defining-product-vision

What this skill does

# Defining Product Vision

## Scope

**Covers**
- Defining or refreshing a product vision (5–10 year future state)
- Writing a vision statement + short vision narrative (concrete, not a tagline)
- Translating vision into pillars and strategic choices (what we will/won’t do)
- Packaging a “Product Vision Pack” leaders and teams can use as a decision tie-breaker

**When to use**
- “We need a real product vision (not a slogan).”
- “Leadership isn’t aligned on where the product is going.”
- “Write a vision statement + one-pager for the next 5–10 years.”
- “Bridge our mission to strategy and planning.”
- “We have a big technology vision—what’s the user-friendly product form factor?”

**When NOT to use**
- You only need a marketing tagline or positioning copy (do marketing/copywriting instead).
- You need a detailed product strategy doc, roadmap, or OKRs *after* vision is already aligned (use those downstream skills).
- You don’t have even a rough target customer/problem hypothesis (do discovery/research first).
- You’re choosing metrics/measurement before agreeing on the future state (do vision first, then North Star metrics).

## Inputs

**Minimum required**
- Product (what it is today) + target customer segment(s)
- The potent user problem / job-to-be-done the vision is grounded in
- Time horizon (default: 5–10 years)
- Mission / higher-level purpose (or executive intent)
- Constraints (what must remain true: trust, safety, margin, compliance, etc.)
- Stakeholders who must align (roles/names)

**Missing-info strategy**
- Ask up to 5 questions from [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md).
- If answers aren’t available, proceed with clearly labeled assumptions and provide 2–3 vision options.

## Outputs (deliverables)

Produce a **Product Vision Pack** in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if requested):

1) **Context snapshot** (bullets)
2) **Problem anchor** (target customer + potent user problem)
3) **Vision statement** (1 sentence)
4) **Vision narrative** (concrete 5–10 year future state; tech-agnostic; aspirational but attainable)
5) **Vision pillars** (3–5) + optional experience principles
6) **Strategy bridge** (3–5 explicit choices + non-goals + “near-term wedge/form factor”)
7) **Rollout & alignment plan** (workshop + comms + cadence)
8) **Risks / Open questions / Next steps** (always included)

Templates: [references/TEMPLATES.md](references/TEMPLATES.md)

## Workflow (8 steps)

### 1) Intake + constraints
- **Inputs:** User context; use [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md).
- **Actions:** Confirm product, target customer, horizon, mission, constraints, stakeholders, and why-now.
- **Outputs:** 8–12 bullet **Context snapshot**.
- **Checks:** You can restate “who we serve + what problem we solve” in 1–2 sentences.

### 2) Define the problem anchor (potent user problem)
- **Inputs:** Context snapshot.
- **Actions:** Write the target customer + problem as a crisp, user-centered statement; identify what “success” means for them.
- **Outputs:** **Problem anchor** section (template in [references/TEMPLATES.md](references/TEMPLATES.md)).
- **Checks:** Problem is specific, important, and not framed as “our feature idea”.

### 3) Draft 2–3 future states (vision options)
- **Inputs:** Problem anchor + horizon.
- **Actions:** Generate 2–3 distinct future-state options that are:
  - Lofty **and** realistic
  - Tech-agnostic (not limited by today’s implementation)
  - Grounded in the user problem
- **Outputs:** 2–3 **Vision options** (short narratives).
- **Checks:** Each option passes the 4-point vision test in [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md).

### 4) Write the vision statement + narrative (not a tagline)
- **Inputs:** Chosen vision option.
- **Actions:** Draft a 1-sentence vision statement and a short narrative (5–10 year future). Run the “what does that mean?” elaboration test.
- **Outputs:** **Vision statement** + **Vision narrative**.
- **Checks:** A stakeholder can ask “what does that mean?” and you can answer concretely (future customers, value difference, what’s changed).

### 5) Define pillars + principles (make it decision-useful)
- **Inputs:** Vision narrative.
- **Actions:** Create 3–5 pillars that imply product choices; add experience principles that help users act on the core value.
- **Outputs:** **Vision pillars** (+ optional experience principles).
- **Checks:** Each pillar can be translated into “we will invest in X / say no to Y”.

### 6) Build the strategy bridge (choices + non-goals + wedge)
- **Inputs:** Vision pillars + constraints.
- **Actions:** Translate the vision into 3–5 strategic choices and explicit non-goals. Propose a near-term wedge/form factor that delivers immediate utility while progressing the long-term vision.
- **Outputs:** **Strategy bridge** section.
- **Checks:** Strategy forces choice (scarce resources); includes at least 3 non-goals; names a plausible wedge.

### 7) Align stakeholders + iterate
- **Inputs:** Draft pack.
- **Actions:** Create a lightweight review plan (who, how, cadence). Anticipate objections and add an FAQ if needed.
- **Outputs:** **Rollout & alignment plan**.
- **Checks:** Key stakeholders can paraphrase the vision and disagree on specifics (not on meanings).

### 8) Quality gate + finalize pack
- **Inputs:** All drafts.
- **Actions:** Run [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md) and score with [references/RUBRIC.md](references/RUBRIC.md). Add **Risks / Open questions / Next steps**.
- **Outputs:** Final **Product Vision Pack**.
- **Checks:** Pack is shareable as-is; choices, non-goals, and caveats are explicit.

## Quality gate (required)
- Use [references/CHECKLISTS.md](references/CHECKLISTS.md) and [references/RUBRIC.md](references/RUBRIC.md).
- Always include: **Risks**, **Open questions**, **Next steps**.

## Examples

**Example 1 (B2B SaaS):** “Define a product vision for a workflow automation platform for IT teams.”  
Expected: a Product Vision Pack with a concrete future state, pillars, and a strategy bridge (choices + non-goals + wedge).

**Example 2 (Consumer):** “Refresh product vision for a personal finance app expanding into a full ‘financial operating system’.”  
Expected: a vision that is lofty but attainable, tech-agnostic, grounded in a potent user problem, and packaged in a familiar form factor.

**Boundary example:** “Write a tagline for our website.”  
Response: clarify this skill produces product vision artifacts (not marketing copy). Offer to first produce a vision pack, then hand off a distilled tagline/positioning to a marketing/copy skill.