Product Vision - some thoughts!
Product Vision is very critical to the success of any product. The Product Vision will be the guiding force for the product and enables decision making at all levels.
The Product Vision provides the direction for the product. It is the destiny of the product. The End goal of a product.
It answers the questions of
- Why are we doing it?
- Who are we building it for?
- What are we building?
- When are we looking to deliver?
- What does it solve? - Need for the Product
The vision is usually written down after confirmation from market research - from talking to customers and working with all stakeholders.
We do not achieve the product vision overnight - There is a wait. There could be many challenges in reaching the vision of the product but staying the course is worth it if the vision is solid enough. The success of any agile project is reaching the destination defined in the Vision statement in the most efficient manner. The Product vision will help the team to stay focused on the end destination and not deviate into different routes. The Product Vision should drive any project. There are instances where the project teams that I have worked with struggled and wrestled in the course of the project but the vision kept reminding the team of the final destination and kept the team moving towards the vision. It’s definitely not an easy ride to manage all feature "Nice to haves" and "Must Haves" , budget and time to market but the vision drives the delivery! The key is delivering the vision in the time planned!
The product vision is especially critical in an agile environment as decision making is fluid and scope is changed over the course of the projects to fit changing environments and new discoveries. The Vision drives every day decision making and makes every day challenges more meaningful. All the sprint goals should add up to the vision and take the team towards the vision. When there is no vision, the goals are meaningless and the planning can take many a detours. The Product Vision leads the creation of the Product Roadmap which drives the release plan that drives the Sprint plan and which should drive the daily tasks!
Projects without aligning to the product vision fails!
What do you think? Have you referred to the Product Vision statement? and how has it helped you?
All the sprint goals should add up to the vision and take the team towards the vision.
The vision itself ought to be subject to inspection and adaptation, even if the strategic planning horizon extends over months or years. Hence rather than all the Sprint Goals adding up to the vision, it would be better to think of the vision as being tested, informed, and shaped by the empirical evidence provided each Sprint.
Hi there,
I'm very new to Scrum and have been reading and taking some tests during the past few days.
I'd like to know: does the Scrum guide talk about Product Vision anywhere? I haven't found it. Is it "written down" before the project even starts? Or is it defined and adapted little by little during the various Sprints?
The Scrum Guide talks about the Product Owner:
- Ordering the items in the Product Backlog to best achieve goals and missions
In Scrum it is best to talk about measurable longer term goals rather than the visions which can lie behind them. This is because progress ought to be empirically evidenced, and with an understanding of how much work is thought to remain.
The vision itself ought to be subject to inspection and adaptation, even if the strategic planning horizon extends over months or years. Hence rather than all the Sprint Goals adding up to the vision, it would be better to think of the vision as being tested, informed, and shaped by the empirical evidence provided each Sprint.
So Ian, what you are saying is that vision is not fixed. It may change as more is discovered and learned about the product sprint by sprint.
However, could we say that the sum of sprint goals + the changes on the vision based on empirical evidence over time is a way of describing the achievement of the product? Couldn't it be used to track down how we did it, reflect on the steps taken towards it and the rationale employed in setting each sprint goal?
So Ian, what you are saying is that vision is not fixed. It may change as more is discovered and learned about the product sprint by sprint.
Correct
However, could we say that the sum of sprint goals + the changes on the vision based on empirical evidence over time is a way of describing the achievement of the product? Couldn't it be used to track down how we did it, reflect on the steps taken towards it and the rationale employed in setting each sprint goal?
If we can see how each Sprint shaped the vision, then that may be possible to some extent. However, the further back in time we look, the less relevant any associated information is likely to be, and the more difficult it will be to consider it in context.
However, the further back in time we look, the less relevant any associated information is likely to be, and the more difficult it will be to consider it in context.
Agreed. That is a consequence of the (ever)changing context in which the product lives. What was useful in the past might not be useful now, not even if the situation, product status or variables look similar. The dynamic nature of the problems, the market and other variables make it hard to learn by analizing our previous steps, at least from a pragmatical point of view.
My question now is, what can be learnt by looking back on our previous steps? Is it worth it, or on the contrary, would it be a total waste of time?
My question now is, what can be learnt by looking back on our previous steps? Is it worth it, or on the contrary, would it be a total waste of time?
It becomes increasingly a waste of time in so far as the data you look at becomes less current and relevant. The value of any useful lessons you could draw from that data diminishes. That data was enough to close a validated learning loop at the time, and to maintain empirical control. Then you get more current data and move on.
However, new and different kinds of information can emerge when you have a historical perspective on old data, and that can be useful. You might be able to identify patterns, for example. These may only become apparent over a broad sweep of time, and they could potentially be useful in shaping the vision discussed earlier. For example they can help distinguish between occasional problems and those which are systemic.
Very helpful Ian, thanks.