Product Leadership Diagnostic
Three weeks to establish why product is underperforming, and what to do about it.
Who this is for
- The board has asked why product is not delivering and nobody has a clear answer
- Two consecutive quarters have missed their product commitments
- A new chief executive has inherited a product organisation they do not yet understand
- An investor wants a portfolio company product function assessed
What it addresses
The Product Leadership Diagnostic exists because everyone in the business usually has a different theory about why product is underperforming, and no two theories agree. Leadership cannot separate a people problem from a process problem from a strategy problem, so intervention is either delayed or aimed at the wrong thing.
The Product Leadership Diagnostic takes three weeks and is not a survey or a workshop. RuleSimple delivers an executive judgement supported by evidence, written in a form the board can act on directly, without further translation or interpretation.
How it works
Evidence
Twelve to fifteen stakeholder interviews across executive, product, engineering, sales and customer success.
Analysis
Review of roadmap, backlog, delivery metrics, product analytics and recent board packs, assessed against a six dimension product maturity model.
Judgement
Written diagnosis, a ninety day corrective plan with named owners, and a readout to the leadership team.
Evidence
Twelve to fifteen stakeholder interviews across executive, product, engineering, sales and customer success.
Analysis
Review of roadmap, backlog, delivery metrics, product analytics and recent board packs, assessed against a six dimension product maturity model.
Judgement
Written diagnosis, a ninety day corrective plan with named owners, and a readout to the leadership team.
What is delivered
- Written diagnostic, twenty to thirty pages
- Product maturity scoring across six dimensions, with evidence
- Ninety day corrective plan with sequenced actions and owners
- Ninety minute readout to the leadership team
What is required from you
- Interview access to named individuals in the first week
- Data and document access within five working days
- A named coordinator for scheduling
What is not included
- Implementation of the recommendations
- Hiring or recruitment
- Vendor or tooling selection
- Performance assessment of named individuals, or input into any disciplinary or redundancy process
Common questions
What is a product leadership diagnostic?
A product leadership diagnostic is an evidence based assessment of why a company's product function is underperforming. The RuleSimple Product Leadership Diagnostic combines stakeholder interviews, a review of roadmap and delivery data, and a six dimension product maturity model to produce a written judgement rather than a survey or a workshop.
How long does the Product Leadership Diagnostic take?
The Product Leadership Diagnostic takes three weeks from start to finish. Week one covers stakeholder interviews, week two covers analysis of roadmap, backlog and delivery data, and week three delivers the written diagnosis and a readout to the leadership team.
What does the Product Leadership Diagnostic deliver?
The Product Leadership Diagnostic delivers a written diagnostic of twenty to thirty pages, a product maturity score across six dimensions with supporting evidence, and a ninety day corrective plan with sequenced actions and named owners. RuleSimple also presents the findings in a ninety minute readout to the leadership team.
Who is interviewed during a product leadership diagnostic?
The Product Leadership Diagnostic includes twelve to fifteen stakeholder interviews across executive, product, engineering, sales and customer success functions. This range is intended to surface where different parts of the business disagree about the cause of underperformance.
Can the diagnostic be commissioned by an investor rather than the company?
Yes. The Product Leadership Diagnostic is commonly commissioned by an investor who wants a portfolio company's product function assessed independently, as well as by boards and newly appointed chief executives. The interview and data access requirements are the same regardless of who commissions the diagnostic.
What happens after the diagnostic is delivered?
The Product Leadership Diagnostic ends with a ninety day corrective plan and a leadership readout, but implementation of the recommendations is not included in the diagnostic itself. A company that needs help acting on the findings would typically commission a separate engagement, such as a Fractional Chief Product Officer or a Product Sprint.