Seven Product Dimensions

What are the Seven Product Dimensions?

As part of her Discover to Deliver approach to Agile Product Management (© 2012 by EBG Consulting), Ellen Gottesdiener uses a construct that she calls the 7 Product Dimensions. The 7 Product Dimensions help us remember to think broadly about multiple facets of Agile Product Management.

What are the Benefits?

The main benefit of the 7 Product Dimensions is that it reminds us to broaden our vision when considering a product, to consider not only potential users, but also the context in which users operate, the technical ecosystem in which the product might operate, the types of data the product might store, and what quality means for that particular product.

When?

It’s particularly helpful to employ the 7 Product Dimensions under either of the following circumstances:

  • When conceptualizing a new product
  • When considering significant enhancements to an existing product

Who Attends?

The people most likely to attend a conversation where the 7 Product Dimensions might come into play:

  • Product Managers, Product Owners
  • Designers and User Experience (UX) Practitioners
  • Representatives from Sales and/or Marketing
  • Technical subject matter experts

Inputs

  • Information about potential users of the product
  • Information about competing products, if any exist
  • Information about the market into which the product might be introduced
  • Ideas about user goals and objectives when using the product

Outputs

  • Ideas/discussion points for each of the 7 Product Dimensions

Preparing for Success

To prepare to use the 7 Product Dimensions, do any one of the following:

  • Create a spreadsheet, a canvas (using a tool like Miro or Mural), or a grid representation, showing each of the 7 Product Dimensions:
    • User. How a user might interact with the product
    • Interface. How the product might connect to users, systems, or devices
    • Action. Capabilities that the product gives to users
    • Data. What sorts of information the product might ask users to provide, and how such information might be stored
    • Control. Any constraints that might apply to the product context, for example, regulatory compliance mandates
    • Environment. Any physical characteristics of the environment in which the product would operate  or technical ecosystems in might be a part of
    • Quality Attribute. Any properties that might apply to the product which would inform an acceptable level of quality

Execution

When discussing a particular product, discuss each of the dimensions, one by one.

Let’s say we’re creating an app that consumers can use to evaluate different loan options. Below are examples of questions that stakeholders representing customer, business, and technology might ask.

Dimensions Customer Business Technology
User What user personas are most likely to use this app, and how will their interactions differ, based on their persona? How is this app different from other apps that are already available, and what is the market window for it? What platforms/Operating Systems/browsers do we intend to support?
Interface What will the interface look like? Are there interfaces to external data files needed? How important is the user interface design to the success of this app? Do we need to interface with any external databases or systems? What design will satisfy the user experience? What APIs do we need to communicate with business systems?
Action What type of actions will users take when using this app? How can these actions encourage users to take action and interact with other product content? Does the team have the skills and knowledge to implement the app?
Data What data is needed to support those user actions? What data is most useful for business analysis of the value of this app? Where do we store the data, protect the data, and expose the data?
Control Are there any constraints on what users can or cannot do in the app or on data they can access? Are there any rules about what data we can store? Are there any regulations or internal policies that we need to conform with for this app? How do we ensure that the app is secure?
Environment Will it work as both a web (desktop) app and a mobile app? Which mobile devices? What are the device platforms that would give us the best ROI? What software and hardware platforms will be used? What application development experience do we need to support all the requested platforms?
Quality Attribute What are customers’ expectations related to response time and usability? How much infrastructure can we afford and how will it translate to response time? Can the app scale to meet peak times and still maintain a reasonable response time? How can we ensure the app is fast enough?

 

References

 

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