Creating and maintaining a shared product vision

A shared product vision works as a north star for agile teams. It helps them make decisions on their own while staying aligned with team goals. Building and keeping this vision alive takes more than just one presentation or document. It needs ongoing team effort.

Advanced agile teams see the product vision as something that grows and changes through activities that include all team roles. It starts with vision-building exercises where product managers, designers, and developers help define not just what they're making, but why it matters and how they'll measure success. Teams keep this vision fresh through regular review sessions where they update their understanding based on what they've learned and how the market has changed. Visual tools like product canvases, experience maps, and architecture diagrams serve as physical reminders of where they're heading.

The best visions connect work at different levels. They link daily tasks to sprint goals, sprint goals to quarterly targets, and quarterly targets to the overall product mission. This helps every team member see how their work fits into the bigger picture.