Defining Product Vision
Scope
Covers
- Defining or refreshing a product vision (5–10 year future state)
- Writing a vision statement + short vision narrative (concrete, not a tagline)
- Translating vision into pillars and strategic choices (what we will/won’t do)
- Packaging a “Product Vision Pack” leaders and teams can use as a decision tie-breaker
When to use
- “We need a real product vision (not a slogan).”
- “Leadership isn’t aligned on where the product is going.”
- “Write a vision statement + one-pager for the next 5–10 years.”
- “Bridge our mission to strategy and planning.”
- “We have a big technology vision—what’s the user-friendly product form factor?”
When NOT to use
- You only need a marketing tagline or positioning copy (do marketing/copywriting instead).
- You need a detailed product strategy doc, roadmap, or OKRs *after* vision is already aligned (use those downstream skills).
- You don’t have even a rough target customer/problem hypothesis (do discovery/research first; use
problem-definition). - You’re choosing metrics/measurement before agreeing on the future state (use
writing-north-star-metricsafter this skill). - You need to prioritize what to build next against an existing vision (use
prioritizing-roadmap). - You need an AI-specific or company-wide product strategy, not a vision statement (use
ai-product-strategy).
Inputs
Minimum required
- Product (what it is today) + target customer segment(s)
- The potent user problem / job-to-be-done the vision is grounded in
- Time horizon (default: 5–10 years)
- Mission / higher-level purpose (or executive intent)
- Constraints (what must remain true: trust, safety, margin, compliance, etc.)
- Stakeholders who must align (roles/names)
Missing-info strategy
- Ask up to 5 questions from references/INTAKE.md.
- If answers aren’t available, proceed with clearly labeled assumptions and provide 2–3 vision options.
Outputs (deliverables)
Produce a Product Vision Pack in Markdown (in-chat; or as files if requested):
- Context snapshot (bullets)
- Problem anchor (target customer + potent user problem)
- Vision statement (1 sentence)
- Vision narrative (concrete 5–10 year future state; tech-agnostic; aspirational but attainable)
- Vision pillars (3–5) + optional experience principles
- Strategy bridge (3–5 explicit choices + non-goals + “near-term wedge/form factor”)
- Rollout & alignment plan (workshop + comms + cadence)
- Risks / Open questions / Next steps (always included)
Templates: references/TEMPLATES.md
Workflow (8 steps)
1) Intake + constraints
- Inputs: User context; use references/INTAKE.md.
- Actions: Confirm product, target customer, horizon, mission, constraints, stakeholders, and why-now.
- Outputs: 8–12 bullet Context snapshot.
- Checks: You can restate “who we serve + what problem we solve” in 1–2 sentences.
2) Define the problem anchor (potent user problem)
- Inputs: Context snapshot.
- Actions: Write the target customer + problem as a crisp, user-centered statement; identify what “success” means for them.
- Outputs: Problem anchor section (template in references/TEMPLATES.md).
- Checks: Problem is specific, important, and not framed as “our feature idea”.
3) Draft 2–3 future states (vision options)
- Inputs: Problem anchor + horizon.
- Actions: Generate 2–3 distinct future-state options that are:
- Lofty and realistic - Tech-agnostic (not limited by today’s implementation) - Grounded in the user problem
- Outputs: 2–3 Vision options (short narratives).
- Checks: Each option passes the 4-point vision test in references/CHECKLISTS.md.
4) Write the vision statement + narrative (not a tagline)
- Inputs: Chosen vision option.
- Actions: Draft a 1-sentence vision statement and a short narrative (5–10 year future). Run the “what does that mean?” elaboration test.
- Outputs: Vision statement + Vision narrative.
- Checks: A stakeholder can ask “what does that mean?” and you can answer concretely (future customers, value difference, what’s changed).
5) Define pillars + principles (make it decision-useful)
- Inputs: Vision narrative.
- Actions: Create 3–5 pillars that imply product choices; add experience principles that help users act on the core value.
- Outputs: Vision pillars (+ optional experience principles).
- Checks: Each pillar can be translated into “we will invest in X / say no to Y”.
6) Build the strategy bridge (choices + non-goals + wedge)
- Inputs: Vision pillars + constraints.
- Actions: Translate the vision into 3–5 strategic choices and explicit non-goals. Propose a near-term wedge/form factor that delivers immediate utility while progressing the long-term vision.
- Outputs: Strategy bridge section.
- Checks: Strategy forces choice (scarce resources); includes at least 3 non-goals; names a plausible wedge.
7) Align stakeholders + iterate
- Inputs: Draft pack.
- Actions: Create a lightweight review plan (who, how, cadence). Anticipate objections and add an FAQ if needed.
- Outputs: Rollout & alignment plan.
- Checks: Key stakeholders can paraphrase the vision and disagree on specifics (not on meanings).
8) Quality gate + finalize pack
- Inputs: All drafts.
- Actions: Run references/CHECKLISTS.md and score with references/RUBRIC.md. Add Risks / Open questions / Next steps.
- Outputs: Final Product Vision Pack.
- Checks: Pack is shareable as-is; choices, non-goals, and caveats are explicit.
Quality gate (required)
- Use references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.
- Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.
Examples
Example 1 (B2B SaaS): “Define a product vision for a workflow automation platform for IT teams.” Expected: a Product Vision Pack with a concrete future state, pillars, and a strategy bridge (choices + non-goals + wedge).
Example 2 (Consumer): “Refresh product vision for a personal finance app expanding into a full ‘financial operating system’.” Expected: a vision that is lofty but attainable, tech-agnostic, grounded in a potent user problem, and packaged in a familiar form factor.
Boundary example 1: “Write a tagline for our website.” Response: clarify this skill produces product vision artifacts (not marketing copy). Offer to first produce a vision pack, then hand off a distilled tagline/positioning to a marketing/copy skill.
Boundary example 2: “Help me decide what metrics to track for our product.” Response: redirect to writing-north-star-metrics. If the user lacks a clear vision to anchor metrics against, offer to run this skill first, then hand off to the metrics skill.
Anti-patterns (common failure modes)
- Vision-as-tagline -- Producing a vague aspirational slogan (“Empower everyone, everywhere”) instead of a concrete future-state narrative that describes who benefits, how, and what changes. A real vision should fail the “could any competitor say this?” test.
- Pillar-without-teeth -- Listing pillars that sound good but don't force any tradeoff or resource allocation decision. Each pillar must imply at least one “we will NOT do X” consequence.
- Strategy creep -- Expanding the vision pack into a full product strategy document with roadmap timelines, OKR trees, and GTM plans. Keep the pack focused on the future state and hand off downstream work to the appropriate skills.
- Skipping the problem anchor -- Jumping straight to the vision statement without grounding it in a specific, potent user problem. Visions disconnected from real pain drift into wish-lists.
- Consensus theater -- Writing a vision so broad that nobody disagrees but nobody can use it to make a decision. A good vision should make some stakeholders uncomfortable because it excludes their pet ideas.