4 Point Strategic Framework
Roman Pichler has made a name for himself in the world of product strategy. A recent summary of his comments made me think that this is a great framework for many strategy prompts. Let's dive in.
Roman is famous for saying, a robust strategy outlines:
Value Proposition
Target Group
Business Goals
Distinctive Features
Additionally, Pichler also advises crafting a strategy that there is a careful balance that must be managed between being specific enough to guide effective decision-making without constraining creativity.
Because 'set it and forget it' just doesn't apply to product strategy, your interviewers can always take a product and ask you about the whys of strategy, and you will find it changes over time. This also applies to metrics prompts, what you make your North Star can change as the value prop, target group, business goals and features changes.
Markets and user needs are ever-changing. So, strategies are continuously updating and changing. Since strategic planning is a dynamic process in pursuit of staying relevant, you need to adapt new insights and change your responses with the market landscape. When you are asked to speculate on the past, remember that strategies change and why they change.
While real strategic planning involves data, you can only use data in a Strategy case question by pulling from what you have read or know. But use it as some data or justification for your point of view (POV) on the prompt in question to be data-driven, even if it is limited data.
Pick a key element in the product strategy and validate it with an observation you have made. This can show your interviewer that you understand how the product moved closer to market needs and user expectations.
Let's get back to that framework above. Next time you get a prompt, try applying these 4 key elements to your approach: Value Prop, Users, Biz Goals, and Features.
Let's try quickly with "Should Google put tablets in restaurants, yes or no?
Value Prop Providing menus and product information for the guests could be helpful to the guests with quick information and possibly deeper information - think food terms you don't know - but does it outweigh the user preferences? I think not.
Users In today's post-pandemic world we all walk around with a personalized screen in our pocket (which ironically is filthy) so we don't want to touch other devices. The value is in the internet or the database, not the device.
Business Goals Is this about Search Information or testing out the hardware device? Of so, is it the best option to pursue at this point in time? How does it position Google against the likes of Square, Yelp and large POS for Resturant systems?
Features What would be the killer feature to combat the user behaviors listed above? If it doesn't seem obvious, since you don't have a lot of time, acknowledge the features might be interesting but not compelling.
Grab a strategy prompt and test out this approach today.
Additional Resources