When product groups get caught in backlog chaos, stakeholder noise, and reactive delivery, it’s not a course of drawback. It’s a product technique drawback.
That’s the place the Productside Blueprint is available in.
On this serialized story, you’ll meet Heather Leaf, VP of Product at WellNest Well being, and her lead PM, Tommy Trunk. They’re going through mounting stress, inside friction, and a giant problem: turning a well known model with a faltering product right into a centered, outcome-driven group.
In Chapter 1, you’ll see how they begin the transformation by acknowledging the chaos, and selecting a special path with a renewed concentrate on product technique.
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Introduction to WellNest Well being
Heather Leaf, VP of Product Administration at WellNest Well being, calls over her prime product supervisor, Tommy Trunk, for his or her weekly assembly. She’s simply come out of a management briefing—and it’s not excellent news. As soon as once more, the corporate has posted a weak quarter, with lackluster outcomes from its flagship product, BuildNest.
BuildNest is a complete wellness platform that provides bodily, psychological, and monetary wellbeing instruments to workers, whereas giving employers and healthcare suppliers a HIPAA-compliant, 360-degree view of well being developments throughout massive populations. WellNest has a robust basis—backed by a trusted 20-year-old model and longstanding relationships with employers, workers, and practitioners. However its product administration journey has been removed from easy.
Because the wellness market grows extra aggressive, WellNest’s product managers are beneath growing stress to ship options requested by gross sales, executives, and enterprise purchasers—usually with little time to step again and assess strategic influence. The staff is delivery always however struggling to show they’re shifting the needle on the outcomes that matter most.Their present strategy lacks a cohesive product technique.
Regardless of some success with this reactive, feature-driven strategy, WellNest is beginning to fall behind. New gamers are coming into the market with agile groups, wearable integrations, and insurer distribution offers. Internally, govt management is annoyed—and pointing fingers at Product Administration. They’ve been requested to return again with a method that delivers extra worth to prospects and drives measurable enterprise progress.
Heather is aware of one thing has to vary. Her staff is working at full capability, however their efforts aren’t clearly tied to outcomes—or to one another. Characteristic requests are flying in from each path, however there’s no cohesive thread connecting the work to long-term worth.
Whereas looking for a greater method ahead, Heather found the Productside Blueprint—an outcome-driven strategy to product work that emphasizes strategic discovery, lo-fi experimentation, and data-informed decision-making. She’s able to put it into motion and information her staff towards a extra intentional, aligned, and impactful method of working—an actual product technique they’ll persist with.
This e-book follows Heather and Tommy as they apply the Productside Blueprint throughout each part of product growth at WellNest—from creating strategic readability to constructing, launching, and evolving a product that actually delivers. By their journey, you’ll acquire sensible, real-world insights to assist your individual staff transfer from reactive execution to strategic management.
Recognizing the Potential of Product Administration and Product Technique
Heather and Tommy have been given a transparent mandate from management: align product administration with person wants and enterprise targets. However getting there gained’t be straightforward.
At WellNest Well being, sturdy opinions run deep. CEO Lucas Nest usually pushes the staff towards his newest large concept—no matter whether or not it displays actual buyer issues. In the meantime, Joe Department, the VP of Gross sales, champions the quick calls for of high-profile purchasers, prioritizing offers over long-term product imaginative and prescient. Between the chief wishlist and sales-driven urgency, Heather and Tommy know they’ll want a brand new method to middle product selections round strategic outcomes—not intestine reactions.
For them, that begins with shifting the mindset throughout the group. They should align key stakeholders round a brand new mannequin—one which places discovery, readability, and measurable influence on the coronary heart of product work.
Their instrument of alternative? The Productside Blueprint.
The Productside Blueprint: A Strategic Framework
To information WellNest Well being’s transformation, Heather introduces the Productside Blueprint—a structured, outcome-driven strategy to product administration. It’s not nearly doing extra discovery. It’s about making each product determination intentional, aligned, and grounded in technique.
The Blueprint is constructed round 5 phases: Context, Examine, Outline, Create, and Ship. Every part is designed to assist groups transfer past reactive execution and towards customer-centered, business-aligned product management.
Determine 1: The Productside Blueprint
Right here’s how every part will information Heather and Tommy at WellNest
Context
First, Heather and Tommy want to ascertain a shared understanding of the enterprise technique, market panorama, and aggressive setting. This implies aligning with management on WellNest’s prime priorities—and utilizing that alignment to outline a transparent product imaginative and prescient. With out this basis, it’s unimaginable to make product selections that actually help the corporate’s long-term targets.
Examine
With strategic context in place, it’s time to dig into discovery. On this part, Heather and Tommy work to uncover actual buyer wants by means of empathy interviews, persona growth, and Jobs to Be Carried out evaluation. Relatively than leaping to options, they concentrate on deeply understanding the issues price fixing—grounding product selections in real-world perception, not assumptions.
Outline
As soon as they’ve recognized significant buyer wants, Heather and Tommy lead the staff by means of low-fidelity experimentation. They discover a spread of potential options, check hypotheses, and collect suggestions—all earlier than committing to full-scale growth. This part helps the staff cut back danger and construct confidence of their path earlier than investing vital time and assets.
Create
Now comes the shift from perception to motion. Within the Create part, Heather and Tommy flip validated concepts right into a centered technique and prioritized roadmap. They outline product targets, success metrics, and use prioritization frameworks to remain centered on what issues most. The consequence? A roadmap that’s not only a record of options—however a strategic plan for delivering buyer and enterprise outcomes.
Ship
Lastly, it’s time to carry the product to market—and continue learning post-launch. Within the Ship part, Heather and Tommy align cross-functional groups on key messages, success metrics, and rollout plans. However their work doesn’t cease after launch. Utilizing Tiny Acts of Discovery, they repeatedly collect insights, iterate, and adapt the product over time. This ensures their options evolve to satisfy actual wants—and alerts when it’s time to scale, refine, or retire a product.
What’s Subsequent for Heather and Tommy? Discover the Full Product Technique and Administration Journey
In the remainder of the eBook, we’ll discover how Heather and Tommy use the Context part of the Productside Blueprint to create stronger alignment between their product work and the targets of the corporate. This shift will assist them align their product targets with market alternatives and enterprise goals, paving the way in which for significant product selections.
Get the Full PM Story and Strengthen Your Product Technique
Heather and Tommy’s story is simply getting began. Within the full eBook, you’ll comply with their journey by means of the 5 phases of the Productside Blueprint: Context, Examine, Outline, Create, and Ship.
Every chapter is filled with relatable moments, ready-to-use templates, and a sensible have a look at methods to run a extra strategic product group.
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Prepared to maneuver from reactive function supply to a proactive, outcome-driven product technique? Listed below are some subsequent steps to deepen your understanding and apply these ideas:
Be part of our upcoming webinar the place we break down the WellNest Well being story from this eBook—and present how the Productside Blueprint can assist your staff transfer from reactive chaos to strategic readability.
Wish to run a extra strategic, outcome-driven product group? The Productside Blueprint is your sensible information to aligning product work with buyer wants and enterprise targets.
Discover the Optimum Product Administration Course. This hands-on program covers important matters like outcome-driven roadmapping, story mapping, and strategic alignment, equipping you to guide confidently and successfully.
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