Product Kick Off Template
Every Product Manager has a library of templates.
But to me, for the contractor or a Composable PM, the most important core document is the Product Kick Off Template.
It's purpose is to drive action and alignment. And despite its simplicity, has baked in tools and elements earned from battlescars working a cross-functional role.
What is the purpose of the Template?
It's first order purpose is to actually run the kick-off. The kick-off gathers energy AND ensures that everyone knows everyone involved.
However, the actual kick-off is also a formality.
The contents of what goes into the kick-off needs to have been sorted through well ahead of time.
That's the messy but critical job of the PM.
The Template acts as a roadmap to uncover the critical missing information and to start the necessary conversations.
A strong start lays the foundation to a strong finish.
What is the Mission of the Company?
Including this helps to ensure there is agreement from the beginning.
Even if this is supposed to be one of those "obvious" statements, having it in writing and referencing it whenever possible in the kick off and specifications, can help ensure a North Star and reduce decision-making friction.
Counterparty wants to make in-real-life (IRL) connections and small groups stronger, more resilient, accessible, and trusted.
What is the Mission and Vision of the Product or Feature?
This may feel like overkill for an early stage company, and more appropriate if working in a much larger organization. But I feel that having a clear vision of what the product does helps to align and clarify resources and priorities. This is a Why, not a What.
Often the "What" overtakes discussions and there's no arbiter without a Vision and Mission. This helps with Prioritization as well as any Trade Offs that need to be made.
The Product should incentivize and delight anyone to engage more deeply with real people IRL, whether total strangers with common interests or long-time friends.
Who are the key personas for this product and who is the primary?
Products have multiple stakeholders, both external and internal. This should be a simple table of Title, Main Job To Be Done (JTBD), and if possible a Problem/Pain/Fear.
Then a primary should be picked. Yes, there are trade-offs to meet those needs, but who is the "empty chair" in the room when decisions are made?
However, we know that there are lots of stakeholders and personas, and having a short summary as a table for people to ensure priority and definitions makes sure the entire eco system and its dynamics are addressed.
| Persona | Main JTBD |
|---|---|
| Event Organizer | Bring attendees to the event and have a successful experience |
| Event Attendee | Meet interesting people with less stress |
| Advertiser | Targeted engagement with their message with a high ROE |
| Alumni Organization | Increase active engagement for more dues and donations |
| Aspiring Local Influencer | Easily create deeply committed local groups to increase status and impact |
The primary persona: Event Attendee
The Event Attendee then should be able to meet interesting people with less stress and experience deeper engagement IRL.
What are the key needs or problems for this persona?
This section should describe the actual problems that the user wants solves and the needs that emerge from problems they face.
If possible, I like to construct those succinctly with these elements:
Situation: what is occurring in their world
Pain: Becuase of this situation or changing dynamic, what is the pain they experience?
Implication: Why does this pain matter? What is the negative result and its intensity?
Benefit: What does the User or Customer want to experience?
These are not features. Features will solve for this.
What are the User Stories (grouped by key areas)?
For a kick-off, we don't want to go through all the details.
But I think being able to categorize and summarize the key stories, the main "happy path", should help people understand the scope of the planned solution.
What will the Communications Cadence be?
Describe (and link to) communications. Be clear on the audience, frequency, and content.
This can be tricky! Executives may want one level of communication. Customer facing teams may want another.
I think signing up for consistency versus depth is better. Include what the template would be.
I like the weekly reporting to include the following:
What was shipped:
What was a blocker/delay:
What is next?
What is the planned ship date (and did it change?)
When is the next demo?
Who is on the team and what are their key deliverables?
What's key is not to scope this to just engineering, although they should be on there.
Anyone who will have a dependency should be listed.
The list should be on a spreadsheet, with weekly dates on the columns and it is set to green on the day of the kick off.
Any key milestones should be put onto the spreadsheet and this gets sent out weekly.
Share with everyone that if there are delays or misses, it gets marked red...not for punishment, but because it gives people visibility on where help or risks lie.
Product Metrics
Describe what and how you will start to track metrics.
Always make sure that what metrics that most matter to stake holders are included.
HOWEVER, also make sure that there are leading, qualitative metrics. Revenue is a lagging indicator, and while important to keep an eye on, lead the team to care about leading indicators that are controllable (inputs) or give strong predictive signals (outputs)
Timelines
Don't be too specific. You'll be likely wrong.
Instead, think in terms of Beginning, Middle, and End.
Think in terms of Critical Dependencies and Risks.
Customer Facing Deliveries should be on the Timeline...long before GA or even Beta.
Regular internal demos should be set as part of the cadence and culture to ship regularly and create rallying cries within the company.
Values and Challenges
How do you like to work and call out where it has or could rub people wrong or be misinterpreted. Give people room to know how to address concerns.
Set out 1-3 operating principles or values that you want to drive the product towards that, as best as possible, highlight your strengths and align with the company.
Recommend that Openness, Ownership, and Empathy can work in almost any culture, but need to be called out as part of the kick off so people know what to expect.