Product Strategy Canvas
Creating a product strategy is a job that most product folk do quite rarely, often under pressure and with not enough time.
Because PMs don't create strategies regularly, many of them aren't natural at the process, so when we need to create one, there’s a good chance we freeze. When we recover from the foetal position, we wonder, “where on earth do I start?”
Enter the Product Strategy Canvas: a tool designed to be repeatable, flexible, and lightweight. Drawing inspiration from various successful models, we aimed to simplify the intricate process of strategy creation, catering to those who find it daunting or simply lack time.
We're mindful that one size doesn't fit all. This might be a lot to wrap your head around for junior product professionals or those just starting out in product management. Having said that, knock yourself out and give it a go. If nothing else, you’ll learn a lot. For seasoned directors of product, CPOs, or experienced strategists, you likely have your own approach, but there might be something useful here for you as well.
By streamlining the process and focusing on three critical areas (the state of the business, market and product), you can concentrate on the substance of your strategy and the collaboration it demands.
The canvas serves as a beacon, lifting you from the quagmire of your backlog to provide a clear view of the bigger picture, enabling you to chart a strategic course for your product.
The Product Strategy canvas is a MIRO template that helps product leaders craft a product strategy by following a step-by-step process of gathering data and then using that data to articulate key focus areas that help inform goals, roadmaps, and plans.
This canvas is ideal for Product Managers and Product leaders who wish to follow a repeatable process in order to gather the insights needed to make difficult prioritisation decisions in the form of a Product strategy. This is helpful when you're low on time, do this process rarely and/or wish to approach it collaboratively.
We’ve tested and iterated our canvas with clients, workshop participants, and industry mates and we now proudly share the Product Strategy Canvas in Miro for free under a Creative Commons Licence.
To make the most of this canvas, create a copy and try to fill in each frame without getting stuck. If you don't know the answer, capture the name of someone who does. Once all three input frames are filled in, you should have enough insights to decide on what your team(s) will focus on, in other words, to create a product strategy.
This template was created by Brendan Marsh (Organa).
Discover more product strategy templates to help you build your next big thing.
Get started with this template right now.
Taco Tuesday Retrospective
Works best for:
Agile Methodology, Retrospectives, Meetings
The Taco Tuesday Retrospective template offers a fun and informal approach to retrospectives, perfect for fostering team camaraderie. It provides elements for reflecting on past iterations over a casual taco-themed gathering. This template enables teams to relax, share insights, and brainstorm ideas in a laid-back atmosphere. By promoting social interaction and creativity, the Taco Tuesday Retrospective empowers teams to strengthen relationships, boost morale, and drive continuous improvement effectively.
OKR Board for Product, UX and Engineering Teams
The OKR Board for Product, UX, and Engineering Teams template aligns cross-functional teams around common objectives using Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). By setting ambitious goals, defining measurable outcomes, and tracking progress collaboratively, this template fosters alignment and focus. With sections for defining team OKRs, prioritizing initiatives, and monitoring performance, it enables teams to work cohesively towards shared goals. This template serves as a catalyst for driving product innovation and delivering exceptional user experiences.
Fishbone Diagram by Dave Westgarth
Works best for:
Fishbone diagram
Identify and solve problems effectively with the Fishbone Diagram by Dave Westgarth. This template helps you break down complex issues into root causes, enabling a thorough analysis and targeted solutions. Use it for quality control, process improvement, and troubleshooting in various industries. Ideal for teams focused on continuous improvement and problem-solving.
Product Roadmap Template
Works best for:
Product Management, Roadmaps
Product roadmaps help communicate the vision and progress of what’s coming next for your product. It’s an important asset for aligning teams and valuable stakeholders – including executives, engineering, marketing, customer success, and sales – around your strategy and priorities. Product roadmapping can inform future project management, describe new features and product goals, and spell out the lifecycle of a new product. While product roadmaps are customizable, most contain information about the products you’re building, when you’re building them, and the people involved at each stage.
Pros and Cons List Template
Works best for:
Decision Making, Documentation, Strategic Planning
A pros and cons list is a simple but powerful decision-making tool used to help understand both sides of an argument. Pros are listed as arguments in favor of making a particular decision or action. Cons are listed arguments against it. By creating a list that details both sides of the argument, it becomes easier to visualize the potential impact of your decision. To make your pros and cons list even more objective, it can help to weight each pro and con against the others. You can then present your decision with confidence, making a strong argument for why it’s the right one.
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) Template
Works best for:
Leadership, Strategic Planning, Project Planning
Clarity, focus, and structure — those are the key ingredients to feeling confident in your company’s directions and decisions, and an OKR framework is designed to give them to you. Working on two main levels — strategic and operational — OKRs (short for objectives and key results) help an organization’s leaders determine the strategic objectives and define quarterly key results, which are then connected to initiatives. That’s how OKRs empower teams to focus on solving the most pressing organizational problems they face.