements, and success criteria. Further, there are acronyms like KPI and OKR, which also seem potentially useful in guiding your efforts. How do you know which ideas apply to your situation, and where to start?

Whether your organization is mission-, vision-, or values-driven (or a combination thereof), these are all considered guiding principles to draw from and offer your team direction. For the purposes of this book, we’ll establish definitions for mission, vision, and values, so we have a common language. Bear with us if you have different definitions of them yourself.

Mission Defines Your Intent

A mission is not what you value, nor is it a vision for the future; it’s the intent you hold right now and the purpose driving you to realize your vision. A well-written mission statement ...