We’ve created this deck to be workshop-ready.
A few notes:
HOW TO USE THIS DECK
The facilitator’s guide:
Product Vision �One-Day Workshop
A product vision is a transformation story
The most successful companies grow by identifying painful, costly problems for specific people at specific points along their journeys and then develop solutions that transform what these people accomplish.
We’ve found that individuals and teams often don’t craft product visions. Instead, what emerges is a hodge-podge of new product features and grandiose solutions. When others touch it, they add their own new ideas and interpretations. Dilution, deprioritization, and unclear purpose make it hard to gain traction.
Without a focused vision tied to a journey, teams either flounder or sometimes charge ahead in different directions expending resources with no impact.
Workshop Structure
“The Journey”
(Define the world of today)
A believable vision must be based on facts. Anything else is just fantasy.
“The Transformation”
(Describe the ideal future)
A compelling vision must paint a clear picture of the new future it’s creating.
“The Pitch”
(Prepare your inspiring story)
A sticky vision must be easy to understand, remember, and repeat�to others.
Part 1
How you’ll go from rough idea, to viral pitch, in one day.
Part 2
Part 3
How do I prepare to run a one-day product vision workshop?
Who should be invited?
THE VISIONARY
Whoever had the original idea for this product, or opportunity. Remember, your goal is to find a refined idea rooted in your customer’s journey that’s leveraged the perspectives of your team and everyone’s bought into. Keep that in mind during today’s session.
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS
The experts who know the industry and what the people along the journey do, feel, and think.
OPTIONAL: PRODUCT/PROJECT MANAGER
Whoever will have the task of leading the efforts of building the product moving forward.
OPTIONAL: VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
Someone who will be responsible for understanding our customer, and advocating for them moving forward.
THE FACILITATOR
The person facilitating the product vision one-day workshop. (Assuming this is you!)
THE DECIDER
The one who can make final decisions for the group when we reach an impasse.
Who should be invited?
THE VISIONARY
Whoever had the original idea for this product, or opportunity. Remember, your goal is to find a refined idea rooted in your customer’s journey that’s leveraged the perspectives of your team and everyone’s bought into. Keep that in mind during today’s session.
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS
The experts who know the industry and what the people along the journey do, feel, and think.
OPTIONAL: PRODUCT/PROJECT MANAGER
Whoever will have the task of leading the efforts of building the product moving forward.
OPTIONAL: VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
Someone who will be responsible for understanding our customer, and advocating for them moving forward.
THE FACILITATOR
The person facilitating the product vision one-day workshop. (Assuming this is you!)
THE DECIDER
The one who can make final decisions for the group when we reach an impasse.
Some of these can be the same people. �But be careful doubling up too much. It's incredibly risky for your decider to be the facilitator.
You should know…
Ideal group is 3-6 people. Too many and the day will be too long. Too few and then you may have to redo this exercise to get other individuals aligned.
You should know…
What materials �do I need?
In order to successfully run a one-day workshop, there are a few materials you’ll need ready for your team.
MATERIALS LIST
Two weeks prior �to your product �vision workshop
TO-DOS
TWO WEEKS PRIOR
Two days prior to your product vision workshop
TO-DOS
TWO DAYS PRIOR
Two days prior to your product vision workshop
TO-DOS
TWO DAYS PRIOR
Sending your 'what to expect' email helps make sure that everyone knows the etiquette of the workshop and how they should be contributing to that day. It also gives a few days for anyone who is unclear to ask questions ahead of time to avoid taking up too much time the day-of asking 'what are we doing here?"
You should know…
The day-of your product vision workshop
TO-DOS
DAY-OF
Welcome to our Product Vision Workshop!
Today we set an ambitious vision & realistic goals.
We are about to embark on an effort to define our product vision.
Today is focused on setting both �a vision for the overall product and achievable goals for this engagement so that we can answer the questions above.
WHAT IS A PRODUCT VISION?
A product vision is meant to excite and unite a team around a common focus. It is used to drive momentum on your product because everyone is working towards the same mission. When done well, it aligns the team and launches your product forward.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Without it, we’re susceptible to:
Today’s Agenda
Creating our user’s journey map
🥪 Lunch
Choose our target
Dream up our product future state
☕️ Break
Review our product pitch
9:00 - 12:00
12:00 - 1:00
1:00 - 2:00
2:00 - 3:40
3:40 - 4:00
4:00 - 4:30
Mindset Expectations
We ask that you:
Today we will be learning about the world as it exists today, and then finding our product opportunity within it. We’ll strive to excavate as much sentiment and information as possible before narrowing in on what exactly our product is and does.
We’ll start with
The big idea
The visionary will spend 5-10 minutes explaining the big idea behind the meeting today.
Together, fill in the blanks listed on the one-sheet to the right. Guesses are ok.
Ask clarifying questions until the team feels like they understand the potential opportunity.
GROUP EXERCISE #1
20 minutes
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3
WHAT IS THE BIG IDEA THAT BROUGHT �US ALL TOGETHER TODAY?
We are building something for ___________________ �in the ________________ industry.
They currently struggle with ____________________.
We think we can create a(n) ____________________________ that will allow them to _________________.
Our product/experience will be unlike anything they’ve seen before because it ________________.
INDUSTRY NAME
PROBLEM(S)/ISSUE(S)
EXPERIENCE, PROCESS, APP, ETC.
ACTION/OUTCOME
DIFFERENTIATOR
PERSON’S NAME/ROLE
We’ll start with
The big idea
The visionary will spend 5-10 minutes explaining the big idea behind the meeting today.
Together, fill in the blanks listed on the one-sheet to the right. Guesses are ok.
Ask clarifying questions until the team feels like they understand the potential opportunity.
GROUP EXERCISE #1
20 minutes
1
2
3
WHAT IS THE BIG IDEA THAT BROUGHT �US ALL TOGETHER TODAY?
We are building something for ___________________ �in the ________________ industry.
They currently struggle with ____________________.
We think we can create a(n) ____________________________ that will allow them to _________________.
Our product/experience will be unlike anything they’ve seen before because it ________________.
PERSON’S NAME/ROLE
INDUSTRY NAME
PROBLEM(S)/ISSUE(S)
EXPERIENCE, PROCESS, APP, ETC.
ACTION/OUTCOME
DIFFERENTIATOR
PERSON’S NAME/ROLE
Aim to get consensus around a 'good enough' idea. There will be an opportunity later to vet, refine, and debate elements of this statement. The goal is to UNDERSTAND the focus of today. When in doubt, let the visionary choose the final statements.
You should know…
The Journey
Journey Mapping = Visualization
The power of user journey mapping is found in the visualization. Physically mapping this journey allows us to easily…
The cast of characters
The goal
The journey
The hero
Our target
Pain points and opportunities
Walk with them step-by-step
Through your big idea exercise, you’ve already established a primary character. Start by writing their name on the far left of your map.
What is this person trying to accomplish and what is their first step in order to get there? Rely on your subject matter expert to provide direction.
The facilitator will write the goal and the steps on the whiteboard. Map the journey of this individual in no more than 15 or 20 steps.
User/Persona
Goal
Step 2
Step 3
User/Persona
User/Persona
Opening scene
(step1)
Step 4
Step 5…
GROUP EXERCISE #2
20 minutes
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2
Revisit the journey and go frame by frame.
Go back to the beginning of your map and review each step again. For each step, make sure the following things have been addressed and noted on the whiteboard:
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GROUP EXERCISE #3
25 minutes
Spot pain points and opportunities
Pain points & Opportunities
Identify the pain points our persona(s) face
Examine the journey map. Each person will take 5-10 minutes to identify the biggest obstacles along the journey.
On a red sticky note:
Write down as many obstacles as you can think of – but write only one obstacle per sticky note.
Obstacle:
Managers don’t have time to sit down and think of feedback to give someone when they ask me, “how am I doing?”
Obstacle
Employees are worried that if they provide someone with unprompted negative feedback, it’ll sour the relationship.
GROUP EXERCISE #4
10 minutes
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Pain Points & Opportunities
Identify the pain points our persona(s) face
Examine the journey map. Each person will take 5-10 minutes to identify the biggest obstacles along the journey.
On a red sticky note:
Write down as many obstacles as you can think of – but write only one obstacle per sticky note.
Obstacle:
Managers don’t have time to sit down and think of feedback to give someone when they ask me, “how am I doing?”
Obstacle
Employees are worried that if they provide someone with unprompted negative feedback, it’ll sour the relationship.
GROUP EXERCISE #4
10 minutes
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If the team doesn’t feel like they spent enough time jotting down pain points, give them a few more minutes to reflect on the map and write down the pain points that were most obvious to them. Skipping through this exercise will result in a weak focus area later.
You should know…
Pain Points & Opportunities
Identify opportunities to bring value to our personas
Let’s do this again for the next 5-10 minutes, but this time think of the biggest opportunities along the journey.
On a yellow sticky note:
Write down as many obstacles as you can think of – but write only one obstacle per sticky note.
Opportunity
We could keep feedback from getting lost in managers’ endless pile of to-dos?
GROUP EXERCISE #5
10 minutes
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Opportunity
We could remove all of the social awkwardness of asking for and providing feedback
Pain Points & Opportunities
Map your issues
The facilitator will ask the person to their �right to read their first answer aloud. They’ll then place that sticky note on the map where it happens. �
Anyone else who had the same pain point, �say it aloud.��Move clockwise around the room until all obstacles have been mapped to the whiteboard.
User/Persona
Goal
Step 2
Step 3
User/Persona
User/Persona
Opening scene
(step1)
Step 4
Step 5…
GROUP EXERCISE #6
30 minutes
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2
Pain Points & Opportunities
Map your issues
The facilitator will ask the person to their �right to read their first answer aloud. They’ll then place that sticky note on the map where it happens. �
Anyone else who had the same pain point, �say it aloud.��Move clockwise around the room until all obstacles have been mapped to the whiteboard.
User/Persona
Goal
Step 2
Step 3
User/Persona
User/Persona
Opening scene
(step1)
Step 4
Step 5…
GROUP EXERCISE #6
30 minutes
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2
Do not overwhelm the board with a bunch of identical sticky notes. If multiple people have the same thing, just use one sticky note. For every person who has the same pain point noted, place a star sticker on that pain point.
You should know…
Choose a focus
Opportunities
Require us to consider the business potential
Pain Points
Ensure we stay rooted in the user
IDEAL PRODUCT FOCUS
Is at the intersection of both pain points and opportunities
A common mistake teams make is choosing an opportunity that is not associated with any pain points as their product focus.
We must be wary of narrowing in on a pain point that we do not see any opportunity for us to change.
Choosing a Focus
Vote for the most important issues we could tackle
Obstacle:
I don’t have time to sit down and think of feedback to give someone when they ask me, “how am I doing?”
Obstacle
I am worried that if I provide someone with unprompted negative feedback, it’ll sour our relationship.
Everyone take 5-10 minutes to get up and walk to the whiteboard. Review the map and the issues along it. ��Next, consider the following question, take your red sticker and put it on one of the red sticky notes posted on the board.
If we could solve any issue, which one would be the most important to solve?��Individually, each person make their case for why you voted the way you did. Discuss the issues with votes on them.
GROUP EXERCISE #7
30 minutes
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2
3
Choosing a Focus
Discuss and prioritize issues worth solving
Now that you’ve heard everyone’s case, take your blue sticker and recast your vote. ��Open up this spreadsheet, navigate to the “Issues worth solving” tab and rank order the top 3 issues with the most blue votes. ��Ask the decider to rephrase the top three and decide on priority.
GROUP EXERCISE #8
30 minutes
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2
3
Choosing a Focus
Find your target user(s)
Everyone take 1-2 minutes to think about your response to the following question:
Who of your cast has the most to gain by finding a better way to complete this journey? Consider the issues we’ve mapped.��Everyone go around the room and say aloud your answer.��Discuss and debate which person we should advocate for and make our hero. If needed, choose two heroes. Once you’ve decided, �circle that cast member on your whiteboard.
User/Persona
Goal
Step 2
Step 3
User/Persona
User/Persona
Opening scene
(step1)
Step 4
Step 5…
GROUP EXERCISE #9
15 minutes
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2
3
Start by selecting your hero
Take a look at the users here and discuss who should be our target persona based on:
Discuss which of your list of characters should be our hero. Note: This is not necessarily the same person as your buyer, but who we expect will be the user of our product or solution.
GROUP EXERCISE #5
45 minutes
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2
Choosing a Focus
Characterize your �target user(s)
Round out your hero to better understand who they are in the context of their journey. Everyone individually answer the questions on the right (take 1-2 minutes per question).
Write down your responses in our shared spreadsheet in the tab with your name on it. Link here.
The facilitator will reference the tab with everyone’s responses. We’ll go around the �room and discuss each answer.
Debate the characteristics of your hero(es). Write your final hero, along with their attributes on your hero summary page here.
What does our target user worry most about �in their typical day?
When is our target user creating the most value?
PROMPT 1
PROMPT 2
OR
GROUP EXERCISE #10
30 minutes
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3
What gives our target user the most joy, satisfaction, or sense of accomplishment?
PROMPT 3
Choosing a Focus
Characterize your �target user(s)
Round out your hero to better understand who they are in the context of their journey. Everyone individually answer the questions on the right (take 1-2 minutes per question).
Write down your responses in our shared spreadsheet in the tab with your name on it. Link here.
The facilitator will reference the tab with everyone’s responses. We’ll go around the �room and discuss each answer.
Debate the characteristics of your hero(es). Write your final hero, along with their attributes on your hero summary page here.
What does our target user worry most about �in their typical day?
When is our target user creating the most value?
PROMPT 1
PROMPT 2
OR
GROUP EXERCISE #10
30 minutes
1
2
3
What gives our target user the most joy, satisfaction, or sense of accomplishment?
PROMPT 3
Depending on whether you're creating a b2b or b2c product, you'll ask this question a little differently.
You should know…
Example:
A poorly defined target user:
A mid-level manager
A well defined target user:
A mid-level manager who wants more feedback from her team and within her team to improve both individual and team performance. The better her and her team do, the more opportunities all of them will have to take on more and advance.
Lunch Break
Take an hour to eat �lunch and decompress.
The Transformation
How will our product transform the lives of our target persona?
With the first half of our day deeply rooted in the now, it’s time to set our focus on the future. This is a time for product ideation with the theme of transforming our persona’s reality from the current state into something profoundly different.
We do this through a series of five brainstorm exercises.
“Before & After” to envision our product’s impact on the world
1
“Wall Street Journal” to deliberate on our differentiator
2
“Killer Feature” to both dream up and anchor future features
3
“Worst Case Scenario” to spot potential challenges ahead
4
“Boardroom Presentation” to discuss how we’ll measure success
5
A day in the life…
Before and After
AFTER
Take 3-5 minutes to write your answer to the following question here.
What does a day in our hero’s life look like before and after our product exists? Write one sentence capturing the before and one sentence describing the after.��The facilitator will navigate to the spreadsheet for everyone to read their response aloud.��Take 1-2 minutes to upvote the top answer. Review the upvoted response and rewrite it on the summary page if needed.
GROUP EXERCISE #11
20 minutes
BEFORE
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3
Swing for the fences…
Our Wall Street �Journal headline
Imagine it’s five years from now. �Your product is well established and �has garnered national recognition.
Write the Wall Street Journal headline that explains why your product has had such great success. Write your answer here.��The facilitator will navigate to the spreadsheet for everyone to read their response aloud.��Take 1-2 minutes to upvote the top answer. Review the upvoted response and rewrite it on the summary page if needed.
GROUP EXERCISE #12
20 minutes
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3
One thing only…
The Killer Feature
Think about the very first version of your product.
If the product could only do one thing in that first release, what would it be? Write your answer here.��The facilitator will navigate to the spreadsheet for everyone to read their response aloud.��Take 1-2 minutes to upvote the top answer. Review the upvoted response and rewrite it on the summary page if needed.
GROUP EXERCISE #13
20 minutes
1
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3
Identifying our risks…
Worst case scenario
Imagine it’s 2 years from now. We’ve failed to deliver on value to our target user.
Why did we fail? You can write more than one �reason. Write your answers here.��The facilitator will navigate to the spreadsheet for everyone to read their response aloud.��Take 1-2 minutes to upvote the top answer. Review the upvoted response and rewrite it on the summary page if needed.
GROUP EXERCISE #14
20 minutes
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3
Finding our North Star Metric…
Our boardroom �presentation
Imagine it’s two years from now. Your product had an outstanding second year. You’re meeting with your key stakeholders �to present ‘the numbers’.
What 2-3 stats do you specifically call out �in your presentation? Write your answers here.��The facilitator will navigate to the spreadsheet for everyone to read their response aloud.��Take 1-2 minutes to upvote the top answer. Review the upvoted response and rewrite it on the summary page if needed.
GROUP EXERCISE #15
20 minutes
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3
20 minute break
Refill your coffee, take a walk, or grab a snack.
The Pitch
Review our responses �on your one-page product vision statement
Take a look at the summary page of your spreadsheet. You’re now able to answer the following questions about your user, opportunity, and product vision.
Our user is ___________________________.
Their problem is _____________________.
Our product focus is _________________.
Our product value is _________________.
We face the following risks: _________.
We’re measuring ____________________.
We define success as _______________.
Alignment moving forward…
Our Project Mantra
How would you summarize our mission moving forward? Create your team mantra, slogan, rally cry, motto, etc.
What is our product mantra for the foreseeable future? Write your answers here.
The facilitator will navigate to the spreadsheet for everyone to read their response aloud.��Take 1-2 minutes to upvote the top answer. Review the upvoted response and rewrite it on the summary page if needed.
GROUP EXERCISE #16
30 minutes
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3
How to use your mantra
A mantra poeticizes the product vision and its mission of transformation in highly energetic and memorable terms. It’s crafted to incite strong forward motion.The power of a mantra is that it is sticky and shareable. It does more than an elevator pitch ever could because the essence and soul of the new product is distilled into a perfectly repeatable formulation.
The mantra is always at the team’s ready to:
Free the Feedback
Example:
To reference our feedback �product again, our mantra was:
Congratulations!
We have successfully completed our product vision workshop.
What’s next?
Congrats! Now you have your product vision clearly defined for your team to execute on. If you’re wondering where to go from here, here are a few options:
Get investment or stakeholder buy-in
Use your Product Vision as your elevator pitch to draft a stakeholder deck
Explore possible product ideas
Use your Product Vision to inform design and/or product teams
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