Product Practice #295 |
Dear Reader,
Many product teams perceive the focus on User Outcomes as arbitrary goal-setting and the opposite of serving users. And it‘s easy to understand why.
Many widely shared examples of User Outcomes out there read like this:
„Users buy more tickets“
„Customers use more integrations. “
„Returning shoppers add more items to their basket.“
A product leader recently approached me after a conference talk, sharing his team‘s concerns that Outcomes would just be repackaged business goals. Looking at the above examples, his team would be right. These read like how the company or business wants their customers to behave.
To make Outcomes (aka changes in human behavior) useful, you have to remember that they should describe changes in behavior that are useful to the audience you intend to serve, which requires a proven problem.
Useful Outcomes = Useful for the User
It‘s not enough if Outcomes describe „technically correct“ changes in behavior. Instead, there should be a clear connection between business-informed research intent and insights generated by qualitative and quantitative techniques.
Another way to approach this is to look at Outcomes as flipped user problems:
The simple question teams need to try and answer here is, „How would users whose problems got solved behave?“ This will then be the foundation for finding appropriate measures to set in your OKRs.
If you enjoyed this, you can share the essay on LinkedIn here.
That's (almost) all, Reader. If you enjoyed today's issue, please do reply (it helps with deliverability). If you didn't, you can unsubscribe here.
Thank you for Practicing Product,
Tim
PS: My friend Itamar released his long-awaited book "Evidence-Guided" last week. It's a practical synthesis of the principles taught by Itamar to help companies move away from opinions and towards more evidence. I highly recommend checking it out
Amazon USA: http://amazon.com/dp/B0CJCDP1H7
Amazon UK: http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CJCDP1H7
Amazon Germany: http://amazon.de/dp/B0CJCDP1H7
The Early Bird rates for my January 2024 workshops on Product Strategy, Product OKRs, and Product Discovery in Berlin expire on October 10. Secure your spot to make the most of your 2024 L&D budget.
Bundle options are available if you're interested in more than one workshop. For team packages, reply to this email for a custom quote.
GET YOUR TICKETS |
What did you think of this week's newsletter?
Click here if you only want to see what's behind each option
As a Product Management Coach, I guide Product Teams to measure the progress of their evidence-informed decisions.
I identify and share the patterns among better practices to connect the dots of Product Strategy, Product OKRs, and Product Discovery.
1 tip & 3 resources per week to improve your Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery practices in less than 5 minutes.
Product Practice #338 Product at Heart 2024Keynote Recording and Slides READ ON HERBIG.CO PUBLISHED Oct 18, 2024 READING TIME 2 min & 17 sec Dear Reader, Stepping on stage at Product at Heart 2024 five weeks ago was a definitive highlight of my year so far. I loved bringing a message I deeply care about to an audience I also care about. Without further ado, I'm happy to share the full recording of this keynote with you: Watch the Video You can also get the slides and templates I shared during...
Product Practice #337 How to Know if Your Product Strategy Has Worked READ ON HERBIG.CO PUBLISHED Oct 11, 2024 READING TIME 4 min & 16 sec Dear Reader, Your Strategy can be perfectly thought-out, based on well-researched insights, co-created by Individual Contributors and Leadership, and contain sustainable advantages over alternatives. But if nobody understands it and you can't integrate it into teams' decision-making processes, the value of Product Strategy will remain locked. The degree to...
Product Practice #336 How to Build a Product Strategy That Fits Your Company’s Focus READ ON HERBIG.CO PUBLISHED Oct 4, 2024 READING TIME 3 min & 14 sec Dear Reader, Besides being decisive, another attribute that can determine the value of your Product Strategy is how layered it is. The best way to think of the interplay between the Company and Product layers is the magnitude of overlap between each of them: Is the audience you chose for your Product part of the prioritized audience by the...