Every product team wants to build things users love. The goal may sound simple, but it’s hard to do. It’s why breakthrough products rarely happen by accident. Rather, they start with a strong product vision. Getting that vision right is one of the most important responsibilities of the product team. It has to define success clearly enough to focus the team on the right problems but without constraining creativity and innovation. Defining the product vision is a high-stakes exercise, which makes it all the more important to avoid some common pitfalls product managers encounter: confusing the company’s vision with their product vision, defining a vision that’s too abstract to be useful in strategic planning, or combining the “what” and the “how” in the product vision. Join Christian Bonilla, VP of Product at UserTesting, as he reveals tips for taking ownership of the product vision to guide the development process. He will discuss how a strong product vision informs your strategy and roadmap, common traps to avoid, share real-life examples, and show ways to reinforce the product vision into your team’s day to day. In this webinar, you’ll learn: • Steps to creating a product vision that leads to better outcomes • How to surface feedback misalignment and recognize when it’s time to pivot • How to position your vision as an umbrella for the product strategy

1. REC
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2. REC
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3. REC
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4. REC
WEBINAR
How product managers
can define a product
vision to guide their team
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5. About UserTesting
UserTesting is an on-demand human
insight platform that quickly gives
companies a first-person
understanding of how their target
audience behaves throughout any
experience and why.
Learn more at usertesting.com.
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Image size:
2.25” x 2.25”
Speaker
Christian Bonilla
VP, Product Management
UserTesting

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The Goal
Product Vision that Guides
and Empowers Your Team

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Leadership
starts with a
strong product
vision
Motivate your team
Define an effective strategy
Inspire productive innovation across the team
Show how every work fits into the big picture

8. The product vision answers the question:
“What would success look like for the perfect solution?”
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Engagement
Adoption Loyalty
Virality
Usage
Frequency

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The vision doesn’t define the perfect solution -
but rather how its success would manifest
“Everyone puts a Tile
on whatever they don’t
want to lose.”
Photo credit: Tile.com

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Benefit #1
Defining a target
outcome prevents
“building features” from
becoming the goal

11. Benefit #2
Working back from the
target outcome makes
strategy development
easier
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12. Benefit #3
Defining the parameters
of success unlocks
others’ creativity and
empowers them to
innovate
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Hallmarks of a good
product vision
✓ Succinct
✓ Ambitious
✓ Outcome-based
✓ Durable
✓ Right Altitude

15. The vision
altitude has to
be just right
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Geostationary orbit zone:
2,236 mi above equator
1.91 miles/second
Fiery crash Flung into outer space

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Not specific enough
Too specific
First-Gen Roadster (2008)

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Don’t Mistake the Company Vision for Product Vision
Accelerate the world’s transition
to sustainable energy
- Achieved over centuries
- Not specific to any product
- Involves multiple product lines

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A Nation Inspired by Astronauts Walking on the Moon
Figure Out Basic
Survival in Space
Develop Core Space
Travel Techniques
Land on and Depart
from the Moon
Sub-orbital flight
Orbital flight
Chimpanzee Survival
Human Survival
Extended Space Survival
Rendezvous and Dock
Walk in Space
Perfect Re-Entry
Upgrade Launch Rocket
Live TV Broadcast Support
lunar module
** Not included: millions of other things too complicated for me to ever understand
Vision
Core Strategic
Objectives
Sub-objectives &
Initiatives

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How to Make the Vision Stick?

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Show How Everything Fits
Together
● Everyone should know and have access to:
○ The product vision
○ The core strategic objectives to realize the vision
○ The problem spaces within each domain
○ The prioritized initiatives within each problem space

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Enforce Consistent Rigor at Every Level
Product Vision
Strategic
Objective
Vision | Contributor Incentive Payments
Contributors find the payments experience so enjoyable it
inspires more frequent engagement on its own
Strategic Objectives | Contributor Incentives
● Give contributors total transparency into past and
pending payments on all device experiences
● Anchor user experience and communications around
users’ self-reported motivations for earning
● Help contributors plan their activity around their
earnings targets
● Optimize test incentive amounts based on task and
question volume and complexity
Feature
Group

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The “staring out the window”
product vision test
A vision statement should enable
anyone to use their “starting out
the window” thinking of how they
can can help achieve the goal

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Q & A

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25. Header
Oat cake cherry
topping sesame
snaps cake donut
chocolate chip
FREE GUIDE FOR PRODUCT TEAMS
How to build customer-centric
products with fast feedback loops
Learn how to confidently build products that meet your customers’ needs.
usertesting.com/PMT