True North for Products
People get an idea and start building a product without thinking about where they want to be, without planning for the trip.
Planning for the Product
Finding the True North for a product sets a strong, unified direction for the team. Defining the product is more than deciding the features to include. Spending time to determine the core meaning of a product designs a better experience for the user that can go beyond just the features of the product itself.
Think about 3 areas to consider:
Core Product: Benefit consumer receives from purchasing the product.
the need that is being fulfilled, what the buyer is really buying. The core product refers to the use, benefit, or problem-solving service that the consumer is really buying when purchasing the product,
Actual Product: The Product. It delivers the core benefits.
the tangible product or intangible service that serves as the medium for the core product that proves those benefits.
Augmented Product: Associated services & benefits worth a premium to customers.
measures taken to help the consumer put the actual product to sustained use, such as customer support, installation, delivery, warranties, and instructions or tips.
How to Define Your Product
Define the challenge that needs a solution.
Understand your business’s short & long-term goals. Who do you want to be? How do you want to be known?
Research & understand your users and customers.
Invest time in a prototype, not just words, before building your product.
Test your products with real users and apply what you learn.
Iterate!!!!
One Can. Two Different Products.
What do you think of when I say “soup”? Do you think of a liquid food, usually served hot, that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with a liquid? Or how about Andy Warhol’s print of Campbell's Soup cans? Both answers are correct but do not serve the same purpose. Imagine the problem a team would have producing Soup without clear direction on which one was the goal.
It may sound like an outrageous example but I have seen close examples. Start-up founders with a dream that makes sense to them but their board that is following a different direction because of a lack of communication. Taking the time to define the Core, Actual, and Augmented product creates that North Star to set everyone in the same direction.
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Soup … ?
Andy Warhol was interested in mechanical reproduction and ended up learning that serial repetition of an image drains it of its meaning. He kept up with the theme and applied it to other famous images such as race riots and Marilyn Monroe’s cult celebrity after her death. In 1962, he debuted Campbell’s Soup Cans paintings at Ferus gallery.
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… or Soup?
In 1897 Campbell Soup invents the process of condensing soup, leading to smaller packaging: Cans! The invention made soups more affordable for families and safe to store on the shelf. Campbell Test Kitchens opened in 1941 to develop recipes using condensed soups—many of which would become classics on family dinner tables.
Andy Warhol Campbell’s Soup Painting
Core
Entertaining, thought-provoking
Actual
Mechanical reproduction
Augmented
Printing as art medium. Serial repetition of an image drains its meaning.
Campbell’s Condensed Soup in a Can
Core
Solves a person’s hunger
Actual
Food in a can
Augmented
Recipes, contests, family traditions
Example
Nurse Backpack
Nurses typically have 20-30 credentials they are expected to keep up-to-date and be able to readily provide evidence to employers, yet it is still a very paper-based process. Instead of 3-ring-binders and folders, we looked at the device nurses always have: smartphones. Nurse Backpack’s mobile app handles healthcare professional documentation — credentials, licenses, and more — from the palm of their hand.
The founder has staffing agency experience and was familiar with the overly-complicated, paper-based system nurses traditionally use. Our goal was to become the go-to source for managing nurse credentials.
Core
Benefit consumer receives from purchasing the product.
Organized, secure credential documentation management and job application service
Actual
The Product. It delivers the core benefits.
Cloud-based document management system for nurses and hospital management
Augmented
Associated services & benefits worth a premium to customer.
Transparent job orders, streamlined process, and opportunity for premium pay for travel nurses