A framework for product building

The truth is, there are already a number of very strong product frameworks out in the wild. In no particular order, here are frameworks I've used:

• Gibson Biddle's - Strategy/Metric/Tactic Lockup

• Itamar Gilad's - GIST Model

• Teressa Torres' - Opportunity Solution Tree

• Ravi Metha's - Product Strategy Stack

These are some amazing Product folks (and I've left plenty of other great minds out - apologies!).

Each tackles the work from a different lens - some high-level (Ravi & Gib), some lower-level (Itamar & Teressa). All include the three critical pieces of the puzzle:

1. What are you trying to achieve? The goal

2. How are you thinking of getting there? The strategy

3. Clear ways to present the plan and tell the story 

Why something like this matters?

If a piece of the puzzle is missing or unclear - you are in for pain. Folks won't know what you're doing, why you're doing it and whether or not they should keep supporting you.

How to know you need something?

You will probably be experiences one or more of these:

• Winning support for your ideas is hard

• People often tell you they don't understand why you are working on something. In effect, your prioritisation is a "black box"

• Triaging new ideas and navigating push back is difficult. Every idea suddenly becomes the right idea for your team

So what can you do?

It's important to realise that no framework is ever a silver bullet. 

However, the right framework, used in the right context can make a big difference. I'm not suggesting this is "the one" - I like it as it transfers nicely as a coaching model for personal development in addition to using it in your PM role. 

It also creates a pretty cool acronym (cos it's all about branding, right?)

Now, onwards to GROW-IT 

GROW IT stands for:

• Goals

• Reality

• Options

• Way Forward

• Iterative milestones

• Test, measure, learn

It's a model to supports the thinking piece (direction and choices) with the execution price (getting it done, gathering feedback, learning and iterating).

Teams struggle bridging the gap between the often abstract "direction and strategy" with day-to-day work required to make progress. This model aims to close the gap in the shared knowledge around context as well as connecting longer term strategy with "here and now" execution. Let's breakdown each of the pieces

Goal

What do we want? It's the end point that motivates us to do better work and have a bigger impact.

Don't rush this part. Self reflection is a powerful tool here and a skill worth developing in an of itself (free plug to self reflection!).

• At this level, goals must be objectively measurable.

• Beware of output goals. Producing in an of itself should not be your definition of success. Producing creates value only when it leads to positive change (in a measurement we care about).

• Goals should ladder up. Connect your work to the higher level. Personal to team, team to product, product to org, etc

A helpful framework to set goals is SMART goals. Or as with anything, research on Google for other goal setting methods. 

Reality

Meet yourself where you're at. Being humble is hugely powerful here, as you don't want to get trapped believing your own BS.....

• Where are you at today? Your baseline tells a story.

• What have you tried?

• What aren't you seeing?

• What are you assuming here?

Get data informed! Gather information from multiple sources. There are cheap ways to get some more concrete data about your reality and approaching this process with curiosity (rather than defensiveness) will set you up.

Options

This is the fun bit! You're now ready to brainstorm possibilities to achieve your goal.

• Imagine you had a Golden Ticket that solves all your challenges here, what would that look like?

• What else could you do?

• What do you need to stop doing to progress?

This is also where collaboration with your colleagues can light a fire under your progress. Your team can loop you in on pertinent info and projects, connect you with stakeholders and support you when you take a knock (you'll learn more from the misses then the hits!!) - these are all gifts that come with being a little vulnerable.

Way forward

Get after it! This is where you formulate you logical plan detailing the actions you will take to move the ball forward.

• What are your core themes?

• How are you making tradeoffs? 

• What else will you do?

• How might you get in your way?

Be sure to seek feedback and input at this stage. The decisions you make here will likely need buy-in from leadership, colleagues and even partners. Lean in to feedback and leverage it to strengthen your choices.

Iterative milestones

aka Roadmap. This piece outlines the sequence of work you implement over time. Setting up proper sequencing and refining based on feedback unlocks compounding and sets you up for outsized downstream impact.

• What is the sequence of work? When will it land?

• What is your level of confidence in the milestone delivering results? Do you need to complete more discovery?

• Are you continuously delivering value? Or is deferring value the right call? 

Refine your plan, be specific and give yourself and the team space to achieve it - if you focus and do the work, good things will happen. 

Test, Measure, Learn

As you make changes and try things, feedback will occur. Your milestone specific goals are your measure of progress - progress that generates value for the customer. Sometimes, the best way to measure progress is to set goals for deliverables—such as "launch new onboarding flow by March 5th." Teams should set goals that reflect their understanding of strategic levers. If a team does not know how to move a metric, then they should not commit to moving that metric. Instead, they should commit to product work that increases their level of understanding.

• What is the right learning cadence for your level?

• What is the right measurement technique to use?

• How do you distil and share insights? How do these loop back into other steps in the framework?

The framework easily translates to multiple layers within an org:

• At the Company level, GROW-IT can be used to define company level strategy at a 1-3 year timeframe. The model helps inform high-level investments, creates progress checkpoints for leadership (future funding for a team/initiative is never guaranteed) and helps create share context to support rigorous debate around tradeoffs.

• At the Product Org level, GROW-IT can be used to define product strategy at the 1-2 year timeframe. Taking input from the company level to more elegantly tie the product work to the company level objectives.

• At the Product Team level, GROW-IT helps setup team objectives and shape roadmaps at the 6m-1 year timeframe. Using a consistent framework and cascading context will help teams make clearer decision when setting team level goals and articulate better connection of team level opportunities to the orgs direction

• At the Individual level, GROW-IT offers a framework to talk about and plan personal growth. Understanding where the company and product org is going provide amazing context for personal development. If the company is going in this direction - I need to develop a plan to meet them there. This way, we make the most of the precious time we have and can self-select opportunities that create value for Customers, the organisation and ourselves.

• Want to explore this idea further in your Product Team - present at your next PM Huddle or showcase. (p.s. I'd love feedback and ideas from your team)

• Want a template to get started? Coming soon…