Hey, community! It’s time to talk about the importance of understanding the product vision to help our teams make the best decisions when creating a new product or extending its reach with new features.
A clear product vision is like a compass in product development. Over time, I’ve discovered that it’s not just about a catchy statement—it can be turned into a guiding framework that helps every decision, every feature, and every iteration stay true to the core value we want to deliver.
What is product vision?
Before we dive in, let’s clear up any confusion: while company vision is the broad, overarching goal that shapes the entire organization, product vision is a focused, actionable blueprint for a specific product. In essence, the product vision takes the company's big-picture aspirations into concrete plans that drive every decision, feature, and iteration.
Product vision is the strategic guide that answers two essential questions:
- Why does this product exist?
- What value does it deliver to our users?
This clarity anchors your team’s efforts, ensuring every decision is aligned with solving a real user problem.
The product vision framework
I find it helpful to break down product vision into five detailed elements. Each one plays a role in shaping the product’s direction:
Problem
Begin by defining who you’re serving—the persona—and pinpoint the specific challenge they face.
Imagine community organizers (persona) who need timely, culturally relevant information to coordinate events (problem).
Solution
Outline what a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) would look like to address that problem directly.
A basic dashboard that aggregates and displays real-time community updates. This initial version should serve as the foundation for further enhancements.
Improvements
Envision additional features that could expand on the MVP over time.
As the product matures, you might layer on customizable notifications or predictive analytics to better anticipate community needs.
Trade-offs
Consider the necessary compromises by balancing security, performance, and cultural sensitivity.
A geolocation feature might promise localized content delivery. However, if it restricts access in a way that frustrates users, those trade-offs must be carefully weighed.
Wild ideas
Leave room for bold, innovative thinking that challenges the status quo—ideas that might seem unconventional at first but could redefine your product’s potential.
Experimenting with AI-driven personalization may start as a conceptual idea but can eventually open entirely new avenues for user engagement.
Product vision in action
Let’s examine two contrasting real-case scenarios I’ve experienced as a product manager that show why a well-defined product vision is essential.
Case 1: The geolocation misstep
The idea:
A product team set out to boost content relevance by developing a geolocation-based feature. The idea was to restrict access to specific content based on a user's location to ensure that only the most relevant audience could engage with it. The goal was to create a more personalized experience, ensuring that sensitive or context-specific information was only visible to those within a designated area.
What went wrong:
While the team correctly identified the problem—making content more relevant by tying it to physical locations—they didn’t account for how different users would perceive the restriction.
For some users, the feature made perfect sense. However, for others, it felt like an unnecessary barrier, blocking them from accessing content that was previously available to them. This misalignment stemmed from not fully understanding the cultural and practical expectations of their target users. In communities where shared knowledge and open access to resources are highly valued, the restriction unintentionally created frustration and disengagement.
Without a comprehensive product vision that accounted for user context, cultural sensitivity, and accessibility needs (the personas' full picture), the feature failed to deliver the intended value. Instead of enhancing engagement, it alienated users who felt excluded from important content, weakening trust in the platform.
Case 2: The data integration overhaul
The Idea:
In another scenario, a team discovered that their method of connecting users to essential data was outdated and inefficient. They had an opportunity to rethink their API integration strategy.
What worked well:
- Problem: The core issue was slow data access caused by an inefficient REST-based approach, negatively impacting user satisfaction.
- Solution: Their MVP was a new integration model that streamlined data retrieval and improved performance.
- Improvements: The vision allowed for future enhancements, such as stronger security measures and real-time monitoring as the product evolved.
- Trade-offs: The team carefully balanced the need for performance improvements while maintaining data security and system stability.
- Wild Ideas: They stayed open to exploring alternative technologies that could push performance even further.
This approach resulted in a measurable boost in performance and perfectly aligned with both user needs and business objectives—a clear demonstration of how a well-articulated product vision can drive success.
Final thoughts: see product vision as a blueprint.
Think of your product vision as a blueprint that empowers you to confidently say “yes” to initiatives that matter and “no” to distractions that deviate from your true objectives. Besides benefiting prioritization, being guided by a strong product vision will foster the following:
Alignment: It ensures every feature and decision supports the product’s core purpose.
Consistency: It keeps your team on track, even as market conditions and user needs evolve.
A well-defined product vision can be more than an abstract concept—it can become a practical framework that shapes every aspect of product development. By clearly identifying the problem, defining an MVP, planning for future improvements, weighing trade-offs, and daring to dream with wild ideas, you build a robust foundation for success.
What strategies do you use to ensure your product vision remains the guiding force in your projects? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
Talk soon, take care.
Top comments (2)
Very interesting article! I found the geolocation feature idea pretty cool until I learned more about what went wrong. Definitely a valuable lesson.
Yep! Not all cool features should be built, haha
A tough lesson to learn from. Thank you so much, Klesta!