As a product owner or expert, you know markets can shift quickly. New technologies, competitor moves, economic factors, regulations, and customer preferences are just some of the forces that can disrupt your product roadmap.
While you can't predict the future, you can use Future Thinking approaches from Enterprise Agility to better anticipate and prepare for changing market conditions.
What is Future Thinking?
Future Thinking are techniques and indicatiors in Enterprise Agility that expand your focus beyond near-term incremental product improvements. It's about envisioning possible futures 1-3 years out that could impact your product strategy and roadmap. Future Thinking is part of the TriValue Company model (TVC).
Future Thinking uses Key Progress Indicators (KPIs) called Futures to describe potential future scenarios. For example, a Future might be "Voice Assistant-Enabled" to describe a world where voice interfaces are ubiquitous.There are several KPIs in the TriValue Model to prepare your products and organizational capabilities for the future.
How to Apply Future Thinking
Here are some tips on using Future Thinking as a product owner:
- Identify 1-2 Futures in each value area that feel relevant based on your product domain. Don't choose too many or it becomes unwieldy.
- Paint "what if" scenarios describing how your product would need to evolve if those Futures came to pass.
- Brainstorm with cross-functional partners on what capabilities and partnerships you'd need to realize your visions.
- Use insights to make small bets today—for example, prototyping, market sensing, capability development, etc.
- Revisit your Futures every 3 months as you learn more. Adjust them as needed.
For all of this, we assume you already have great sensing capabilities in the organization, including AI and human capabilities. What are the benefits of Future Thinking?
Applying Future Thinking delivers many benefits:
- Expands your strategic perspective beyond short-term roadmaps
- Builds organizational capabilities needed for future resilience
- Allows for incremental steps today to prepare for shifts tomorrow
- Fosters innovation, creativity and future-focus
- Engages partners across the organization in thinking ahead
By dedicating time to Future Thinking, you can spot trends early, act with more flexibility and resilience, and align your product strategy to the future needs of your stakeholders and markets. The result is a product always ready for what's next.
Learn more about Future Thinking and the TriValue Company model (TVC) on Enterprise Agility Fundatemtanls Chapters 8 and 9.