Product Toolkit

Use this before any significant design or development work. Fill the Customer Profile side with real users in mind (jobs, pains, gains), then complete the Value Map with what the software will actually do.

Review the Fit Check section with stakeholders to surface gaps early. Best done in a short workshop with two or three people who know the work, not alone.

List the key jobs users hire the current process or system to do. For each job capture current pains and desired gains, then assign a simple High / Medium / Low priority.

Look for patterns, since many pains often share the same root cause. Use the results to decide what belongs in the first version and what can wait.

Complete this before detailed scoping or vendor conversations. Keep answers short and concrete.

Review it with the people who will use and own the system so misunderstandings surface while they are still cheap to fix. Treat it as a living reference during the project rather than a one-time document.

Rate each dimension from 1 (healthy, low risk) to 5 (critical, high pain) with brief notes or evidence. Add the scores and use the interpretation bands to guide the conversation.

High scores concentrated in architecture, knowledge risk, and blocked capability usually point toward replacement or major rebuild. High scores mainly in user experience or rising maintenance often support targeted modernization.

List candidate features or work packages, score them roughly on business impact and effort or risk, then mark each as In Scope, Deferred, or Out.

Fill in the guardrails (“We will ship when…”, “We will not…”, “Change requests must…”). Review the final In-Scope vs Deferred summary with stakeholders so everyone shares the same finish line for the first version.