Prioritise
Prune the product tree
Draw the product as a tree and have people add ideas as leaves on its branches, to see where it should grow and what's being neglected.
- Time45 to 60 minutes
- People4 to 12 people
- Steps4
What it's for
The trunk is what the product does today, the roots are what makes it possible, and the branches are the directions it could grow. People add leaves, each a new idea, close to the trunk for the near term or further out for later.
The shape of the tree is the finding. A heavy branch shows demand; a bare one shows an area nobody is asking for, or one they've stopped noticing. Despite the name, the session is about shaping, not cutting.
How to run it
Draw today's tree10 min
Write the main things the product does on the trunk, and the platform, data and partners it relies on in the roots.
Add leaves15 min
Each person adds ideas as notes: in Near term for the next few months, in Future for later.
Read the shape10 min
Where is the tree heavy, where is it bare, and which leaves would need new roots to grow?
Choose where to grow5 min3 votes each
Vote on the leaves to grow first.
Tips
- Give each group of customers its own note colour to see who wants what.
- Ask why a branch is bare before deciding to drop it. It may be a part of the product nobody has explained well.
Where it comes from
Another of Luke Hohmann's Innovation Games, from his book Innovation Games (2006).
Pairs well with
Buy a feature
Give people play money and a priced list of features, then watch what they buy, pool money for and argue over.
Now, next, later
A roadmap in three columns instead of dates: what the team is doing now, what comes next, and what's further out.
Speed boat
Customers add the anchors slowing your product down, and how much faster it would go without each, to show what frustrates them most.