Product Strategy Template

Every PM has stared at a blank screen with the intent to write a product strategy. After going through this one too many times, I formalized a template to give myself a head start. I won’t claim it’s especially novel, but here’s the template I use for any strategy, ranging from a specific product concept to a multiyear vision:

Tl;dr

Summary of everything

• Consider simply mapping to the doc structure:

  • Context:

  • Problem:

  • Opportunity:

  • Strategy:

  • Risks:

Context

Objective: Share the background information the reader needs to know that will motivate your strategy.

• What is the current state of the world?

• Is there a backstory to why you began investigating this area? Is it new or an extension on something?

• Is there a specific business insight or problem that motivated this? [This is related to the problem, but can be more generic and higher level. For example, you could say, “Here’s some data that shows this is an opportunity” but use the Problem section to address the “why” behind the data.]

Problem

Objective: Frame the user problems that you want to solve

• What data suggest there is an opportunity? What isn’t working well for users?

• Really focus on the why. For example, if the problem is, “This thing is complicated for users,” explain what makes it complicated.

• Surface lots of data and research nuggets

• Frame this narratively — tell a story!

Opportunity

Objective: Illuminate what success looks like and why that success is meaningful

Vision

• One-liner on what success looks like, framed aspirationaly

Jobs to be done

• Specific user jobs. Why will users hire your product?

Value for the Business

• Why does this matter for the business? How does solving this problem make a dent in our company mission or business objectives?

Measuring Success

• What metrics will you use to evaluate success?

• Consider using a table that includes: Metric Name, Priority (Goal / Tracking / Counter), Metric Definition, Rationale (why this metric maps to your goal).

Strategy

Objective: Explain what you are actually going to do to achieve your goals

Approach

• What are the key hypotheses you have, and why do you have them?

• Share the specific workstreams and tactics. It should be clear to the reader what you actually want to build, and even more important, why this is the right thing.

Risks

Objective: Answer what could get in your way to impede success, and include the mitigations you’re recommending.