Product Discovery Frameworks for the Virtual and Scaled Enterprise

For a number of years, I’ve heard: “I really like the frameworks for product discovery that you shared in Discover to Deliver. How can we facilitate collaborative discovery with distributed teams or for large-scale products?”

My answer—until now—is to suggest things that colleagues, EBG readers, and I have done over the years: exploit existing technologies to make the collaboration happen. For example, teams work concurrently on their Discovery Boards with live video cameras in different locations. Some teams resort to sharing photos of their evolving Discovery Boards. Others use Google docs or slides, Trello, or real-time boards that allow you to share ‘wall work’. These are less than elegant hacks.

Until now.

Product Discovery Collaboration at Scale and Virtually

We’ve just published six Discover to Deliver™ canvases in Conteneo’s collaboration platform. Conteneo’s robust software platform enables people from dispersed locations, or a large number of people regardless of their proximity, to collaborate in a shared space. Many people in the product development and agile communities who work “at scale” know about Conteneo.  It is also the online home of Luke Hohmann’s Innovation Games® — collaborative activities useful for product research and innovation.

One canvas, the Product Partners & Value Considerations Canvas, enables people to collaborate to define product partners and value considerations by planning horizon.

“Product Partners & Value Considerations Canvas” © copyright EBG Consulting, 2018

The Product Discovery Board Canvas provides a robust framework you can use to collaboratively discover and deliver high-value product increments, continually—for any planning horizon.

“Product Discovery Board Canvas” © copyright EBG Consulting, 2018

Frameworks in Conteneo

The canvases, called frameworks in Conteneo, are:

• 7 Product Dimensions Canvas: Explore and Evaluate Options
• Product Partners & Value Considerations Canvas
• Product Discovery Board Canvas
• 7 Product Dimensions Canvas: Explore and Evaluate Options & Identify Features or Stories
• Requirements By Planning Horizon Canvas
• Product Partners & Value Considerations Canvas By Planning Horizon

Each includes instructions to the “Weaver” (person in Conteneo who adapts and facilitates the framework), along with a link to more in-depth guidance on the elements of the framework.

Special Thanks

I want to thank EBG Sr. Associate, Michelina DiNunno for her valuable help making this happen. I also thank the folks who participated in the pilots leading to their release. And, my appreciations to Luke Hohmann for being a patient and passionate partner to us.

Try Them!

I hope you’ll make use of the frameworks. Please provide us with your feedback so we can continue to improve them. And, if you are unfamiliar with the Conteneo platform, I hope you will take it for a spin. I think you’ll be impressed by the possibilities the platform will open up to your teams and organization.

Discovery amplifies delivery. And, continuous discovery optimizes continuous delivery. Likewise, continuous delivery facilitates continuous delivery.

These frameworks are one way to help make that happen.