Two Quick Exercises for Creating a Winning Product Strategy

 

The best place to begin is the beginning, right? Not always…

Before you begin to define the features and details of your product, imagine what users would say about the final version. What do you want them to say? How can you develop the product to create that feeling? The clearer your idea of the destination, the easier it is to get there.

This method avoids the all-too-common fault in product design: getting lost in the details without validating the overall strategy.

Don’t know where to start imagining the end? Try these two exercises the next time you’re creating your product strategy:

Write a tweet from the perspective of future user. Our advisor Hiten Shah (co-founder of KISSMetrics) first suggested this exercise to us back in 2013 when UXPin’s digital app was still in its infancy. In this exercise, you’re trying to capture the core essence of the product. What will users like or dislike about the product? How enthusiastic are they, and what can you modify to increase their enthusiasm? This activity forces you to focus on the single differentiator that define every memorable product. 


Write a fake press release. This is what PMs at Amazon do, according to their former Director of Product Ian McAllister. Conceive the ideal product in your head and write an announcement to prospective users about it, listing out the problems it solves, a summary of how it works, a catchy title, instructions on the first steps, and even a call-to-action. You can even write pretend testimonials about what you want customers to say.

For more advice on product design and the design process in general, check out the new 109-page e-book The Essential Elements of Successful UX Design. Best practices are explained based on analyzing 24 examples from companies like Slack, Apple, and others.

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