Product Vision Board

The Product Vision Board is a canvas derived from the Business Model Canvas to quickly define a simple vision of a product. I really like this canvas which is simple to use and which allows to have a concrete vision of a product.

Product Vision Board

Here is the Product Vision Board canvas. You can print it or draw it on a big sheet and put it on the wall to work on it.

Unlike the Product Vision Box (we will see this practice later), we can have a digital version very easily to share the vision of a product.

Target Group column of the product vision board

This column is the first box to fill in your Product Vision Board. We must determine each type of user who will use the product or the offer we will create. You can assimilate these to personae.

On an ecommerce site, we can define the “customer” or the “logistician” as personae of the application. Even if a 40-year-old woman and a 15-year-old don’t have the same types of purchase, both of them will be considered to be the same “customer” persona. Why? Because they will have the same user journey and it’s this journey that will be important for the development of our product.

In marketing, we would have had two different personae because the marketing approaches would have been different between a woman of 40 years and a young man of 15 years.

In this box, we will write only the list of personae without any details. For example: customer, logistician, administrator, merchandiser …

Needs column of the product vision board

After writing the personae, we will fill the box of the needs of the Product Vision Board. Although it is possible to have many needs, we will try to write the 5 to 7 main needs of the key users of the application.

It is important to understand that the goal is to be concise and to write simple sentences.

For example for an ecommerce site:

• buy products
• have a quality after-sales service
• receive products in 24h
• have a secure payment

Product column of the product vision board

After writing the needs, we will write the 5 to 7 main features of the product that meet the needs previously written. In the same way as for the needs, we will write concisely and with simple sentences.

For example for an ecommerce site:

• product sheet
• a quality basket
• simple management of your orders
• Secure payment

Business Goals column of the product vision board

The business goal column is the most complex to write because you will have to determine the 5 to 7 indicators that will be followed to ensure that our product will go in the right direction.

For that, it will be necessary to determine measurable KPIs and which will not impose an abstract reading of the evolution to be followed.

For example for an ecommerce site:

• revenues of 30K € in 2018
• visitor growth of 20% annually

Vision line of the product vision board

When all 4 columns are complete, you will need to complete the vision part of the Product Vision Board in one complete sentence. Be careful, this sentence can not contain everything and it will not be necessary to make an extension sentence of 5 lines.

This is an extremely difficult exercise but you will have to qualify your product in one sentence. The goal will be to help you with this sentence to have the capacity to do a pitch elevator of your product.

Conclusion Product Vision Board

With the Product Vision Board, you can easily share your vision with key users, sponsors, or stakeholders.

It will be very useful when you do interviews because the Product Vision Board will guide the interview.