Developing a vision

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The product owner or business analyst works with stakeholders to develop a vision document and related artifacts that define the high-level scope and purpose of the product. A clear statement of the problem, proposed solution, and the product's high-level features helps establish expectations and reduce risks.

The graphic shows the steps in developing a vision Click this area to get information about planning a release Click this area to get information about organizing requirements Click this area to get information about planning the project Click this area to get information about planning the test effort Click this area to get information about developing a problem statement Click this area to get information about defining product features Click this area to get information about approving the vision
This topic outlines the following activities, which are coordinated by the analyst to develop the vision. Stakeholders provide input, review, and approve during the process.
  • Gain agreement with stakeholders on the problem that the product will solve and the scope of the solution.
  • Draft a solution statement that addresses the key issues described in the problem statement.
  • Define the high-level product features.
  • Trace features to stakeholder requests.
  • Initiate a review of the vision and related requirements from a diverse set of stakeholders, such as users and business stakeholders.
  • Create a baseline of the approved requirements and the vision document.

Before you begin

Prior to developing the vision, create an infrastructure for your project. Install and configure tools. Modify the process and reports to meet the needs of the organization. Add team members, assign roles, and grant access to project areas. The product owner or business analyst should identify stakeholders and study the problem domain.

1. Develop a problem statement

Gain agreement with stakeholders on the problem that the product will solve and the scope of the solution.
  1. Assess business needs and gather stakeholder requests. Upload supporting artifacts to the project repository.
  2. Create a clear problem statement, which describes the purpose of the product or project.
  3. Work with stakeholders to review and refine the problem statement.
  4. Add the problem statement to a vision document, which can be expressed in a rich-text artifact.
Supporting tasks:

2. Define product features

Use the problem statement, solution statement, and stakeholder requests to the features of the product.
  1. (optional) Conduct brainstorming sessions. Perform competitive analysis. Research published resources related to the problem and its solution.
  2. Draft high-level feature requirements in a rich-text artifact.
  3. Trace features to stakeholder requests. Stakeholder requests that do not trace to features are rejected for this release.
  4. Assign values (high, medium, low) to key feature requirement attributes, such as stakeholder priority, difficulty, risk.
Supporting tasks:

3. Approve the vision

Initiate a review of the vision document, feature requirements, and other supporting artifacts. Include a diverse set of stakeholders, such as users and business stakeholders, in the review process. After the review is complete, the dated, approved artifacts serve as a baseline for the vision.
  1. Group the vision, related requirements, and supporting artifacts in a collection.
  2. Initiate a review of the collection. Invite stakeholders to review the vision.
  3. Work with stakeholders to gain approval for the vision.
Supporting tasks:

Results

By completing this task, you have created a vision document to record business goals and stakeholder needs, and provide a problem statement, solution statement, and high-level feature requirements. You have traced features to stakeholder requests. Your team has completed a review of the vision document and feature requirements.

What to do next

Next, you should work with stakeholders to define, organize, and prioritize requirements.