product-thinking

Run five sequential exercises: define an evidence-based problem statement, map an 11-star experience ladder, write a Geoffrey Moore positioning statement, set 3-5 falsifiable product principles, and draft a success vision with kill criteria. The output is a Product Thinking Brief that feeds into spec writing.

The 11-star framework, from Brian Chesky, asks what a 1-star through 11-star experience looks like for a specific feature. You describe levels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, then pick a realistic target, typically 5-7 stars for production features.

Use the template: For [target users], who [need/pain], [product] is a [category] that [key benefit]. Unlike [competitors], it [differentiator]. Pull target users from persona files and include the current manual process as a competitor when no direct rival exists.

Run the exercises whenever you have a raw feature idea that lacks evidence, positioning, or success criteria. Skip them only when a validated brief already exists, since the brief is the required input for quality spec writing.

Kill criteria are explicit evidence thresholds that would justify stopping a feature, such as adoption or retention floors. Defining them upfront prevents sunk-cost continuation and is a required section of the success vision exercise.