🛠️ The Context Matrix


The Context Matrix

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HERBIG.CO

PUBLISHED

Nov 8, 2024

READING TIME

2 min & 11 sec

​Dear Reader,​

Every level of product management involves two areas: creating context and making sense of it. While creating the context partially depends on the environment you work in, making sense of the context mainly depends on the hard skills a product team has.

For Product Strategy, the context consists of internal and external data points about the market, your capabilities, how you plan to differentiate, your mission, and long-term goals. Making sense of it means forming the right relationships between these areas, making choices, and communicating and executing these the right way.

For setting Product OKRs, the context contains inputs such as the purpose/mission/vision, Product Strategy, Company OKRs, and Roadmaps. Making sense of these means identifying KRs that capture the product from as many angles as possible, describing changes in behavior (Outcomes), and allowing the team to adjust their actions (leading indicators).

The context of Product Discovery results from defined goals and strategic priorities, as well as existing qualitative and quantitative insights about your customers. Making sense requires creating a narrative around the problem space, prioritizing the right research questions and interpreting insights, ideating solutions based on proven challenges, and validating before building.

Thank you for practicing Product,

Tim

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Content I found Practical This Week

Making the jump from B2C to B2B product management

Ultimately, while the core principles of strong product management apply universally, Bethany’s journey highlights how the processes, complexities and cadences between B2B and B2C product work can differ substantially. The product world is always evolving, and finding a way to navigate this divide – as Bethany has – will be key for building exceptional customer experiences.

Exiting the matrix — build products 10x faster

The trappings of product management can be a trap. They focus us on the planning instead of the doing. But, that blank page is a lie. We don’t have to start from scratch to get the best results. We don’t have to find the perfect recipe and then spend an afternoon running to the store. Instead, we can use what’s in the pantry. And, it’s never been easier. There is a massive foundation of open source tools & cloud platforms — all building blocks that can be cemented together with AI tools like Github Copilot, Cursor, Replit, and v0.

Refocus Your Prioritization Matrix Towards Time to ROI

What did you think of this week's newsletter?

Who is Tim Herbig?

As a Product Management Coach, I guide Product Teams to measure the real progress of their evidence-informed decisions.

I focus on better practices to connect the dots of Product Strategy, Product OKRs, and Product Discovery.

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