Strategy: Understand · Core
Understand company goals, customers and trends
Strategy starts from the facts: what the company is trying to achieve, what customers need and what is changing around you. Gather these before forming a view.
About 3-10 daysEvergreenLast reviewed 5 November 2026
Who this applies to
- Skills it builds
- Strategy and visionDiscovery and research
- PM types
- All
- Product types
- All
- Starting points
- All
- Ways of working
- All
- Experience
- All
- Size of organisation
- All
Steps, by experience
Beginner (under 1 year)
- Read the company's goals and the last year of results.
- Collect what you know about customers: research, feedback and usage data.
- List the trends that could change your market, such as new technology or regulation.
- Talk to a few people in sales, support and finance.
- Summarise what you found on two pages.
Intermediate (1 to 4 years)
- Map the value chain from customer need to the parts that deliver it.
- Mark which parts are changing fast and which are commodities.
- Separate facts from assumptions, and note where evidence is thin.
Experienced (5+ years)
- Scan across the portfolio, not just one product.
- Test your view against outside perspectives, such as analysts or advisers.
- Identify the few forces most likely to change the business.
Who can do this
Owner: Product manager
Can be delegated to
- Data Analyst or Performance Analyst: Pull results and usage data
- User Researcher: Summarise existing customer research
Tool examples
- Miro
- Draw the value chain and trends on one board.
- Google Docs
- Keep the two-page summary with links to the evidence.
Definition of done
- Goals, customers and trends summarised
- Facts and assumptions separated
- Summary shared with the sponsor
Common pitfalls
- Only looking inside the company
- Treating opinions as facts
- Endless research with no summary