Product Mindset - Product Topology and Taxonomy
What is the classification, hierarchy and relationship interplay in the world of product management?
This Product Mindset series is an effort to set foundational product mindset elements right.👌This covers some very basic but practical information crucial for any aspiring or new Product Manager to build and strengthen their Product Mindsets. 🤯
Below is the agenda/posts of this series:👇
What is Product Management - Part 1? + What is Product Management - Part 2?
What is the relationship between Business, Portfolio, and Product (Topology and Taxonomy)?
How is the Product different from the Project and Product Manager from a Project Manager?
Who is a Product Manager and what does he/she do?
What is the confusion about the role of Product Manager and Product Owner?
More such topics to strengthen product mindset…
Introduction
In the world of Product Management, you need to see things clearly and understand how they work together and their place in the big-picture context.
Hence, a need for you to familiarize yourself with the concepts and applications related to Product Topology and Taxonomy.
Product Topology is mostly related to the place and positioning. It is focused on reactive positioning and influence.
Whereas product Taxonomy is more deeper. It establishes the hierarchies and relationships across the product world.
Mostly topology is considered to be a very conceptual aspect, while taxonomy is a very practical aspect of product management and can be seen in action on a day-to-day basis.
For clarity of thought, stronger understanding, and practical application, we will be majorly focused on the product taxonomy aspect in the coming content.
Product Taxonomy Framework
To understand and create the Product Taxonomy well, we need to establish a framework. In this framework, we have the following entities:
Business Group - This is the collective representation of all elements that are formed together to have a meaningful business that you can structure, organize, market, and run.
Strategy Group - This is the collection of all the elements that are used to represent the desire and direction of business group elements. This group is extensively used for streamlining strategic communication and stakeholder elements.
Delivery Group - This represents the set of elements that make things real. Majorly dedicated to the execution and delivery of the business group objectives as per the strategy group direction
Elements - This is a piece of the overall ecosystem that has no or limited value on its own. But when combined with other elements of its group and executed with other elements from other groups, brings in the life and the real value to the overall business ecosystem.
Elemental Relationship - Represents the relationship and the manifestation mechanism across elements and groups of elements.
Many organizations leverage the Taxonomy to organize their resources accordingly and it helps them synergize the organization-wide resources. However, these are just high-level views and a product team can further benefit if they follow team topologies based on value stream maps and optimize as per the product value creation flow within the organization.
Let’s further explore the groups and their elements through the below illustrations:
Group Inter-relationship
For each group, there are several elements and they are related to each other:
Business Group Elements
Business/Company - Represents the legal entity and/or the large umbrella under which all business activities are carried out. Business/ company can have 1 or more business portfolios.
Portfolio - Represents a collection of products, capabilities, and resources that are managed together to enhance their collective effectiveness towards the company objectives. A portfolio typically consists of more than one product. But you can also have just 1 product portfolio with not much distinction between the two.
Product - An offering made by the business to a set of target audiences to help solve some of their problems, leverage some business opportunities, or mitigate some risks. A detailed definition is provided in the first post of the Product Mindset series. For one product business, the terms business, portfolio, and product brand all point towards the same element - Product.
Brand - It is an identity perception that the audience or market (External world) has about your business/company) or product. Typically one business will have one brand identity but could consist of a portfolio of multiple products with each having their own brand identity. P&G is a classic example.
Strategy Group Elements
Mission - The mission outlines the purpose and core values of your business. For 1 product business, this is also the Product MIssion. For multiple product businesses, every product mission rolls up to the business mission to complete it. It defines why you exist. This is the external view that you create and strive towards.
Vision - To make the Mission more manageable we create a mid-long terms internal view, Vission. This mostly tells the story of what we want to become and achieve in a certain amount of time so that we can move one step closer to our Mission. It describes the ultimate impact we will create. At any given time, the product has one vision that it is trying to achieve. In the long run, the product Vision often evolves to reflect current realities and renewed aspirations.
Strategy - It is a set of choices, preferences, and directional decision frameworks that we will take while moving toward our Vision. It’s the game plan that bridges the gap between your current state and the desired outcome. A product can have multiple strategies, aligned with the Vision at any given point and it could evolve with time.
Roadmap - The roadmap is a communication and consensus-building tool that helps us communicate and align on Why, How, and When are we going to do What. So that, we can execute as per the decided strategy towards the Vision. A vision will associate with one roadmap (a working document, that needs constant updating), which will encompass all strategies within.
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Delivery Group Elements
Initiative - It is a broad term that can be used to represent any strategic activity taken up to fulfill some immediate or long-term objective. It often has defined timelines, assigned resources, expected outputs, etc. In many setups, this is referred to as a Project as well. However, I consider an Initiative to be an umbrella, a project being one of the types/manifestations. It encompasses multiple epics and features.
Feature - A feature is a distinctive attribute or aspect of a product or system that provides a specific functionality or benefit to the user. A feature can have one or multiple epics with different priorities within themselves.
Epic - An epic is a large, overarching body of work that can be broken down into smaller, more manageable pieces of work. It could consist of multiple user stories and tasks.
User Story / Task - A user story is a concise, user-centric description of a desired functionality, written from the perspective of the end user. It focuses on the value and outcome for the user. A task is a specific piece of non-user-facing work required to implement an epic.
Subtask - A subtask is a smaller, detailed piece of work that is part of a larger task or user story. It helps break down complex tasks into manageable steps, making it easier for the team to track progress and complete the work efficiently. It also enhances ownership transparency.
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Product Taxonomy
Now, let’s bring it home and see all of them in action together.
All this taxonomy discussion needs to be considered with a pinch of salt. Although all taxonomies have many common elements and structures, the actual organization and product level implementation varies, sometimes significantly. Not all elements are used in all places, and this post does not claim to illustrate all of them.
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Conclusion
understanding product taxonomy is crucial for effectively managing and organizing the various components of a product and business. By categorizing elements into Business Group, Strategy Group, and Delivery Group, companies can streamline their operations and strategic communications.
Each element from all groups has an ongoing interplay and intra-play that is crucial for successful execution, contributing to the overall mission and vision. The relationships between these elements ensure cohesive execution and delivery, ultimately driving the business toward its strategic goals.
This structured approach not only enhances efficiency but also aligns all efforts with the company’s objectives, fostering a more integrated and successful business environment.
Smart people learn from other’s experiences. I have traveled this path in the past. So, I want to show the path and guide professionals who are struggling in their professional journey.
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👋 Signing off.
Watch out for the next edition 👀
Shifting the land - Project vs Product and Project Manager vs Product Manager
🥳🤩🤯