Product goals are objectives<\/strong>, while product initiatives are the themed projects you complete to meet those objectives. Product goals translate the product vision into clear, measurable targets. They define exactly what your product will achieve, the time frame for achieving it, and how you’ll measure it.<\/p>\n Product initiatives are specific projects – usually focused around a specific theme or area – that align with your product vision, and in their entirety help you meet your product goals.<\/p>\n A useful way of thinking about initiatives is to picture the broad themes of work necessary to move your product forward.<\/p>\n Product goals and product initiatives share many elements in common. Importantly, they both help establish a connection between your overarching vision and tactical implementation.<\/p>\n However, they do this in different ways:<\/p>\n In a nutshell: goals<\/a><\/strong> flesh out and break down your vision, and initiatives<\/strong> set out the work necessary to achieve your goals and realize that vision.<\/p>\n So why is using goals and initiatives such an important activity for product managers<\/a> to get right?<\/p>\n Primarily, because they help you in what should be your primary mission: to release as much value to your users as frequently as possible.<\/p>\n Using goals and initiatives will enable you to:<\/p>\n Let’s take a look at two tangible examples to help bring goals<\/a> and initiatives to life.<\/p>\n Increase our Net Promoter Score<\/a> (NPS).<\/p>\n Launch a new SaaS feature by the end of the financial year.<\/p>\n Now we’ve taken a look at some examples, let’s explore how to set product goals and initiatives of your own.<\/p>\n Remember, your product goals should be a tangible representation of your product vision. That means they need to consider both <\/em>user needs, business goals, and stakeholder requirements.<\/p>\n Here’s a handy goal-setting framework to bear in mind.<\/p>\n Every product goal you set should directly <\/em>connect to your product vision. Start from that foundation to craft effective goals.<\/p>\n That means you can forge a powerful link between the goals you’re setting and how they contribute toward wider business objectives. Remember though, it’s not purely about what the business needs.<\/p>\n Each of your goals should reflect a careful balancing act: both organizational demands, and the needs of the users you serve.<\/p>\n Without understanding the context – your users, the organization, and the landscape you’re operating within – you’ll struggle to set meaningful goals.<\/p>\n While product vision helps to set the direction, you’ll need to use insight about your users to make your goals specific enough to help. Use interviews, product usage data <\/a>and feedback to refine the problem you’re trying to solve.<\/p>\n Remember, setting goals shouldn’t be something product managers do in isolation. The broader the input – from your stakeholders, different members of the product team, and your users – the more comprehensive and well-rounded they’ll be.<\/p>\n You’ve started with the vision, you’ve considered the needs of the business and <\/em>your users… What’s next?<\/p>\n You need to make sure your goals<\/a> are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-Bound).<\/p>\n SMART goals have persisted in the world of project management for years precisely because they’re so effective.<\/p>\n The more detailed your goals, the easier it’ll be to measure your progress toward them… and that’s how you’ll figure out whether you’re actually unlocking value when you achieve them.<\/p>\n All of that groundwork puts you in a fantastic position to define meaningful initiatives.<\/p>\n If goals set out what <\/em>you’d like to achieve and why <\/em>then initiatives help you set out how <\/em>you’ll get there.<\/p>\n Organize work thematically, and then use that to break down smaller tasks and activities that you can prioritize effectively (and regularly) in your product backlog ready for your development teams to start working on.<\/p>\n OKRs<\/a> – objectives and key results – are a ubiquitous goal-setting methodology <\/a>in the world of product management. They can be extremely effective, but there is a range of other techniques to draw from you might not have heard of.<\/p>\n Let’s explore some of them here.<\/p>\n B.H.A.Gs are an interesting framework designed to help inspire, motivate and engage teams towards ambitious product goals.<\/p>\n This sort of goal should be deeply aligned with the core objectives of your organization, and ideally have longer-term horizons. It’s worth remembering that if a BHAG can be achieved in a short space of time, it’s likely nowhere near <\/em>ambitious enough.<\/p>\n One of the creators of this technique, Jim Collins, famously said:<\/p>\n \u201cThe power of B.H.A.G is that it gets you out of thinking too small. A great B.H.A.G changes the time frame and simultaneously creates a sense of urgency. It\u2019s a real paradox.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A drawback to this framework is the ‘big picture’ means there’s not a lot of room for technical complexity to be broken down. That can (in some situations) overwhelm product teams.<\/p>\n The BSQ framework consists of three main components:<\/p>\n This framework is versatile and effective. It enables you and your team to zoom out and think strategically, without losing sight of the details.<\/p>\n This framework sets out five fundamental principles they believe underpin effective goals:<\/p>\n OKRs<\/a> are an industry standard. In this section of the blog, we’ll run through each element of the OKR framework (and how they map onto product initiatives and goals).<\/p>\n Objectives in the OKR framework are high-level goals that set out a specific outcome you’d like to achieve.<\/p>\n The business-based example below, ‘Grow user base’, is broad but effective. Another common SaaS objective might be ‘Boost MRR’.<\/p>\n Key results map directly onto your objectives and are designed to enable you to track specific and tangible progress toward achieving them.<\/p>\n By tracking and analyzing specific key results, it’ll quickly become clear whether you’re taking the right steps or not.<\/p>\n Effective backlog management<\/a> is a key skill for product managers. Your backlog should represent a granular breakdown of all the features, ideas, investigations, maintenance, and activities necessary to realize your product vision.<\/p>\n You can see how goals can have a huge impact on the size and shape of your backlog: they help inform the priority <\/strong>of specific items and make decisions on what you’re going to build first (and why).<\/p>\n Goals also work hand in hand with your product roadmap<\/a>: these are typically higher-level documents that set out your strategic vision for the product.<\/p>\n A common format is now, next, <\/strong>and later<\/strong>:<\/a> you might set out the key initiatives you’re hoping to deliver according to these broad time horizons.<\/p>\n As an example, if you have a product goal to improve user experience by enhancing conversations, then you might pull an item forward on your roadmap to tackle it sooner (and in the background, start fleshing out the more granular level of detail necessary to actually implement the work).<\/p>\n That’s been a zoom through the exciting world of product goals and initiatives. Hopefully, this article has given you a framework to:<\/p>\n With Userpilot’s mobile features, you can create intuitive mobile app KPI metrics and dashboards<\/a> that provide clear insights into user behavior, engagement, and retention.<\/p>\nWhat are product initiatives?<\/h2>\n
Product goals vs product initiatives<\/h2>\n
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Why using goals and initiatives can make a difference<\/h2>\n
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Product goals and initiatives examples<\/h2>\n
Product managers’ goals and initiatives example<\/h3>\n
Product goal<\/h4>\n
Initiatives<\/h4>\n
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Marketing teams and sales teams’ goals and initiatives example<\/h3>\n
Product goal<\/h4>\n
Initiatives<\/h4>\n
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How to set product goals and initiatives<\/h2>\n
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![\"Visual](\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/product-goal-setting-framework_5428185b28ff76f1bd779aadf9c1eb4f_800.png)
<\/picture>Start with the product vision<\/h3>\n
Understand the user and business goals<\/h3>\n
![\"event-occurance-by-user-userpilot-analytics-anticipatory-design\"](\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/event-occurance-by-user-userpilot-analytics-anticipatory-design_e663eb4f12197c6bfd763967eff1a68b_800.png)
<\/picture>Set specific product goals that will solve user problems<\/h3>\n
![\"Visual](\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/SMART-goal-framework_8a8f43bbdb68f9c50b8684a59919bec5_800.png)
<\/picture>Define initiatives that will drive success<\/h3>\n
Goal-setting frameworks you can use to set smart goals<\/h2>\n
B.H.A.G – Big Hairy, Audacious Goals<\/h3>\n
BSQ – \u201cthink big, act small, move quickly\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Locke and Latham\u2019s 5 principles<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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![\"Visual](\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/lock-and-latham-goal-setting-framework_fad39db649531fde6144616236fd0e2e_800.png)
<\/picture>OKR method for setting product goals and initiatives<\/h2>\n
![\"Visual](\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/anatomy-of-OKR-framework_0766aa3872a7c3e235e77a939f5df20c_800.png)
<\/picture>What are the objectives in the OKR framework?<\/h3>\n
![\"OKR-examples\"](\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/OKR-examples_eb57dbc0f9b0ea72f6fdd587227ef2bf_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nWhat are the key performance indicators (key results)<\/h3>\n
How product goals impact the product backlog<\/h2>\n
![\"Visual](\"https:\/\/images.storychief.com\/account_6827\/customer-facing-roadmap_fc46ce7f7fead3e3ec266369367ef6c9_800.png)
<\/picture>Conclusion<\/h2>\n
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