Short answer
Product strategy sets a coherent product direction by connecting customer needs, market context, and organizational goals.
About Product strategy
Product strategy is the ability to choose where a product will compete, which outcomes matter, and which tradeoffs guide investment over time.
Use this competency for
- Roles that set direction across a product area or portfolio.
- Work where teams need shared choices about customers, outcomes, and investment boundaries.
Do not use this competency for
- Roles focused only on sequencing already approved initiatives.
Important distinctions
Roadmap planning
Product strategy defines the choices and outcomes that guide investment. Roadmap planning sequences work within that direction.
Expectations by level
IC1
Individual contributor 1
With guidance, connects a defined product-area goal to customer and market evidence. Handles a bounded strategic question and documents the resulting choice and tradeoff.
Observable behaviors
- Explains how a proposed priority supports a defined product goal.
- Identifies the customer segment affected by a strategic choice.
- Records what the product area will not pursue within the planning period.
Examples
- For a defined retention goal, maps one customer need to the proposed area of investment.
- When asked to compare two segments, documents the evidence and the consequence of choosing one.
IC2
Individual contributor 2
Independently develops direction for a product area with ambiguous evidence and competing goals. Makes explicit choices about target customers, outcomes, and investment boundaries.
Observable behaviors
- Synthesizes customer, market, and business evidence into a product-area direction.
- Defines measurable outcomes that express the strategy without prescribing features.
- Revises strategic choices when material assumptions change.
Examples
- When growth and retention goals conflict, proposes a product-area choice and records the opportunity cost.
- After a market shift, updates the target segment and explains which planned investments no longer fit.
IC3
Individual contributor 3
Sets and maintains strategy across connected product areas, aligning teams around a small set of choices. Handles long-range uncertainty and resolves conflicts between local priorities.
Observable behaviors
- Defines strategic choices that teams can use to accept or reject initiatives.
- Connects product-area outcomes to organization goals without collapsing them into output targets.
- Runs reviews that test assumptions and change direction when evidence warrants it.
Examples
- When teams pursue conflicting segments, establishes the shared choice and changes funding boundaries accordingly.
- During an annual review, removes an investment theme after its market assumption no longer holds.