A few weeks ago I started sharing the below diagram, which I use as a reference for every element that a Product Organisation needs to work on to do Product well.
I use this reference with all of my clients, so we can identify where the biggest opportunities are to improve and add lasting impact.
One of the key questions that people started to ask me, was how do they know if they’re doing each element well or not?
So … I’ve combined all of the insights that I have from the various organisations that I’ve worked with and created a Product Maturity model – that allows you to look at the above and have more in depth conversations internally about where you are smashing Product, and where you could make some improvements.
So let’s get into it….
What is a Product Maturity model / framework?
One Product Maturity model definition is that it is a model that assesses how well Product is being executed…
A Product Maturity Model is “Evaluating how the processes, people, and systems that support a product are performing. It provides tiered levels of achievement for objectively assessing the maturity in these areas so you can identify areas for improvement.” – Aha.
An overall definition for Maturity Models also describes them as “simplified representations of capability for continuous improvement in a particular discipline.” Vendr.
What is the purpose of a Product Maturity model / framework?
The purpose of a Product Maturity Model is therefore to use as a tool in your organisation to assess where you’re performing Product related tasks really well, and where you have room for improvement.
The purpose of a Product Maturity framework is not to place yourselves in different boxes and worry about your score, but instead – it is to be able to frame conversations internally about the improvements that you want to make. It provides you with a tool and a structure to be able to have these conversations.
How to use a Product Maturity model
It is rare that Product Maturity models work in every single organisation straight out of the box. There will be different factors that might be important to your organisation and different ways that you want to assess what good looks like for you.
The important thing when using a Product Maturity Model, is to use it as a framework – allowing you and your teams to think about where they sit and where they want to focus.
You might want to take this model and adapt some of the statements / headings – but hopefully it is good inspiration for the variety of topics that really great Product teams need to cover and do well.
If you’re leading on data Products for example, how you use data might be more important to you – and you might want to dial up elements of these sections / have some standalone statements on how you’re using data.
It also doesn’t really matter if a team thinks that they will score a 1 or a 2, or sometimes they’re a 1 and sometimes they’re a two. It is not about the score. It is about identifying that Product Discovery might be an area that they want to improve on.
Finally, the most important note on how to use a Product Maturity model – is to make sure that you use it to generate a plan for improvement, and then actually make the improvement.
It is like running a retro, or reviewing analysis on your Product’s performance – it is only useful if you actually action change.
This Product Maturity Model
This model has been designed to cover all of elements that I believe make up a really really great Product organisation. There is so much to fit into one image, so dive into Canva to jump into the detail.
A really great Product organisation has an amazing culture, works through everything from Strategy to Continuous Optimisation, interacts with the rest of the organisation extremely well – and is always learning and self-improving. Just a few areas to work on then!
It is impossible to be amazing at all of these things all at once, or to expect to be the most mature Product organisation overnight. In fact, I haven’t seen an organisation that even would reach close to 4 on all of these topics.
So work out what areas you think will be the most important to you to add impact and take it from there.
What is and isn’t included in this Product Maturity Model
Although the first (simplified) diagram I showed in this article includes specific tools, for example, OKRs – I haven’t listed these in the Product Maturity model.
In my opinion, the important factors are that teams have direction (strategy) and can focus on outcomes, hypotheses and tactics – the tools that each organisation might choose to use to do so will vary. Therefore, this Product Maturity Model presents the elements that I deem to be important, but doesn’t prescribe how you should execute on this / improve.
If you feel like it is important to be specific that you use OKRs well for example – again, feel free to adapt the model to include this.
Summary
A Product Maturity Model is a great tool to use to start conversations and assess where you think you’re doing Product exceptionally well and adding a tonne of value, and where you think you could improve.
You should take every model with a pinch of salt, and reflect on what is important for your organisation.
Hopefully this one is a great starter for you to use, and you’ll be able to make some amazing changes off the back of it!
If you want to have a chat about how you can improve across any of these areas – I would love to talk through this with you, just get in touch.