Product Strategy Canvas

Creating a product strategy is a job that most product folk do quite rarely, often under pressure and with not enough time. Because PMs don't create strategies regularly, many of them aren't natural at the process, so when we need to create one, there’s a good chance we freeze. When we recover from the foetal position, we wonder, “where on earth do I start?”

Enter the Product Strategy Canvas: a tool designed to be repeatable, flexible, and lightweight. Drawing inspiration from various successful models, we aimed to simplify the intricate process of strategy creation, catering to those who find it daunting or simply lack the time.

We're mindful that one size doesn't fit all. This might be a lot to wrap your head around for junior product professionals or those just starting out in product management. Having said that, knock yourself out and give it a go. If nothing else, you’ll learn a lot. For seasoned directors of product, CPOs, or experienced strategists, you likely have your own approach, but there might be something useful here for you as well.

By streamlining the process and focusing on three critical areas (the state of the business, market and product), you can concentrate on the substance of your strategy and the collaboration it demands.

The canvas serves as a beacon, lifting you from the quagmire of your backlog to provide a clear view of the bigger picture, enabling you to chart a strategic course for your product.

The Product Strategy canvas is a MIRO template that helps product leaders craft a product strategy by following a step-by-step process of gathering data and then using that data to articulate key focus areas that help inform goals, roadmaps, and plans.

This canvas is ideal for Product Managers and Product leaders who wish to follow a repeatable process in order to gather the insights needed to make difficult prioritisation decisions in the form of a Product strategy. This is helpful when you're low on time, do this process rarely and/or wish to approach it collaboratively.

We’ve tested and iterated our canvas with clients, workshop participants, and industry mates and we now proudly share the Product Strategy Canvas in Miro for free under a Creative Commons Licence.

To make the most of this canvas, create a copy and try to fill in each frame without getting stuck. If you don't know the answer, capture the name of someone who does. Once all three input frames are filled in, you should have enough insights to decide on what your team(s) will focus on, in other words, to create a product strategy.

Finally, we've woven in an example from the author's experience setting strategy for Spotify's desktop product for Mac & Windows, to help you understand and contextualise the questions. Good luck!