More Than a Dream: How Product Vision Creates Customer Value

Suppose you start in a new team. There is no product vision. What now? It is essential to clarify this as soon as possible. Because a team without a vision is a rudderless team. In large organizations, the final responsibility for the product vision often lies on the business side and therefore outside the team, but a PO (Product Owner) can certainly have a lot of influence on this. The Scrum Master can also lend a helping hand here. In this article you can read what a product vision is, what the difference is with a Product Goal and why a product vision leads to customer value.

What is a Product Vision?

A product vision is a long-term strategic compass that describes the ultimate purpose of the product or service. It is an inspiring message that explains the unique value the product will provide to customers, how it differentiates itself from competitors, and how it fits into the broader business strategy. The vision helps everyone involved, from the development team to the stakeholders, understand why the product is being created and where it is headed. Let me illustrate the product vision with an example. Imagine you have a dream to travel around the world. Your vision might look like this:

You dream of becoming an accomplished world traveler, someone who has experienced different cultures, learned new languages, and tasted a wide variety of international cuisines. You want to broaden your horizons, boost your personal growth, and come back with stories to share for the rest of your life.

This is a long-term goal that gives you direction, inspiration and motivation, but it is not specific or measurable in small steps. This is your “Why”. It is the reason why you want to travel the world, similar to the “purpose” of happiness that I earlier described.

What is the difference between a Product Vision and a 'Product Goal'

Within the Scrum Framework there is the Product Goal (Productdoel in Dutch; I will stick to the English term here to stay in the Scrum Terminology). The Product Goal is the commitment of the Product Backlog and this backlog falls under the responsibility of the PO. A commitment ensures that the PO can focus on writing Product Backlog Items (often also called Features) that contribute to the ultimate achievement of the Product Goal.

The relationship between the two is that the product vision represents the end goal, while the product goals are the steps you take to get there.

As stated, the product vision is a 'dream' and the end goal of the product. A product goal, on the other hand, is a specific, measurable and achievable objective within the framework of the product vision. It is a (medium) long-term objective that helps to organize and measure progress towards the product vision. Product goals are often more tactical in nature and will be adjusted more regularly as the product develops.

To refer back to the world trip, your vision is to become an expert world traveler. To achieve your vision, you set specific travel goals, which are the “product goals” in this analogy. Your first goal might be to explore South America. You set a specific itinerary, with a list of countries you want to visit and a timeline. Your learning goal for this milestone is to speak a basic level of Spanish before you leave. After South America, you might want to travel through Europe for three months, setting a goal to experience at least one historical site in each city you visit. As you achieve each of these travel goals, you will come closer to realizing your vision of becoming an expert world traveler.

What is a Good Product Vision?

A product vision is the foundation for any successful product or service development. It is the long-term vision that defines the destination the team is working toward and acts as a strategic compass. This vision articulates the essence of what the future of the product should be, the unique value it will provide to customers, how it will position itself relative to competitors, and the role it plays within the larger framework of the company’s strategy. A well-defined product vision is essential to provide direction to the team and stakeholders. Below I describe five characteristics of an effective product vision:

1. Inspiring: A strong product vision serves as a source of motivation. It should encourage team members to push themselves and give them a purpose they can be passionate about. The key is that the vision resonates with the team’s personal and professional ambitions, which is crucial for long-term engagement and success.
2. Clearly: The vision should be simple and direct, so that everyone who encounters it can quickly understand what the goal is. This also means that it should be free of jargon and complexity, so that it becomes a widely shared understanding that guides the team’s actions and decisions.
3. Future-oriented: A vision should illuminate the future possibilities of the product, not get stuck in the current reality. It should embrace the promise of growth and improvement, and present a clear path to what is possible, not just what is now.
4. Strategic: The vision should be aligned with the broader strategic goals of the organization. It should support the overall direction in which the company is moving and take into account market trends, customer needs and technological developments.
5. Stable: As products and markets evolve, the product vision remains relatively unchanged. It serves as the “North Star,” ensuring that no matter how circumstances change, the team has a consistent reference for making decisions and aligning their work. This does not mean the vision is rigid; it must be flexible enough to adapt when fundamentally new insights require it.

These five qualities ensure that a product vision isn't just a document hanging in an office somewhere, but a living part of daily work that continually provides direction and meaning to the team's efforts.

Why Does a Good Product Vision Lead to Customer Value?

A good product vision is crucial for creating customer value for several reasons:

1. Direction and Focus: A clear product vision gives both the team and stakeholders a common goal. This ensures that all efforts and development activities remain focused on what is important to the customer, increasing the likelihood that the final product will meet their expectations and needs.
2. Innovation and Inspiration: An inspiring vision stimulates creativity and innovation within the development team. When team members clearly understand what the end goal is, they can come up with more conviction and enthusiasm to come up with innovative solutions that add real value to the customer.
3. Prioritization: Product development often involves difficult choices and trade-offs. A clear vision helps set priorities and ensures that the features and improvements that deliver the most customer value are prioritized.
4. Consistency: A product vision ensures consistency throughout the development lifecycle. It helps make decisions that align with the product’s long-term values and goals, resulting in a more coherent user experience and customer satisfaction.
5. Involvement: When a vision speaks to customers and addresses their aspirations or pain points, they are more likely to engage and stay loyal to the product. They see the value not just in the product as it is now, but also in the future it promises.
6. Differentiation: A strong vision can differentiate a product from the competition by making it clear how it is unique and what specific value it provides. This can help build a strong product brand that customers recognize and value.

By ensuring a strong, well-defined, and customer-centric product vision, organizations lay the foundation for delivering a product that creates value for users, ultimately leading to market success and customer loyalty.

In summary:

A product vision is a long-term vision for a product or service that clarifies what the unique offering is to customers and how it differentiates itself from the competition. It is essential for a team to have direction and inspiration. The five key characteristics of an effective product vision are that it should be inspiring, clear, forward-looking, strategic and stable. A good product vision creates customer value because it provides direction and focus, drives innovation, sets priorities, maintains consistency, increases customer engagement and helps differentiate the product from competitors. All of these contribute to a successful product that meets customer needs and expectations and therefore builds customer loyalty. As always, I’ll close with a question for you:

How could a clear and inspiring product vision help your team to work more innovatively and customer-centric?

I'd love to hear it in the comments below.

With warm regards,

Mark ter Voert