
In the previous lesson, we introduced the four pillars of product work: feature opportunity validation, feature design, feature development, and feature launch and iteration.
在上一節課中,我們介紹了產品工作的四大支柱:功能機會驗證、功能設計、功能開發以及功能發布與迭代。
Now we're going to dive into the first pillar: feature opportunity validation. Features are the most common types of projects early-career PMs contribute to, whether that means improving existing features or launching new ones.
現在我們要深入探討第一個支柱:功能機會驗證。功能是初級產品經理最常參與的項目類型,無論是改進現有功能還是推出新功能。
As a new PM, it's easy to simply take the projects you're assigned at face value and execute them. But one of the critical roles of a product manager—regardless of how experienced you are—is to validate that the work you are doing will create value for the business and the user before diving in. Therefore, the starting point of any great feature work is validating the opportunity. But what do we mean by validating an opportunity?
作為一名新任產品經理,很容易只是表面上接受分配的專案並執行它們。然而,無論經驗多豐富,產品經理的一個關鍵角色就是在投入之前,確認你所做的工作能為企業和用戶創造價值。因此,任何出色功能工作的起點都是驗證機會。但我們所說的驗證機會究竟是什麼意思呢?
For an opportunity to be worth pursuing, it needs to have 3 components. The first is strategic fit. It needs to align with the strategy and goals of the company. The second component is user value. The opportunity needs to solve a relevant problem for a target user. The third component is business value. Solving the problem needs to create value in some way. Let's understand how each component plays a role in the success of an opportunity, beginning with strategic fit.
要讓一個機會值得追求,它需要具備三個要素。首先是策略契合。它需要與公司的策略和目標相符。第二個要素是用戶價值。這個機會需要為目標用戶解決一個相關的問題。第三個要素是商業價值。解決這個問題需要以某種方式創造價值。讓我們了解每個要素如何在機會的成功中發揮作用,首先從策略契合開始。
Successful opportunities are aligned with business strategy at every level. This means the feature is contributing to the goals of the team, the product, and the company, and ultimately drives the company forward in a meaningful way. In addition, when your feature has strategic fit, you get buy-in from the leadership team and your cross-functional stakeholders more easily.
成功的機會在每一個層面上都與商業策略保持一致。這意味著該功能正在為團隊、產品和公司的目標做出貢獻,並最終以有意義的方式推動公司向前發展。此外,當您的功能具有戰略契合時,您更容易獲得領導團隊和跨職能利益相關者的支持。
The second critical component of a successful feature opportunity is user value.
成功的功能機會的第二個關鍵組成部分是用戶價值。
User value is an especially important component for junior PMs to assess and understand because when a manager assigns you a project, it's likely that they already have a strong hypothesis about strategic fit and business value. However, you're at an advantage when it comes to user value because you spend more time regularly interacting with users. Your role as a PM is to understand the user and represent them within the company. Understanding and validating users’ problems enables you to build features and products that solve them. If your project doesn’t solve a relevant user problem, you'll struggle to drive adoption. After all, nobody wants to spend time using something that isn't creating value for them in some way!
使用者價值對於初級產品經理來說是特別重要的組成部分,因為當經理指派給你一個專案時,他們很可能已經對策略契合度和商業價值有了強烈的假設。然而,在使用者價值方面,你具有優勢,因為你花更多時間定期與使用者互動。作為產品經理,你的角色是了解使用者並在公司內代表他們。理解和驗證使用者的問題使你能夠構建解決這些問題的功能和產品。如果你的專案無法解決相關的使用者問題,你將難以推動採用。畢竟,沒有人願意花時間使用對他們沒有任何價值的東西!
The third and final component of a successful feature opportunity is that it creates business value. Ultimately, your goal should be to solve a relevant user problem in a way that also captures some form of value for the business. For example, a project that streamlines a payment process could drive an improvement in your sales conversion rate, therefore improving the company’s revenue. Another project could improve user experience and increase positive ratings for the application, leading to more downloads.
成功的功能機會的第三個也是最後一個組成部分是創造商業價值。最終,你的目標應該是以一種同時為企業帶來某種價值的方式來解決相關的用戶問題。例如,一個簡化支付流程的專案可以提高銷售轉換率,從而提升公司的收入。另一個專案則可能改善用戶體驗,增加應用程式的正面評價,進而帶來更多的下載量。
A successful feature brings all three components together: it has solid strategic fit, while also delivering value to both the user and the business. When an opportunity is missing one or more of these components, it will most likely not deliver meaningful outcomes.
一個成功的功能將三個要素完美結合:它具有堅實的策略契合度,同時為用戶和企業帶來價值。當一個機會缺少其中一個或多個要素時,它很可能無法帶來有意義的結果。
Here’s an example: Amazon tried to launch the Fire Phone as a way to break into the mobile market. This was a good strategic fit because it leveraged Amazon’s language processing technology. It also had strong potential to deliver business value, since it integrated well with Amazon’s e-commerce business. The hypothesis was that the product would make it easier for users to order on Amazon via mobile, therefore increasing order frequency and e-commerce revenue. Unfortunately, the Fire Phone was unable to deliver user value, because it didn’t effectively solve a user problem. The Fire Phone leveraged its own operating system and had a limited app store to choose from. The user experience was inferior to existing alternatives, like Android or Apple phones.
以下是一個例子:Amazon 嘗試推出 Fire Phone,以進入手機市場。這是一個良好的策略契合,因為它利用了 Amazon 的語言處理技術。它也有很強的潛力來提供商業價值,因為它與 Amazon 的電子商務業務整合良好。假設是該產品會讓用戶更容易通過手機在 Amazon 上下單,從而增加訂單頻率和電子商務收入。不幸的是,Fire Phone 無法提供用戶價值,因為它未能有效解決用戶問題。Fire Phone 使用了自己的操作系統,並且可選擇的應用程式商店有限。用戶體驗不如現有的替代方案,如 Android 或 Apple 手機。
The Fire Phone’s failure to deliver user value resulted in poor user ratings and ultimately informed Amazon’s decision to discontinue the Fire phone a year after it was launched.
Fire Phone 未能提供使用者價值,導致使用者評價不佳,最終促使 Amazon 在推出一年後決定停產 Fire Phone。
In contrast, let’s look at Alphabet’s Google Photos product. Google Photos was a great strategic fit because it integrated with and deepened the usage of their existing Google Drive product.
相較之下,我們來看看 Alphabet 的 Google Photos 產品。Google Photos 是一個絕佳的策略契合,因為它與現有的 Google Drive 產品整合,並加深了其使用。
It also drove value for the business by opening up new opportunities to earn revenue through paying for more storage space or ordering photo prints. And finally, it leveraged the company’s AI expertise to provide a highly differentiated and valuable experience for users.
此外,這也為企業創造了價值,透過付費購買更多儲存空間或訂購照片打印來開拓新的收入機會。最後,它利用公司的人工智慧專業技術,為用戶提供了一個高度差異化且有價值的體驗。
Google Photos was met with tons of praise and positive reviews upon launch and continues to be a very popular product today. It has over five billion downloads on the Google Play Store and has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on the Apple App Store.
Google Photos 在推出時獲得了大量的讚譽和正面評價,至今仍然是一款非常受歡迎的產品。它在 Google Play 商店的下載量已超過五十億次,並且在 Apple App Store 上的平均評分為 4.7 顆星(滿分 5 顆星)。
These two examples demonstrate the importance of validating the three components of a feature opportunity before designing and developing a feature. If one of these is missing, it’s important for PMs to raise the issue with their manager or product leader; this allows everyone involved to understand if the opportunity is still worth pursuing.
這兩個例子展示了在設計和開發一個功能之前,驗證功能機會的三個組成部分的重要性。如果其中一個缺失,產品經理應該向他們的經理或產品領導提出問題;這樣可以讓所有相關人員了解這個機會是否仍值得追求。
However, it's not enough to validate that an opportunity has all three components. Rather, successful PMs communicate their understanding back to leadership and stakeholders to build alignment on what problem they are solving, for which users, how much value it creates for the company, and why solving the problem is important. This alignment is critical to ensure you have the buy-in to pursue the opportunity.
然而,僅僅驗證一個機會具備這三個要素是不夠的。成功的產品經理會將他們的理解回饋給領導層和利益相關者,以建立共識,明確他們正在解決什麼問題,針對哪些用戶,為公司創造了多少價值,以及為什麼解決這個問題很重要。這種共識對於確保獲得支持以追求這個機會至關重要。
In this module, we’ll help new PMs with the two objectives of validating feature opportunities. First, we’ll teach you how to validate each component of a feature opportunity—strategic fit, user value, and business value—to determine if it’s worth pursuing. And then, we’ll discuss how to build alignment with key stakeholders across the company to get your project up and running.
在本模組中,我們將協助新任產品經理達成驗證功能機會的兩個目標。首先,我們會教你如何驗證功能機會的每個組成部分——策略契合度、用戶價值和商業價值——以判斷是否值得追求。接著,我們將討論如何與公司內的關鍵利益相關者建立一致性,以啟動並運行你的專案。
We’ll introduce a four-step process to help sequence and execute these two objectives. It begins with conducting a manager briefing. Then, you’ll refine the user value, refine the business value, and finally, validate and communicate the opportunity. Let’s look at each of these steps in more detail. The first step is to conduct a manager briefing with your manager or product leader.
我們將介紹一個四步驟的流程,幫助安排和執行這兩個目標。首先是進行經理簡報。接著,您將完善用戶價值,完善商業價值,最後驗證並傳達這個機會。讓我們更詳細地看看這些步驟。第一步是與您的經理或產品領導進行經理簡報。
Traditionally, new PMs are handed projects that have been pre-vetted and scoped. Most of the time, this means their manager or product leader has given some thought as to why the work is important for the company, the product, and the team. But it’s not enough to simply accept these reasons as fact. PMs need to understand the context behind why the opportunity has actually been prioritized. This is important for a number of reasons.
傳統上,新任產品經理通常會接手已經過預先審核和範疇界定的專案。大多數時候,這意味著他們的經理或產品領導者已經考慮過為什麼這項工作對公司、產品和團隊很重要。但僅僅接受這些理由作為事實是不夠的。產品經理需要了解為什麼這個機會實際上被優先考量的背景。這對於多種原因來說都很重要。
First, understanding the context enables you to identify your team’s hypotheses about your user, their problem, and the potential business value this project can create. These explicit assumptions should be validated before you proceed with feature design and development. Second, you may also uncover implicit assumptions that your manager and the leadership team have made about the project. These are additional areas to pressure-test when engaging with users and internal stakeholders. Third, it’s critical that you fully understand the project context so you can communicate it clearly to your design and engineering counterparts. Your core team needs to be aligned on the importance of the project for users and the business, as well as how it supports the team and company goals. This context will help focus the team on what matters as you design and develop the feature. Finally, understanding the context behind a project enables you to build alignment with your product leader and other members of the leadership team by connecting your project back to their goals and the company’s goals. Setting expectations clearly with leadership at this stage can help prevent misaligned expectations and blowups later in the development process.
首先,了解背景能讓你識別團隊對用戶、他們的問題以及該專案可能創造的商業價值的假設。在進行功能設計和開發之前,這些明確的假設應該被驗證。其次,你可能還會發現經理和領導團隊對專案所做的隱性假設。這些是與用戶和內部利益相關者互動時需要進一步測試的領域。第三,充分理解專案背景對於能夠清晰地與設計和工程夥伴溝通至關重要。你的核心團隊需要在專案對用戶和商業的重要性上達成一致,並了解其如何支持團隊和公司的目標。這種背景將幫助團隊在設計和開發功能時專注於重要的事情。最後,了解專案背後的背景能讓你通過將專案與他們的目標和公司的目標聯繫起來,與產品領導和其他領導團隊成員建立一致性。 在此階段與領導層明確設定期望,可以幫助防止在開發過程中出現期望不一致和衝突。
In this section, we’ll walk through how to run a manager briefing that enables you to gather all of the necessary context about the project opportunity. We’ll use the three components of a feature opportunity to guide the discussion.
在這一部分,我們將介紹如何進行經理簡報,以便您能夠收集有關專案機會的所有必要背景資訊。我們將使用功能機會的三個組成部分來引導討論。
The second step is to refine the user value by conducting user interviews. The most effective way to understand your users is by speaking with them directly. Interviews are a critical lever you can use to pressure-test your hypotheses around who your users are and what problems they are facing. To conduct a great user interview, PMs need to do 3 things well.
第二步是透過進行用戶訪談來精煉用戶價值。最有效了解用戶的方法就是直接與他們交談。訪談是用來驗證你對用戶身份及其面臨問題假設的一個關鍵手段。要進行一場出色的用戶訪談,產品經理需要做好三件事。
First, they need to be thoughtful about who they interview. In the next section, we’ll show you how to identify your target audience and choose the right users to interview. Second, they need to structure the conversation without asking leading or biased questions. We’ll show you how to organize your interview questions around key evidence needs, and mitigate common biases and traps that PMs often fall into. And finally, they need to synthesize their interview findings. We’ll show you how to effectively debrief after your interviews, and synthesize your conversation into key insights and takeaways relevant to the project.
首先,他們需要慎重考慮要訪問的對象。在下一節中,我們將向您展示如何識別目標受眾並選擇合適的用戶進行訪談。其次,他們需要在不提出引導性或偏見性問題的情況下結構化對話。我們將向您展示如何圍繞關鍵證據需求組織訪談問題,並減少產品經理常犯的偏見和陷阱。最後,他們需要綜合訪談結果。我們將向您展示如何在訪談後有效地進行簡報,並將對話綜合成與項目相關的關鍵見解和要點。
The third step is to refine the potential business value of the opportunity. The project you are working on has been prioritized for a reason; your manager and the leadership team believe there is value for the business to capture. It is your job as a PM to validate the probable magnitude of this business value.
第三步是精煉該機會的潛在商業價值。你正在進行的專案之所以被優先考量,是有其原因的;你的經理和領導團隊相信這其中蘊藏著可供企業獲取的價值。作為專案經理,你的職責是驗證這個商業價值的可能規模。
For most PMs, the business value of their projects comes in one of two ways. In one case, you are given a metric and a specific target to hit, and you work backward from there. For example, there is a present hypothesis that your project could improve activation (the metric) by 5% (the target). It is your job as a PM to validate whether the 5% increase goal is feasible. In the second scenario, you are given a metric, and you are responsible for setting a reasonable target. For example, you are told to improve activation but you are not given a target. It is your job to identify a feasible target that your team can hit.
對於大多數產品經理來說,他們專案的商業價值通常以兩種方式之一呈現。在一種情況下,你會被給予一個指標和一個具體的目標,然後從那裡開始逆向推導。例如,目前有一個假設認為你的專案可以將啟動率(指標)提高 5%(目標)。作為產品經理,你的工作就是驗證這個 5%增長目標是否可行。在第二種情境中,你會被給予一個指標,而你負責設定一個合理的目標。例如,你被告知要提高啟動率,但沒有給出具體目標。你的工作就是找出一個可行的目標,讓你的團隊能夠達成。
The best PMs make sure they are running their own analysis to estimate the potential business value of the opportunity. Doing so not only pressure-tests your manager’s impact assumptions, but also enables you to feel more confident in your ability to deliver on that estimate.
最優秀的產品經理會確保自己進行分析,以估算機會的潛在商業價值。這樣做不僅能檢驗經理對影響的假設,還能讓你對自己能夠實現該估算的能力更有信心。
When you consistently demonstrate that you can deliver business value, your efforts are recognized, you gain traction in your role, and you accelerate your career. But if you don’t refine your business value hypotheses, you’re putting the project—and your reputation—at risk. You might end up developing a feature that creates little or no value for the company. These types of projects commonly get de-deprioritized when product leaders or managers realize there is no return on investment. Even if they manage to launch, the project may have to be sunsetted or deprecated later.
當你持續展現出能夠提供商業價值的能力時,你的努力會被認可,你在職位上獲得推動,並加速你的職業生涯。然而,如果你不精煉你的商業價值假設,你將使專案和你的聲譽面臨風險。你可能最終開發出對公司幾乎沒有價值的功能。當產品領導者或經理意識到沒有投資回報時,這類專案通常會被降級優先級。即使他們設法推出,該專案可能最終仍需被終止或棄用。
In the third section of this module, we will introduce funnel analysis, an approach to mapping a series of related events or actions that enables you to identify the biggest points of drop-off. You can then use proxy metrics to estimate the potential business value of your opportunity at those key points.
在本模組的第三部分,我們將介紹漏斗分析,一種用於繪製一系列相關事件或行動的方法,使您能夠識別最大的流失點。然後,您可以使用代理指標來估算在這些關鍵點上機會的潛在商業價值。
The last step is to validate and communicate the opportunity back to your stakeholders. In this step, you’ll share learnings and conclusions with your project team, your leadership team, and any other dependency teams impacted by the project. It’s important to share this information with each key stakeholder in order to build alignment. If you continue to the next phase of the product development process without completing this step, misalignments will start to have negative repercussions on your progress. This can manifest in a couple of ways. The first is rework during design and development. This can happen when the individuals on your team don’t fully understand the problem they are solving or why they are solving it. This can lead them to make decisions that fail to bring your project closer to driving the intended user and business value. Late-stage blowups can also occur when the leadership team has a different vision for the feature, and is surprised when what gets launched doesn’t meet those expectations.
最後一步是驗證並將機會回饋給您的利益相關者。在這一步中,您將與您的專案團隊、領導團隊以及任何受專案影響的依賴團隊分享學習成果和結論。與每位關鍵利益相關者分享這些資訊是很重要的,以建立一致性。如果在未完成此步驟的情況下繼續進入產品開發流程的下一階段,未對齊的情況將開始對您的進度產生負面影響。這可能會以幾種方式表現出來。首先是在設計和開發過程中的返工。當您的團隊成員未能完全理解他們正在解決的問題或為何解決該問題時,這種情況可能會發生。這可能導致他們做出無法使您的專案更接近實現預期用戶和商業價值的決策。當領導團隊對功能有不同的願景,並且對於推出的結果未能符合預期感到驚訝時,也可能會發生後期爆發。
To avoid these consequences, you need a structured approach to building alignment early with these stakeholders. In the fourth section of this module, we'll discuss how to do this using a tool called a Product Review.
為了避免這些後果,你需要在早期階段與這些利益相關者建立一致性的結構化方法。在本模組的第四部分,我們將討論如何使用一種稱為產品審查的工具來實現這一點。
These learnings from the Feature Opportunity Validation pillar will inform your product requirements document or product spec. This document is the single source of truth that articulates why this feature is important—its strategic relevance, the customer problem it's targeting, and the business value it's aimed at creating.
從功能機會驗證支柱中獲得的這些學習將為您的產品需求文件或產品規格提供指導。這份文件是唯一的真實來源,闡述了為何此功能重要——其策略相關性、所針對的客戶問題以及旨在創造的商業價值。
In the remainder of this module, we’ll walk through this four-step process to validating your feature opportunity. Let’s start with the first step in the Opportunity Validation process: conducting a manager briefing.
在本模組的剩餘部分,我們將逐步介紹驗證功能機會的四步驟流程。讓我們從機會驗證流程的第一步開始:進行經理簡報。
- For a feature opportunity to be worth pursuing, it must have 3 components: strategic fit, user value, and business value.
要讓一個功能機會值得追求,它必須具備三個要素:策略契合度、用戶價值和商業價值。 - In this section, we’ll walk through a 4-step process for validating the strength of a feature opportunity: conduct a manager briefing to evaluate strategic fit and gather hypotheses, refine user value through interviews, refine business value through funnel analysis, and communicate the opportunity to key stakeholders.
在這一部分,我們將介紹一個四步驟的流程,以驗證功能機會的強度:進行經理簡報以評估策略契合度並收集假設,透過訪談精煉用戶價值,透過漏斗分析精煉商業價值,並將機會傳達給關鍵利害關係人。
You've completed this lesson. How useful was it?
Great work! You've completed this lesson. How useful was it for you?
做得好!你已完成這堂課。這對你有多大幫助呢?