Definition:

Firstly, we must define what the Product Vision is.  Just as any Vision, the Product Vision should be a short statement of what the product is for.  Here are some characteristics of a good Product Vision:

• One sentence
• Emotive and inspirational – a ‘call to the flag’
• Colourful with a logo – for Product Visions that are up on the wall
• Written in the present tense – imagine that the product already exists
• What does the product do – not how it was created or how it works

Roman Pichler, the acknowledged father of Visions, says that Product Visions should be:

• Clear & stable: Every participant should find it easy to understand, so avoid empty phrases that don’t say anything (aka bullshit)
• Broad & engaging: It should depict a higher picture that everyone can relate to and that inspires people to give their best to make it happen
• Short & sweet: It needs get straight to the point.

Additionally, make it:

• Achievable: Although a vision should be a futuristic idea of what the product might become, set a goal that can be met
• Insightful: Craft the idea based on users’ needs and motives and define the main reason behind the product’s existence.

Examples

Before investigating how to help the Product Owner create the Product Vision with the Development Team, let us look at a couple of examples:

Tesla:

• “Build sports car
• Use that money to build an affordable car
• Use that money to build an even more affordable car
• While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
• Don't tell anyone”

Whilst this Vision ‘breaks’ the one sentence guideline, it does fit Roman Pilcher’s advice.

Ikea:

“At IKEA our vision is to create a better EVERYDAY life for the many people”

This is a short and broad Vision for the company that will drive the products that the company produces ie will a proposed product help ‘create a better everyday life for the many people’.

• Product Vision Creation

So how does the Product Owner, who is responsible for the Product Vision, go about creating the Product Vision?

Firstly, the creation of a Product Vision is best DONE collaboratively; as a Scrum Master, arrange a facilitated workshop with the Product Owner, relevant stakeholders and the Development Team to ‘brainstorm’ ideas; you may facilitate the workshop yourself (see Creating A Shared Vision That Works).

There are 2 widely USED ‘models’ to use to help create a Product Vision:

1. ‘The Elevator Pitch’
2. Bill Shackelford’s ‘Design the box’

• The Elevator Pitch

The idea behind the Elevator Pitch is to put together a statement about something to ‘pitch’ to the CEO when riding in an elevator; we are not going to do this; it is the elements of an Elevator Pitch that we need to explore for the product so that we can come to a suitable form of words for the Product Vision.  There are different lists of Elevator Pitch elements; for now, we will look at the following list from Roman Pichler:

• The Target Group – who the product is likely to benefit
• The Needs – the main problem the product addresses or the primary benefit it offers
• The Product – summarises the three to FIVE features of the product that make it stand out and that are critical for its success
• The Business Goals – explains why it’s worthwhile for your company to invest in the product. It states the desired business benefits, for instance, increase revenue, enter a new market, reduce cost, develop the brand, or acquire valuable knowledge. 

By ‘brainstorming’ the above elements, the workshop participants get a better understanding of the product and can converge onto a suitable Product Vision.
Roman Pichler has a downloadable Product Vision Board that you can use to organise the ‘brainstorming’ ‘sticky notes’ and capture the decisions:

• Design the Box

In a facilitated workshop, the participants imagine the product to be a ‘shrink-wrapped’ physical box CONTAINING the product; or it may be that the product is to be ‘shrink-wrapped’.

The elements of the box are:

• The Front – The product name, main features and a graphic
• The Back – Product information
• The Sides – Limitations, Health & Safety, Legal

There is a good description of how to run a Design the Box workshop at Design the Box.

Again, as with the Elevator Pitch, the workshop participants get a better understanding of the product and can converge onto a suitable Product Vision