What questions do you ask yourself when building a product vision?

• Every product is built to solve a user/ people problem or help solve a pain-point. This should be the main focus when building a product vision and the most important questions are ‘Who is this product for’ and ‘What problem is it solving’?
• These two questions should lead into ‘Why does this product solve it’ question. The third question is particularly important for category defining products. The iPhone, when launched, focused on the typical consumer who wanted a personal device to store pictures of loved ones and access the internet rather than the business user whose needs were well served by the Blackberry
• There are several simple frameworks that can be used to go deeper into this and Intuit’s Design for Delight is a simple but effective framework (http://www.intuitlabs.com/design-for-delight)

1. Who will I serve?

2. What problems do those individuals/businesses/target market face on a day to day basis?

3. What gaps exist in the industry today?

4. How are people solving pain points today?

5. Are people happy with current solutions?

I like my visions to be very focused on the customer and solving a clear problem. This will also help identify product-market fit early on, guiding development on principles and feedback.

When creating a product vision, it’s important to capture the "why" behind what you're building.

These are the key questions I ask myself:

1. Who is the product for?
   The vision must be customer-focused. Understanding who you're building for is the foundation of a successful product vision.

2. What problem are we trying to solve?
   This extends to assessing what other solutions exist and what workarounds people are using today to address this problem. A clear understanding of the problem sets the stage for the vision.

3. Is this achievable?
   The vision should be ambitious and inspirational—like a stretch goal—but still attainable. It should motivate the team to be excited about what they are building while ensuring the goals are realistic.

4. Is this clear and concise?
   Your vision should be easy to understand. If your non-technical friends can grasp it, it means you’ve communicated it clearly.

5. What is our solution’s competitive edge?
   Why would users choose this product over others? Understanding your product’s unique value proposition is key to standing out in the market.