How do you use lean, agile, or OKR techniques to guide product development?

Lean & Agile are great development frameworks. There's a center piece missing with Design thinking. Combining the 3 together, we are able to affectively 1. Pick the right bets to make. 2. Implement a customer centric approach to scope and solve the right problem 3. Deliver the solution in increments.

OKR's ( Objectives and Key Results) are very critical to the product development process and also to the success of a product. First and most importantly to set appropriate OKR's, you need to first check what is/are the organisational mission and Objective/s. This is your first key reference point to ensure that the OKR's you set are aligned to what the organisation seeks to achieve or the problem that the organisation seeks to solve. You then need to conduct market research to determine what is the Target addressable Market (TAM) you are looking at. Then further zero in on the serviceable available market (SAM) and serviceable obtainable Market (SOM) in that order to determine fit OKR's.

How do you use lean, agile, or OKR techniques to guide product development? In my experience, Management usually have high level objectives(Strategic Horizon) Teams align collaboratively to match capabilities with management objective(Initiative Horizon) . Teams align collaboratively to create OKrs to match with management objectives , and then Themes or epics are created based on the identified capabilities to deliver a set of user stories for a particular product increment (Delivery Horizon)

Theses three frameworks be utilized together to direct product development Begin by characterizing product's vision and targets. This should be finished in a joint effort with partners, including clients, clients, and specialists. Utilize lean strategies to foster a prototype of product. This will assist you with approving the product’s idea and to get early input from clients. When the product is approved, you can start fostering it by utilizing agile techniques. This will permit you to iterate on the product rapidly and to answer changes in requirements. Use OKRs to define objectives for the product improvement process. This will assist you with keeping fixed on the main targets and to track on your development towards those objectives.

When guiding product development, Lean, Agile, and OKR techniques are power trio: Lean: Streamline by mapping processes, launching an MVP, and iterating based on user feedback. Agile: Work in sprints, collaborate cross-functionally, and embrace flexibility in response to feedback. OKRs: Set clear objectives, break into measurable key results, align teams, and review progress regularly. The fusion of Lean's efficiency, Agile's adaptability, and OKRs' alignment can supercharge product development, minimize waste, nimble iterations, and set crystal clear goals. Cross-functional collaboration can thrive, responding promptly to shifts. The outcome? A highly efficient, purposeful product that resonates in the market with precision and impact.

The strategy begins with a vision. The strategy is usually set by the stakeholders, but from time to time, you can change the strategy. You need to learn to adapt and use your influence to leverage the changes. Some teams work better using lean techniques, and others work better with the usual agile and having scrum, sprints, and other more set practices. OKRs help you see the motion in which your teams are moving but remember, if you see your team doesn't flow faster that way, be open to changing the way things move to have a faster outcome. Define expectations with stakeholders and adapt your team to reach such expectations. Lean, and agile are the way teams move faster but they are not laws, you can adapt them to your own workflow.

By using Lean, agile, and OKR frameworks together, you can create a product strategy that is client driven, result situated, and versatile. Here is one example how Lean, agile, and OKR can be used to create a product strategy: A startup is developing a new mobile app. They utilize lean methods to understand the requirements of their target clients and fabricate a MVP. Then, as per customer feedback, they use agile method to iterate on the app at that point. They additionally use OKRs to define clear objectives for the application and track their progress

Product development is a complex and dynamic process that requires constant adaptation and alignment with customer needs, market trends, and business goals. How can you plan and execute your product vision effectively and efficiently? One possible answer is to use lean, agile, or OKR techniques to guide your product road mapping. In this article, we will explain what these techniques are, how they can help you create and communicate your product strategy, and what tools and best practices you can use to apply them.

Using OKR's defined at the very top of an organization and allowing that to trickle down to the individual team allows the guidance for all subsequent teams to drive towards the same macro goals. By setting that foundation, it can help lead the product strategy to move forward as you will have a north star to drive the team towards to. With those established goals, having a lean framework for product delivery ensures that the team is focusing on the right work at the right time ensuring the Key Results defined are being addressed. By adopting agile methodologies for product delivery, it allows a team to adapt at any given time with the fluidity of the organization.

Lean, Agile, and OKRs offer distinct perspectives that, when understood and applied correctly, can shape a product's journey from ideation to realization. Let's delve deeper into how these methodologies influence product strategy. Lean- ensures that every aspect of a product is optimized for efficiency and customer value, shaping a strategy that's both cost-effective and market-driven. Agile - allows teams to continuously refine their product based on real-time feedback and changing market dynamics, ensuring that the strategy remains responsive and user-centric. OKRs - helps teams to align their efforts with overarching strategic aims, ensuring that every product initiative directly contributes to larger organizational outcomes.

To summarize the tie-in with Lean, Agile, and OKR techniques: Think of the Product Roadmap as a visual representation of fhe OKRs. Then, Lean and Agile are the operating principles through which the Product Roadmap (and, in-turn, the OKRs) will be realized.

One important thing before this step, is to create the OKR correctly. You can have many strategies to communicate your OKR but when they are bad structured for somehow still does not work. Some problems I have seen: 1. Misalignment: Poorly defined OKRs can lead to misalignment between teams and overall company strategy. 2. Lack of Engagement: When people don't understand the relevance of their OKRs their engagement can suffer. 3. Unrealistic Goals: Setting overly ambitious or unrealistic goals can demotivate if they feel the objectives are impossible to achieve. 4. Shallow progress: people might focus on achieving the OKR without actually making meaningful progress toward the larger objectives, leading to superficial success.

The construction of roadmap isn't solely an act of forward-looking projection. Each of the following methodologies brings its unique perspective and tools to the drafting table. Lean- prioritizes features that deliver the highest value to users while eliminating unnecessary elements. That ensures that the roadmap remains focused on key deliverables that maximize customer satisfaction and resource efficiency. Agile- Emphasizing flexibility, Agile roadmaps are designed to adapt to changing user feedback, market conditions, and iterative learnings. OKRs - brings clarity into product roadmaps by setting distinct objectives and the key results. This method ensures that every feature on the roadmap is directly tied to measurable outcomes.

A visual way to communicate your product strategy is by creating Lean canvas. An agile roadmap with the help of a document that outlines product's development plan. To track your progress, you could set OKRs for your product.

Applying the Business Analysis Services Framework (BASF) techniques across various services is invaluable. It's not just about having the right tools or techniques but also knowing how to utilize them effectively. Techniques like GAP Analysis, User Stories, Prototyping, BPMN, Use Case Descriptions, Training Needs Analysis and Business Readiness Assessment, streamline requirements engineering and business change deployment. They enhance collaboration and ensure alignment with business objectives. BASF techniques combined with the right tools drive efficient business process improvement and successful innovation and change deployment. #BusinessAnalysis #DataDrivenInsights #SystemsThinking

Lean equips product managers with a suite of tools that streamline tasks, prioritize efforts, and ensure every step is value-driven. Let's explore some of these tools: Value Stream Mapping: This visual tool helps product managers identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies by mapping out every stage of a process, from idea generation to product delivery. Gemba Walk Checklist: Used during Gemba Walks, this checklist guides product managers through on-the-ground observations to understand real-world processes and pinpoint areas for improvement. 5 Whys Analysis: A problem-solving tool where product managers ask "why" five times to find out the root cause of an issue, ensuring that solutions address the core problem and not just symptoms.

I’ve used OKR based quarterly planning for six years now across two organisations. There’s heaps to learn to do this effectively but I’ll contain myself to two key points: - you have to get buy in from the whole team OKRs done well are a lot of work and people will be rightly sceptical that this isn’t just another box ticking framework. So plan to spend heaps of time selling the benefits! - sweat the small stuff OKRs work primarily because of the collective time that you put into crafting them. This is the time to examine different points of view and flush out assumptions. Words are hard and this is a time to get the right words. Expect this to take hours and plenty of debate. You will learn a lot about unseen vocabulary gaps!

It's important to remember that neither the perfect product strategy nor ideal product roadmap are end goals: they are tools that help guide decision making and create a common language within a team. When the entire team understands the product strategy and roadmap targets, then any deviations (and there will be plenty) can be understood as a reassessment of scope, strategic pivot, or (in those uniquely golden moments) being ahead of schedule. The same is true for communicating with stakeholders; the roadmap provides a frame of reference that facilitates communication.

The best way I know to vet out assumptions and sanity check my product strategy or an OKR is by using an "opportunity solution tree" which comes from Teresa Torres. It's crucial to ensure you are prioritizing problems and opportunities and not solutions. I would say this is like an OKR on steroids. This will be a good exercise to use when roadmapping because it will force you to tie solutions back to problems.

One of the best practices for OKRs that I follow is communication throughout the whole process of why this matters. By setting OKRs at a company, rather than team level, it creates an ownership from everyone in the organization. Having these clearly outlined, explained why they are important and continually updating your product team in adapting their roadmap as needed. A method of agile adoption that has worked is making sure that it is a collaborative effort between the teams involved to ensure everyone is on the same page for the method in which your organization adopts and you do not deviate it as it normalizes with the teams. It's important to give changes time to familiarize before trying to optimize them.

If your company is small, particularly if it operates in the B2C sector, avoid spending excessive time on the backlog and don't strive to complete every ticket. Instead, regularly communicate with your users, customer support, and team members, and review your roadmap at least once a month. Within this period, your sprint priorities may need to change to accommodate the latest trends and needs. Don't overcommit by promising more than you can realistically deliver. Even if each feature seems fantastic at first glance, it's always better to under-promise and over-deliver.

Committing to these techniques is critical to success. Try to avoid stale Product Roadmaps, it’s a cultural killer. Employees will disengage, productivity will suffer, and customers/investors will notice.

The tools and techniques are really dependent on the organization, culture and people that are trying to adopt them. What worked at one company will not always work at another and it's important as a leader to make sure that what is being adopted is best for the team. An team is like a living organism and as those teams change and grow, it's important the techniques you use adapt as well

As an AI product leader, I leverage lean, agile, and OKR techniques to drive product development with precision and agility. We adopt lean principles to prioritise customer value, focusing on delivering features that matter most while minimising waste. Agile methodologies empower our teams to adapt quickly to changing requirements, fostering continuous improvement and collaboration. Additionally, OKRs provide a strategic framework, aligning our efforts with overarching business objectives, ensuring clarity of purpose and accountability. By combining these approaches, we create a dynamic environment that fosters innovation, accelerates time-to-market, and ultimately delivers exceptional value to our customers.