Product Focus Shift: From Features to Real Impact

Shifting Focus: From Outputs to Outcomes in Product Management

In the product world, the concept of focusing on outcomes rather than outputs has become increasingly popular. While there’s no shortage of theory on this subject, many teams and organizations struggle to put it into practice. The main obstacles to making this shift are often rooted in mindset and trust.

To successfully focus on outcomes, product teams need to adapt their mindset to prioritize outcomes, convince others to buy into this approach, and consistently deliver on these outcomes over time. In this article, we’ll explore how to cultivate an outcome-first mindset and provide techniques to keep outcomes at the forefront of product development.

What is an Outcome in Product Management?

An outcome is the measurable, tangible impact that a product change has on a metric. It’s not about the feature itself, but rather the effect it has. Outcomes are often seen at the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) level, where the objective and key results represent the desired impacts.

Why Do Teams Struggle to Focus on Outcomes?

Despite the widespread adoption of OKRs, many teams still find it challenging to focus on outcomes. This is because we tend to:

1. Think about features and ideas before fully understanding the problem or opportunity we’re trying to solve.
2. Skip straight to ideas after gaining some insight into the problem.
3. Want to include concrete ideas in a roadmap.

These habits highlight two main issues: it’s often easier to focus on ideas and solutions than outcomes, and organizations seek a false sense of security through a clear, feature-based plan.

The Importance of Focusing on Outcomes

When we focus on outputs, the generated ideas might not solve the problem or opportunity. We’re less likely to solve the biggest problem or opportunity, and therefore not delivering maximum value. By focusing on outcomes, we can:

1. Choose the most valuable problems and opportunities to solve.
2. Identify the reasons why these exist and how to solve them in the best way.
3. Work on ideas that will have a real impact on our objectives.

5 Techniques to Help You Focus on Outcomes

To remain focused on outcomes, try these techniques:

1. Use OKRs at scale: This helps your entire organization move in the same direction and focus on outcomes.
2. Create an opportunity solution tree: This tool helps you focus on the outcome you’re trying to achieve, identify opportunities, and prioritize solutions.
3. Incorporate “how might we” statements: Reframe your thinking to focus on the problem itself and how to solve it, rather than jumping straight to solutions.
4. Use the value proposition canvas: Think about customer needs and pain points first, and then consider how to deliver products and features that support these.
5. Deploy the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework: This framework helps you think more broadly about what the customer wants to achieve and generate new solutions to achieve it.

Gaining Business Buy-in and Shifting the Conversation

To get the whole business on board with an outcome-focused approach, you need to shift the conversation away from outputs and focus on outcomes. When stakeholders come to you with ideas, ask about their hypothesis, the problem they think it’ll solve, and the desired outcome. This helps you tackle the outcome by focusing on insight first, which should still provide the result the stakeholder wants to see.

3 Roadmap Formats to Communicate Outcomes and Gain Business Buy-in

Different roadmap techniques can help shape conversations around outcomes while providing certainty and a plan. Three formats to achieve this are:

1. The Tactic, Hypotheses, and Opportunity roadmap: Use this format if you have clarity on tactics and hypotheses.
2. The outcome-focused Now, Next, Later roadmap: This format is ideal when tactics, hypotheses, and opportunities are less clear.
3. The “If X, then Y” roadmap: This format demonstrates your testing plan and can be helpful in organizations that need more detail.

By using these techniques and communication methods, you can change mindsets, steer the conversation, and focus on outcomes. This will build trust that you can succeed in this space and drive value for the business.