This post is an introduction to a series of essays on Product Strategy.
As a Physics Engineer, I come from a deeply scientific background. Since college, the Scientific Method has been a fundamental mental model for me.
The beauty of the Scientific Method lies in its simplicity: you observe the nature around you, observation sparks a question, form a testable hypothesis, predict the results to define success, test the theory, confirm whether it is correct, and iterate. I find it fascinating how giants like Newton and Feynman, despite being separated by hundreds of years, spoke the same “language” and used the same mental models to guide their scientific endeavours.
Ever since I got into product management, I’ve tried to apply the principles of the scientific method to product development. In essence, you observe the world and notice a problem, use critical thinking to understand why it exists, form a hypothesis on how to address it, define success through metrics, test it, and iterate based on the results. This cycle mirrors the core steps of the Scientific Method: observe, hypothesise, test, and iterate.
Product Strategy consists of several hypotheses aimed at delivering the highest value to users while ensuring the long-term viability of the business or if you want the set of problems you want to solve that will bring the most value to customers and the company. This will allow you to decide what to work on, and prioritize which problems to solve. This is the core of Product Strategy.
Much of my time as a Product Manager is dedicated to observing the world around me, crafting and refining our Product Strategy, constantly thinking ahead to create and capture value for users and the company.
Based on my experience I decided to share in the following weeks a set of 5 essays dedicated to my core understanding of a good Product Strategy. I will share insights and practical advice on developing a Product Strategy. I’ll include anecdotal examples from existing products and companies I’ve worked with to illustrate key concepts and make them easier to apply, such as:
- Understanding your company’s purpose, product vision, and setting clear priorities.
- Techniques and frameworks to craft exceptional customer experiences.
- Turning narratives into actionable hypotheses.
- Defining success through clear, actionable metrics.
- Building and utilising roadmaps as visual representations of your product strategy.
I don’t intend to give you a step-by-step recipe, the process is too complex and different from company to company, I want to give you a framework and values to work on.
Please note that the ideas I present are inspired by the work of others, such as the brilliant “Lenny’s Podcast”, “Masters of Scale”, and blog posts from thought leaders like Gibson Biddle and Marty Cagan. My goal is not to introduce new revolutionary methods but to share how we adapted our process to meet our specific needs.
In this post and the following essays, I will update an index with everything so you can easily read and navigate through them.
So let’s dive in and see you in the next post next week about “The core of a good strategy”!
Updated Index of all articles released so far:
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The Non-Technical Founders survival guide: How to spot, avoid & recover from 7 start-up scuppering traps.
