Three steps to choose a next product outcome

Simple ≠ easy

If you’re struggling to choose the product outcome for your team(s) to focus on next quarter, here is a three step process:

(1) Do a simple impact mapping exercise to turn your business outcome into a product outcome. Here’s an example from Jeff Gothelf.

(2) Confirm that your candidate product outcomes are: a user behavior, leading indicator of the business goal, within scope of the team. One way to frame it (hat tip to Joshua Seiden) is: “whose behavior needs to change, how does it need to change, and how will that drive [e.g. revenue]?”

(3) Do a simple spreadsheet model to estimate the business impact of moving each candidate lever. If you made each of these candidate items 30% better, which would help the business the most?

You now have a solid rationale for what the team(s) should be working on next quarter, and why.

Simple, not always easy.