It’s Not a Set of Goals and It’s Not A Roadmap: Aatir Abdul Rauf Talks About Product Strategy
Product leader Aatir Abdul Rauf outlines questions product managers should ask when crafting a product strategy.
By Tremis Skeete, for Product Coalition
Product strategy continues to be a misunderstood concept and energizes many conversations and debates on LinkedIn. This is probably why Director of Product Marketing, Aatir Abdul Rauf decided to share seven questions designed to get product teams started in regard to crafting an effective product strategy.
Aatir feels that product strategy is one of the most misunderstood topics in product management, and hopes that by applying these questions, product teams can bridge gaps in their collective understanding and work towards product success.
He also provides a recommended list of podcasts that speak about product strategy that can help product teams along the way.
Read a copy of Aatir Abdul Rauf’s LinkedIn post below to find out more:
Product strategy is one of the most misunderstood product manager (PM) topics. It’s not a set of goals. It’s not a roadmap. It’s not a vision.
Seven questions that product strategy aims to answer:
- What problem are we solving? What’s the job-to-be-done?
- Who are the direct/indirect stakeholders that get value?
- How does the product translate the opportunity into sustainable business value?
- Why do we think this “product approach” can best solve the problem?
- How will our product do better than the status quo?
- What will we choose not to deliberately focus on?
- How is the product in line with where the market will be in the future?
Need to dig deeper?
Here are five podcasts on strategy I’d recommend:
1. Melissa Perri’s Product Strategy
Episode: https://lnkd.in/g5SmTju8
Melissa shares tips to recognize what a winning strategy looks like and gives practical tips on how to course-correct.
She talks about how a lack of a comprehensive, well-communicated, and prioritized product strategy is a common problem for product teams. And developing a successful product strategy requires a deep understanding of financials.
2. Gibson Biddle’s DHM Product Strategy Framework
Episode: https://lnkd.in/gJickTaP
Gibson Biddle gives practical examples from his time at Netflix. He shares how a good product strategy should aim to delight customers in hard-to-copy margin-enhancing ways. But to achieve a hard-to-copy advantage, a company should focus on building a long-term competitive advantage that is difficult for competitors to replicate.
3. Ravi Mehta’s Product Strategy Stack Model
Episode: https://lnkd.in/gge2jxjj
Ravi Mehta describes strategy as a stack with five pieces:
- the company mission
- the company strategy
- the product strategy
- the product roadmap
- product goals
When a PM is looking to DEFINE strategy, they work the top to the bottom on the stack.
If they’re looking to DEBUG strategy, they can work bottom to top.
4. Product Strategy Basics with a PM from SiriusDecisions
Episode: https://lnkd.in/gSbq4QQD
Jeff Lash from SiriusDecisions describes the key elements that should be included in an effective product strategy to increase the chances of product success.
5. Product Strategy Q&A with Basecamp
Episode: https://lnkd.in/gvp4wxUg
CEO Jason Fried and Head of Strategy Ryan Singer discuss an approach they label as “Shape Up” that they use in product development at Basecamp. They talk about how to ship product increments that matter in six-week cycles.
Looking for a product strategy deck as an example? Here’s one: https://lnkd.in/eT-tGstc
