Level Up Your Product Roadmap with Value Poker
This blog post explores the concept of Value Poker and how it can transform your product roadmap into a winning hand.
Creating a successful product roadmap in product management is similar to playing a strategic game. Product managers often evaluate the worth of features against their potential impact, much like players in a poker game weighing their bets against potential rewards. This blog post explores the concept of Value Poker and how it can transform your product roadmap into a winning hand — a clear and aligned roadmap that meets the needs of all stakeholders.
The Basics of Value Poker
Value Poker is a collaborative technique that brings together cross-functional teams to assign relative values to different features and initiatives. It is based on the concept of relative estimation, where teams compare the value of one feature against another rather than assigning specific numerical values. By using this technique, teams can objectively prioritize features based on their perceived value to the business, customer impact, and resource requirements.
While “value poker” might not be a standardized term, companies often use techniques like “story pointing,” “feature prioritization,” or “value-based estimation” to achieve similar goals. Examples of companies that follow agile methodologies and employ similar techniques include Google, Microsoft, Spotify, Amazon, and many startups across the tech industry. The specifics of how they implement these techniques may vary, but the overarching principle is to ensure that development efforts are aligned with delivering the most value to users.
How Value Poker Enhances Product Management
Value Poker helps prioritize features and initiatives based on their value to the company, aligning stakeholders and removing emotions from the roadmap decision-making process. Let’s dive into how Value Poker can benefit your company and how stakeholders can learn about other business areas through this approach.
Clear Focus on Value: Value Poker ensures that every item on the roadmap has measurable value. It helps product teams decide whether a feature will increase positive outcomes (growth, revenue, etc.) or minimize negatives (costs, hurdles, etc.). This focus on value helps the company prioritize initiatives that align with its strategic goals and market requirements.
Objective Decision-Making: Value Poker removes emotions from the roadmap prioritization process. The product team can make more objective and data-driven decisions based on the value a feature brings to the company rather than personal preferences or biases.
Alignment with North Star and BHAG: Value Poker ensures the roadmap aligns with the company’s North Star and BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). By prioritizing features that contribute to the company’s long-term vision and strategic objectives, the roadmap becomes a powerful tool for driving growth and innovation.
Cross-Functional Understanding: Value Poker encourages stakeholders from different business areas to collaborate and participate in prioritization. This collaboration allows stakeholders to learn about other business areas, understand their priorities, and gain a holistic view of the company’s goals and challenges.
Shared Ownership: By involving stakeholders in the Value Poker process, they develop a sense of shared ownership over the roadmap. This shared ownership fosters better communication, collaboration, and alignment among stakeholders, leading to a more cohesive and effective product strategy.
Increased Transparency: Value Poker promotes transparency by making the decision-making process visible to all stakeholders. This transparency helps build trust and understanding among stakeholders, as they can see how their input and perspectives are considered in the prioritization process.
Integrating Value Poker into Your Product Roadmap
Now that you understand the benefits of Value Poker let’s explore how you can integrate it into your product roadmap effectively.
Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Value Poker
Implementing Value Poker requires careful planning and execution. The following step-by-step guide can help you successfully integrate this technique into your product roadmap:
Define the Purpose and Scope: Clearly articulate why you are implementing Value Poker and identify the specific features or initiatives that will be evaluated.
Assemble a Cross-Functional Team: Bring together a diverse team of stakeholders, including product managers, engineers, designers, and other relevant roles, to participate in the Value Poker sessions. A diverse group ensures a well-rounded perspective on value. Limit it to the leader of each division for the first few sessions before expanding it to other members.
Facilitate Value Poker Sessions: Conduct collaborative sessions where team members assign relative values to different features or initiatives based on their perceived value to the business.
Aggregate and Analyze Results: Consolidate the results from the Value Poker sessions and analyze them to identify the highest-value features or initiatives.
Refine and Prioritize: Discuss and refine the results with the cross-functional team, considering other factors such as technical feasibility and business goals.
Update the Product Roadmap: Incorporate the prioritized features or initiatives into the product roadmap, ensuring alignment with other planned initiatives.
Rules of a Value Poker Session
Define Value Points: Assign a numerical value to each card, such as 100, 200, 300, 500, 800, 1,200, 2000, 3000. These values represent the relative worth of features in terms of business impact.
Feature Discussion: Present each feature on the product roadmap and provide a brief overview. Encourage team members to ask questions and seek clarification.
Secret Voting: Each team member privately selects a card representing their perceived value for the feature. This avoids influence and encourages unbiased voting.
Reveal and Discuss: Once everyone has voted, reveal the cards simultaneously. If there’s a wide range of values, encourage discussion to understand different perspectives and insights.
Aligning with the North Star
The North Star is the guiding light that illuminates a company’s overarching purpose and long-term vision. Consider how each feature aligns with this North Star when playing Value Poker. Assign higher value points to features directly contributing to achieving the company’s ultimate mission. By prioritizing features that bring the company closer to its North Star, the product roadmap becomes a roadmap to success.
Playing for BHAGs
BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) are ambitious goals that drive a company to greatness. When using Value Poker, consider each feature a stepping stone toward realizing your BHAGs. Features that push the boundaries and challenge the status quo should receive higher value points. Value Poker encourages your team to see beyond the ordinary and aim for the extraordinary, ensuring that your product roadmap is not just a path but a transformative journey toward BHAGs.
Common Challenges & Solutions in Value Poker Implementation
While integrating Value Poker into your product roadmap can yield significant benefits, it is essential to be aware of common challenges and have strategies to overcome them. Some challenges you may encounter include:
Resistance to Change: Some team members may resist adopting a new technique. To address this, provide training and conduct workshops to educate the team on the benefits of Value Poker.
Subjectivity: Assigning relative values can be subjective. Encourage open discussions and ensure that all team members have an opportunity to share their perspectives.
Time Constraints: Conducting Value Poker sessions may require dedicated time and resources. Plan accordingly and allocate sufficient time for team discussions.
Lack of Stakeholder Buy-In: It is crucial to have buy-in from stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of Value Poker. Communicate the benefits and involve stakeholders in the process. I like to share the deck a week before to ensure our team has captured everything the business needs.
Who Should Use Value Poker?
Value Poker is most effective for companies in the growth and optimization stages. These companies have established their North Star and BHAGS and are focused on scaling their products and driving innovation. Value Poker helps these companies align stakeholders, prioritize value-based features, and make strategic decisions contributing to their long-term goals.
On the other hand, early-stage startups that are still exploring their product-market fit may find Value Poker less applicable. In these stages, the focus is on experimentation, learning, and adapting to customer feedback. Prioritization techniques like Feature Voting or Product Discovery may be more suitable for these companies.
Final Thoughts
Crafting a product roadmap that navigates toward a company’s North Star and BHAGs requires careful thought, strategy, and alignment. Value Poker serves as a bridge between everyday features and these lofty goals. By playing the game, your team ensures that the roadmap is aligned with the North Star and BHAGs and creates a sense of purpose, innovation, and collaboration that propels the company toward unprecedented success. So, let the Value Poker chips fall where they may and watch as your roadmap transforms into a roadmap of destiny.
Do you have any stories to share about implementing value poker in your company? Need help introducing value poker to your roadmap? Comment below or connect with me for more info.