How do you test and validate your vision and mission assumptions with your product users?

Another important skill is to know how to conduct motivational inquiry when performing user research. In many cases, it can be difficult for users to offer direct feedback. Motivational Inquiry is a method rooted in the principles of Motivational Interviewing, a counseling approach designed to encourage individuals to speak about and explore their need for change and their ambivalence towards it. The core of Motivational Inquiry lies in engaging with individuals in a non-confrontational, collaborative way, helping them articulate their own reasons for change and empowering them to take action. We need to tap into the psychological and functional needs of our users to develop a strong vision and mission that resonates.

Don't assume that you know what users need. You need to partner, co-create and collaborate solutions. Many product designers assume they have the answers, but to build for as many people as possible, you need to ensure that you have perspectives less likely to have a seat at the table.

Design Thinking (resulting in User-Centric Design) is an essential practice and methodological tool for Product Managers and Designers that builds empathy and a holistic understanding of a user persona prior to crafting such statements. Design Thinking aims to understand the end user's current - including frustrations and delightful moments - trying to capture what the user is feeling, saying, thinking, and doing. Thereafter, an iterative and co-creative process ensues that targets the most prominent problems and aims to build a product that will satisfy those needs. With a persona, empathy, and problem in hand, a Product Manager can craft powerful vision and mission statements in which to inspire and drive the broader product team.

In software, one thing I've learned to do is ask our current customers usually on a ride with sales and to ride along with sales to ask our opportunities too. Seeing folks in person and with your sales rep can help you get dynamic perspective, that might not look the same when reading it on paper.

Start with surveys for broad trends and follow up with in-depth interviews for nuanced insights. Incorporating usability tests on prototype features addressing these concerns provides direct feedback on alignment with the mission

While it is tempting to use revenue for example as a success metric, it's also dangerous to do so because this is not a customer or product centric metric but rather a business metric that is self-serving and may lead to suboptimal product decisions that undercut your product vision and mission if that is your singular success metric. For example, if Google set revenue as their sole success metric, it would lead to cluttered search result pages that are full of advertisements which doesn't serve their mission of "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". Instead a more customer and product centric metric for Google may be the time it takes to find a satisfactory search result.

Success metrics are really important but not hitting them is okay and it's also really important to look beyond the basic data too. There's always room to grow. If you can, look beyond how you defined basic success metrics, so you get the full picture and constantly work towards improving.

I remember I was reading a case study that Slack emphasizes user engagement and satisfaction as core to its mission of improving workplace communication. By tracking NPS, they gauge user advocacy, while churn rate reveals retention success, and MAU growth reflects engagement. These metrics collectively offer insights into how well Slack is fulfilling its mission, enabling the company to adjust strategies and enhance product features to better meet user needs and align with their mission Maybe something to consider ;)

Establish clear and measurable success metrics aligned with your vision and mission. These metrics should reflect key aspects of user engagement, satisfaction, and value delivery. By tracking these metrics, you can gauge the extent to which your product is fulfilling its intended purpose and resonating with users.

- Utilize a combination of surveys, social media interactions, and user forums to gather feedback from a wide user base. - Develop surveys with questions specifically designed to gauge users' perceptions and experiences. - Analyze and review user feedback on platforms like app stores or product review sites. - Leverage social media listening tools to understand user sentiments and discussions about your product in real-time. - Incorporate user feedback into the product development process for continuous alignment with the vision and mission. - Conduct one-on-one interviews or focus group discussions with users to understand their experiences and opinions regarding the product’s vision and mission alignment.

And another case study: Dropbox, leverages user feedback to prioritize feature updates and bug fixes, ensuring their cloud storage solutions closely align with user expectations and their mission to simplify work. By systematically analyzing user feedback, Dropbox identifies patterns and areas for improvement, directly informing product development and strategic adjustments to better serve their user base and reinforce their vision of making life easier for people around the world

In addition to the various tools and channels mentioned here for collecting feedback, it's also important to find ways to more easily identify patterns and make solid data-driven conclusions about the feedback. Collecting a ton of customer feedback data and letting it sit in a backlog of sorts will not help a product team make decisions. It's critical to find ways to organize the data, find common themes and take actions.

When creating a feedback loop, watch out for these pitfalls. Avoid confirmation bias by staying open-minded and considering diverse perspectives. Be mindful of feedback overload—set clear goals and prioritize what matters most. Lastly, balance negative feedback with positive insights to get a holistic view of user sentiment. Addressing these challenges ensures our feedback loop delivers actionable insights.

Establish mechanisms for ongoing feedback collection from users throughout the product lifecycle. This could involve channels such as in-app feedback forms, customer support interactions, social media listening, and user community forums. Actively solicit and listen to user feedback to validate assumptions, identify areas for improvement, and uncover new opportunities aligned with your vision and mission.

Imagine a factory churning out products based on guesswork – a juicer one day, a snowblower the next. That's what happens when you don't iterate and experiment with users. By continuously testing and adapting based on their feedback, you ensure your product solves their actual problems, not just the ones you assume they have. Don't fall into the trap of building everything at once. Start with an MVP – a basic version that allows you to test core assumptions and iterate quickly based on user feedback. This "learn by doing" approach is far more effective than building a product in a vacuum.

When iterating and experimenting, we are often tempted to invest too much time and energy. While MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) are popular to discuss, I suggest starting with a MVT (Minimum Viable Test). Why build even an MVP, when you might be able learn as much from a napkin sketch, or a fully manual process. Your goal should be to minimize the amount of time it takes to fail and/or validate your theories.

To effectively test and validate your vision and mission with users, engaging them through iterative cycles and experimental approaches is crucial. If your mission emphasizes empowering users to make informed decisions, you might prototype a decision-making tool within your product, presenting it to a subset of users. By measuring engagement, user satisfaction, and decision outcomes, you gain insights into how well your product aligns with your mission, allowing for data-driven adjustments that ensure your product direction resonates with your intended impact on users

Embrace an iterative approach to product development based on continuous learning and experimentation. Test hypotheses, feature ideas, and design concepts through rapid prototyping and A/B testing. Iterate based on user feedback and performance data to refine your product in alignment with your vision and mission while addressing user needs and preferences.

Sometimes it's better to explore unconventional methods as they can significantly enhance the iteration and experimentation process, especially when the cost of iteration is high, both in terms of time and resources. For instance, incorporating gamification can increase engagement by introducing interactive elements and challenges. Additionally, involving users in the design process through advisory panels or co-design sessions can yield highly relevant insights and innovations.

OKRs allow for structured review and refinement of vision and mission alignment. Regular retrospectives enable the team to analyze what strategies have succeeded or faltered, ensuring continuous alignment with their overarching vision and facilitating targeted improvements

To make the review and refine process really work you have to get some basics right. I've seen so many organisations fail in one or more of these areas. First, having the right tools and data for thorough evaluations is essential. You can't gather accurate insights and measure progress effectively otherwise. Next, being consistent in review cycles and building a culture that values continuous improvement is crucial. Regular check-ins keep things on track and reduce surprises later on. Lastly, ensuring that the insights gained from these reviews are communicated clearly and acted on is key. The findings will never lead to real improvements otherwise.

Regularly review and refine your vision and mission statements based on insights gathered from user research, feedback, and experimentation. Ensure that they remain relevant, compelling, and aligned with evolving user expectations and market dynamics. Iteratively refine your understanding of user needs and aspirations to keep your product strategy on track with your overarching vision and mission.

In my experience as a founder of a social impact organization, none of the usual routes work to test your mission, vision and assumptions. I would tend to argue that these (Mission, Vision and assumptions) are fairly misplaced in todays times. Orgns. today thrive on fluidity, agility and and a certain elasticity in existence if you will. Successful pivots and diversification are celebrated and consciously encouraged. What helps is to identify and cultivate a set of MAVENS who can act as advisors and critiques. Find those who value purpose over a plaque on the wall : ) for radical alternate views.

It depends on the journey in my opinion. Many a times in this fast changing market, we cannot be rigid in these statements but be flexible. With customer base ever changing, a broad purview should drive us creating more grey areas that can be explored, experimented, fulfilled, and upkeep with feedbacks.

Looking at examples like Spotify and Airbnb can offer valuable insights. Spotify’s personalized playlists, like Discover Weekly, show how using user data and feedback can create highly personalized and engaging experiences. They constantly refine their algorithms based on listening habits to keep users hooked. Airbnb also excelled with their user-centered design. The founders actually lived with hosts and guests to understand their needs. This hands-on empathy led to major product improvements and innovative features, helping Airbnb become a market leader.