Creating a compelling Product Vision

A vision is an image of the future you seek to create. A product vision describes the impact you want to create using your product or service. The vision answers the question “Where are we going”? The word comes from the Latin vidēre, “to see.” If your vision creates that visual image to see, the more compelling it will be. We build products to make life better for end users. An excellent product vision clearly expresses how it impacts the user’s experience. Here are a few good examples of how a vision statement can connect to the life of an end user.

Harley Davidson
“To fulfill dreams through the experiences of motorcycling.”

IKEA
“Create better everyday lives for as many people as possible.”

South African Department of Education
“A South Africa in which all our people have access to lifelong learning.”

The reason why these statements are so impactful is that they help the person reading it visualize that abstract future. Look at some of the vision statements below:

CitiBank
“To be the most competent, profitable and innovative financial organization in the world.”

Starbucks
“To establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world.”

Milne
“To be the world’s pre-eminent designer/builder of unique, architectural memorial structures.”

These are powerful vision statements too but from the organizational perspective not the impact of their work on the life of the user.

Product Envisioning is the process of shaping that image of future that the product creates for its end users. While creating a vision, it’s essential to bring the visionary in you, who can see the unthinkable and an ideator, with different thoughts. While your analytical mind is useful during the development, you may want to keep it away while creating a vision.

How to create such a powerful image that can inspire and bind everyone involved in building the product?

While building products most people start with WHAT are they building, like a mobile app, an IoT device, etc. Nothing wrong with that but it’s essential to get to WHO and then WHY before you create a product vision. So creating a Product Envision involves three things:
- Uncovering WHO — Primary User [Who is the primary user of your product?]
- Uncovering WHY — Purpose [Why are we building this product?]
- Connecting it back to WHAT — Product [What solution you are providing?]

Here is a way to create a compelling vision:

If you need help, get on Startup Planner and create one for yourself. If you want to learn more, join me at one of my Certified Scrum Product Owner workshops.