How often do you revisit your product strategy? What is your framework for reevaluating it?

I revisit strategy at three cadences, each doing something different. Weekly (continuous): I'm always scanning for signals that challenge my assumptions. Customer conversations, usage data, competitor moves, things the engineering team discovers during implementation. I keep a running log of "things that surprised me" and review it weekly. Most weeks, nothing rises to the level of a strategic change. But the habit means that the one week something does, I catch it early rather than three months ...Read More

I generally believe product strategies should be evaluated more frequently the earlier a product is in its lifecycle. A zero-to-one team I worked closely with found the right pace to be testing a new direction & goals every month or so, whereas a scaled team I led had sufficient visibility to establish a high-level strategy that lasted well past a year.  At Patreon, we aim to set strategies & goals that cover 6 months or so for each team. In tech, unless you're working on a platform or i ...Read More

At GitLab, we revisit our product strategy once a month. During these reviews, we document our progress and what we've learned. It's important to align on what you're working on next to make progress against your direction. Monthly reviews ensure that you keep your high-level objectives in mind as you execute day-to-day work. Many times, these strategy updates will be pretty straightforward. Some cases warrant more extensive changes. Product Managers and leaders will maintain a pulse on the mark ...Read More

The frequency of revisiting our strategy depends on its altitude, but I'm continuously reassessing various aspects of it. Let's break this down to better understand how to keep a strategy fresh within an organization. The highest strategy altitude most organizations focus on is the 3-5 year vision, as anything beyond that tends to be more of a dream than a strategy. Typically, I assemble a cross-functional team to conduct thorough analyses of the industry, market, competitors, prospects, and cus ...Read More

I revisit the strategy whenever there is new information. Usually, customer needs do not change that much. What changes is company visions and organization structure, budget, risk, etc. So every time there is an internal shift, propose how you think the strategy should adapt to meet the company vision with the new current reality. You can even propose to leadership that you are planning to do this. Or depending on their needs, ask them how they would like to discuss strategy (when and how). Once ...Read More

Cadence for evaluating strategy is often set by the business. I have been at companies that will redo their company strategy every 3-4 years, and then as a result product strategy is reevaluated every 3 years in suit. I I traditionally plan strategy using 1,3,5, and 10-year product strategy horizons. 1-year strategies are very tactical and get iterated on continuously 3 years are revisited 2-3 years 5-year strategies are revised every 5 years 10-year strategies are sometimes only created once an ...Read More

These are the main criteria for reevaluating your product strategy: At regular intervals to keep up with developments in your market. The exact timing depends on how fast your industry goes through changes. For software products, have a discussion to check that your strategy is in line with the market every 3 months and do a deeper-dive into external developments and their alignment with your strategy every 6 months. When there are significant events that are shifting the dynamics in your ecosys ...Read More