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The Secret to Shipping Features That Drive Business Results
As a senior product manager or product lead, you know that shipping features is not the hard part – it’s shipping the right features that drive business impact. Failing to do so can lead to wasted resources, a bloated product, and a confusing sales pitch. So, how do you identify the opportunities worth pursuing?
From Company Goals to Solution Ideas
To drive business results, you need to start with a clear understanding of your company and product goals. These goals should come from the leadership team, as they have a high-level view of the business. Once you have these goals, break them down into business goals, and then into metrics that have the biggest impact on those goals. This is where the magic happens – where you combine business outcomes with customer opportunities.
Identifying Business Impact Metrics
To identify the most important business impact metrics, you need to review and decide which product outcomes are driving revenue. This involves a backward-looking review of past performance and a forward-looking decision on which product outcomes to focus on in the future. Assigning specific teams to different product outcomes can also help ensure internal alignment and resource allocation.
Linking Business Metrics to Customer Opportunities
Once you have identified your business impact metrics, it’s time to link them to customer opportunities. This is where you merge the Hierarchy of Metrics logic with an Opportunity Solution Tree. Start by mapping out your opportunities based on gut feeling or knowledge of your product. Then, drill deeper by asking “why” over and over to identify the root causes of customer pain points.
Potential Solutions and Experimentation
With your customer opportunities identified, it’s time to brainstorm potential solutions. Think of these solutions as hypotheses to be tested, and describe each one in 1-3 sentences. Use an impact/risk matrix to prioritize your solutions and identify the most promising ones. Then, design a minimum viable test to validate your solution ideas.
Ex-Post Analysis: Did It Work?
After rolling out your solution, it’s essential to check whether it drove the expected business impact. This involves analyzing product analytics data to see if users are adopting the feature and coming back to it regularly. You should also investigate why users are or aren’t adopting the feature, using methods like customer interviews and usability tests.
By following this structured approach, you can ensure that your product decisions drive business results and align with customer needs. Remember, shipping features is easy – shipping the right features that drive business impact is the hard part.