Project Weeknotes Part 2: Purpose and Vision
In the previous entry, I spoke about the Problems I am trying to solve, albeit with few users and readers (possibly as I have not added analytics). Therefore we can now define a Purpose and Vision for the project, and in a team and company, this can be used to help communicate the intent behind work and evangelisation.
Purpose
When talking about work, answering the why behind every initiative is vital. As a Product Manager works towards building or iterating a feature, it is essential for all stakeholders, e.g. users, engineering, etc., to understand why.
A good starting point for writing a good Purpose is to start with “The aim of this piece of work is to ….”. I like to make this high enough level that many variations of solutions can exist but not so high level that it is just a rewrite of the Product’s value proposition. Another means is to borrow from the Lean Methodology the 5 whys; i.e. ask why 5 times to get to the real purpose.
For Project Weeknotes, that looks like the following:
The aim is to build a place for me to develop personally by reflecting and sharing.
Vision
Part of keeping true to the bigger picture is to define what a piece of work will look like to everyone. If you are over-explaining an idea or feature, your vision needs work. In a team, this is a good starting point and better as a collaborative task. When I engage with a client and we scope work, I will guide stakeholders to write the vision so that someone with zero context will understand it.
Writing it in a compelling fashion is crucial as you will be saying this to everyone and trying to win them over. Some of the shortcuts I use are:
To …
Something big as something small, e.g. be able to submit data for tax returns as easy as signing up for Twitter.
Simplifying A-B, e.g. go from login to ordering food in a few steps as needed.
Going for Gold, e.g. be the one place to hire a freelancer anywhere in the world.
Sad to happy, e.g. provide a way for people to feel good about submitting expenses.
By …
Positive experience, e.g. gamifying the experience.
Using an unfair advantage, e.g., gathering insights and testing ideas with the largest creative community we currently manage.
Connect parties, e.g. connecting students directly with tutors.
Don’t use these shortcuts as a go-to but as a prompt to formulate something more esoteric, yet never forget that it has to connect with everyone.
Therefore, for Project Weeknotes I have written the following:
To make personal growth as easy as writing an email by prompting one to reflect on the week just gone, plan the week ahead, and be accountable by sharing with others.
End of Part 2
With Purpose, Vision, and Problem defined, next is to move onto Goals, my favourite subject.
