Writing a Compelling Product Vision
A vision people can picture, that's lofty but not yet achieved, and that says what you won't do.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 92%
Perri argues most visions fail because they're fluffy slogans nobody can picture. Her method: brain-dump in prose (optionally paired with designer-made prototypes and diagrams), and pressure-test the result against three criteria — it must be concrete enough to imagine, lofty enough that you haven't already hit it, and explicit about how you're different and what you won't do.
Origin
Melissa Perri's approach to vision-setting, drawn from consulting work including a vision-prototyping example at Athenahealth.
Core principles
- 01A vision must be concrete enough that people can picture it in their heads.
- 02It should be lofty and far enough away that you can't hit it by building one thing.
- 03It should describe how you are different and why you are better — not just 'the best'.
- 04Good visions state what you will NOT do.
How to run it
- 1
Brain-dump the difference in writing
Write freely: our competitor does X and we don't want to be like that, so we could do these things differently. Capture the value it brings, who your future customers are, and how you win.
Pro tip Writing forces the specificity that slogans hide.
- 2
Pair prose with visuals
Sit with a UX designer to sketch prototypes, customer-interaction flows, or ecosystem diagrams — untested is fine. Combining a presentation with the writing makes the vision land, especially for visually-oriented executives.
Pro tip Diagrams show how things relate in ways words can't, and a designer makes the whole thing more persuasive.
- 3
Test against the three criteria
Check the draft is (a) concrete enough to picture, (b) lofty — not something you already are today, and (c) explicit on how you differ and what you won't pursue.
Watch out If the vision describes what you already are, you've hit it — that's a sign it isn't a future vision.
In the wild
A head of UX and a VP of Product built a presentation of the vision with mocked-up prototypes of what the product could be — not tested or finalized — to align people.
→ The visual pieces got people aligned around where they were going far better than words alone.
Common mistakes
Shipping a fluffy tagline
Visions like 'be the best' or 'be the backbone of healthcare' give no picture of the future and can't be executed against because no one can say how they'll get there.
Never stating the difference
Perri sees many visions that never explain how the company is different or why it's better, which leaves teams free to just copy competitors.
Is it for you?
Best for
Product managers and executives who keep getting feedback to 'get better at vision' and need a concrete form factor for it.
Not ideal for
Situations needing an immediate tactical roadmap rather than a multi-year direction.
From the transcript
“a vision should be concrete enough where people can picture what it will be in their head”
“it's lofty far enough away where you can't just be like oh we build that one thing and we hit it”
“good visions also say what you don't want to do i love i love reading a vision that's like we're not going to be like…”
“how is it different than your competitors why is it better not just being better but like why is it better what's the ways that…”
From the episode
How to create a winning product strategy
Melissa Perri