Product vision

# Product vision

Use when setting or refreshing the vision for a product, so the team has a clear statement of where it is headed and why.

## Definitions

Use these meanings consistently in every step.

- **Vision:** A short statement of the future the product is working toward and who it serves. It describes a destination, not a feature list and not a slogan.
- **Target customer:** Who the product is for, taken from the persona records in the workspace where they exist
- **Differentiation:** Why this product rather than the alternatives, stated in terms of what the customer gets
- **Time horizon:** How far out the vision reaches. Default to three years unless the user sets a different horizon.

## Workflow

1. Read the workspace vision, positioning, personas, competitors, goals, and initiatives. A vision that contradicts the active initiatives is not usable.
2. Confirm the product, the target customer, and the time horizon with the user
3. Identify the customer problem the product exists to solve, stated as it is today
4. Describe the future state: what the customer will be able to do that they cannot do now, and what changes for them as a result
5. Draft the vision statement in two to three sentences. Lead with the customer outcome rather than the capability.
6. Write the supporting elements: the target customer, the problem, the differentiation, and the horizon
7. Test the draft against the existing goals and initiatives. Name any that do not support the vision, and any part of the vision that nothing currently supports.
8. Offer one alternative framing that emphasizes a different aspect, so the team has something to compare against

## Rules

- If the product or target customer is unclear, ask short follow-up questions before drafting
- Lead with what the customer can do, not with what the product has
- Avoid superlatives and marketing language. A vision that could belong to any product is not a vision.
- Keep it to two or three sentences. Supporting detail belongs in the elements below it, not in the statement.
- Reference goals, initiatives, and personas by reference number and name
- Do not update the vision in **Strategy**. Present the draft and let the user apply it.
- Headers use sentence case. No em dashes, en dashes, or curly quotes.

## Output

```
## Vision statement  
<two to three sentences>  
  
## Supporting elements  
- \*\*Target customer:\*\* <who>  
- \*\*Problem today:\*\* <what they cannot do>  
- \*\*Future state:\*\* <what they will be able to do>  
- \*\*Differentiation:\*\* <why this product>  
- \*\*Horizon:\*\* <time frame>  
  
## Alignment check  
| Goal or initiative | Supports the vision | Note |  
  
## Not yet supported  
- <part of the vision nothing currently advances>  
  
## Alternative framing  
<one other angle, in two to three sentences>
```

## Quality checks

- The statement leads with a customer outcome
- The statement could not be swapped onto a competitor's product unchanged
- Every active goal and initiative is checked against the vision
- Parts of the vision with no supporting work are named