why your organization needs product principles

Slack's Philosophy: A Human-Centered Approach to Work

Slack prioritizes creating a workplace tool that resonates with its users on a human level. We strive to function as welcoming hosts, ensuring every interaction within Slack is positive and comfortable.

Our product development centers around the individuals doing the work, not simply the work itself. Every feature and process is intentionally crafted to simplify work life, enhance enjoyment, and boost overall productivity.

Understanding User Needs

A core aspect of our role involves deeply understanding the desires of our users. This understanding is then translated into products and features that are both well-designed and highly functional.

The recent, significant move towards remote work has led to increased reliance on platforms like Slack. Consequently, delivering intuitive and valuable experiences has become paramount.

Guiding Product Principles

To consistently meet the evolving needs of our customer base, we’ve established a core set of “product principles.” These principles guide all development efforts and form the basis for every product-related decision.

These principles aren’t merely aspirational; they directly contribute to tangible business value by refining organizational processes and improving customer experiences.

The Benefits of Product Principles

Implementing and consistently evaluating products and features against established principles allows for continuous improvement. The adoption of product principles offers benefits to any organization.

Success hinges on the effective development and widespread implementation of these principles throughout the entire company structure.

• Focus on the User: Prioritize human needs in every design choice.
• Simplicity: Strive for intuitive and easy-to-use features.
• Value Delivery: Ensure each product addition provides clear benefits.

Understanding Product Principles

Product principles serve as fundamental guidelines for teams. They facilitate the evaluation of work across various departments and hierarchical levels. This ensures that all efforts contribute to the overarching objectives of the organization.

Consequently, improved alignment results in more effective and expedited product decisions.

The Dynamic Nature of Principles

Product principles are not static; they must adapt. They should evolve alongside changes in work methodologies and shifting customer requirements.

Currently, at Slack, five core principles direct our operations:

Our Five Guiding Principles

• Don’t make me think.
• Be a great host.
• Prototype the path.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel.
• Make bigger, bolder bets.

Implementing Principles for Cohesion

These principles are integrated into all aspects of our development process. This includes contributions from design, legal, marketing, and other teams.

They establish a common framework for decision-making, fostering alignment and enabling quicker, more informed choices.

The Importance of Principle Creation

While the concept of establishing principles is well-known, the process of developing and promoting them is frequently neglected or insufficiently developed.

A robust creation process is crucial for ensuring principles are effectively utilized and understood throughout the organization.

Defining Your Product's Core Beliefs

Prior to formulating specific principles, it is crucial to define your product philosophy. This foundational understanding will dictate how your organization perceives and implements its guiding principles.

At Slack, a methodology termed “getting to the next hill” is employed. While a long-term product strategy exists, extensive deliberation regarding the precise future state of the product in one or two years is avoided.

Instead, the focus remains on immediate, incremental improvements designed to enhance the working experiences of customers. This approach is favored due to the diverse ways Slack is utilized across numerous organizations.

It has been observed that learning from actual customer feature usage proves more valuable than prolonged debate over hypothetical future concepts. Consider product development as traversing a landscape with varying elevations.

Ascending smaller hills provides fresh perspectives, enabling informed decision-making through broadened situational awareness. Attempting to conquer a massive peak carries the risk of significant time investment, only to discover it doesn't offer the optimal vantage point.

When establishing your product philosophy, reflect on your company’s fundamental values. What primary benefit will you consistently deliver to your users? This isn’t about individual features, but the underlying reason customers initially chose your product.

Open communication with users is essential for understanding their core requirements and refining your philosophy. A collaborative discussion involving product managers, designers, and engineers will yield a more comprehensive perspective.

With a clearly defined guiding principle established, you can then derive the fundamental tenets that will direct your product execution.

Defining Core Principles for Your Organization

Principles for your organization should embody the way you prioritize the most essential requirements of your user base. These guiding statements should align with not only the product development goals, but also the desired user experience and the overall company identity.

Consider the principle, “Don’t make me think.” This signifies a commitment to ensuring Slack is intuitive and easy to use, allowing users to concentrate on their primary tasks. During product and feature development, particularly through collaborative efforts with customers via Slack Connect, we consistently evaluate how to minimize cognitive strain at every interaction.

We ask ourselves: does this functionality streamline the user’s workflow? Does it ultimately lead to a positive shift in their working habits? This focus is central to user satisfaction with Slack and distinguishes us within the market. This principle is evident throughout our product and extends to all facets of our brand representation.

Product principles are designed to guide implementation, rather than influence long-term roadmaps, strategic planning, or initial conceptualization. They function effectively as a review checklist, helping to anticipate potential user feedback on presented features.

The creation of product principles should be informed by both internal perspectives and the expressed desires of your customer base. Here are key questions to consider during the principle-building process:

• Do these principles directly support the overarching mission and values of the organization?
• Are they concise and easily understood? (Ideally, each principle should be expressed in a single sentence.)
• Is the number of principles manageable? (A maximum of seven is generally recommended.)
• Are the principles practical and widely applicable across different teams and projects?
• Can teams readily visualize how to integrate these principles into their daily work?
• Do they establish clear boundaries to prevent recurring issues and maintain focus?

Integrating Core Principles Throughout Your Organization

The effectiveness of your organizational principles is directly tied to the methods used for their implementation. At Slack, product managers and designers actively utilize these principles during weekly workshops, presenting projects at each development phase.

To further reinforce these values, we’ve developed unique emoji corresponding to each principle. These are used frequently as a rapid form of acknowledgement or a visual cue, keeping the principles consistently top-of-mind.

For new companies, establishing principles from the outset is crucial. This ensures they become integral to the narrative surrounding your products and are woven into every aspect of the business.

Established organizations can also adopt guiding principles, but will require a dedicated internal communication plan to foster widespread acceptance.

Regardless of company size, it’s essential to establish specific review points to evaluate work against these core principles.

Company-Wide Adoption is Key

Product principles should extend across the entire company, rather than being confined to the product or design teams.

Slack, for instance, initiated a comprehensive company-wide launch campaign, incorporating emoji, printed materials, stickers, and display boards.

By ensuring universal awareness of the principles, businesses can cultivate consistent thought processes throughout the entire product development lifecycle.

This approach, as demonstrated at Slack, provides a model for how organizations of all sizes can establish and deploy principles in a manner aligned with their specific objectives.

• Establishing principles early fosters a strong company culture.
• Internal promotion is vital for established organizations.
• Regular assessment against principles ensures alignment.

Ultimately, successful integration requires a commitment to making these principles a living part of the organization’s daily operations.

The Dynamic Nature of Product Principles

It is crucial to recognize that product principles are not fixed entities, but rather concepts that are continually refined. Both technological applications and user requirements are subject to change, and our understanding of both ourselves and our clientele is perpetually expanding.

Principles that are successfully implemented and accepted within an organization should be maintained. Conversely, if a principle fails to gain traction, it’s essential to analyze its practical application and adjust it accordingly.

Principles as Living Documents

Similar to a growing business, your guiding product principles should be viewed as adaptable elements capable of ongoing enhancement. Increased utilization, discussion, and comprehension of these principles will foster greater alignment and improved effectiveness.

Regular evaluation and adjustment are key to ensuring these principles remain relevant and impactful over time.

The ongoing evolution of these principles is not a sign of weakness, but rather a demonstration of a commitment to continuous improvement.

• Embrace change in technology and user expectations.
• Observe the practical application of each principle.
• Continuously refine principles based on observations.

By treating product principles as dynamic tools, organizations can ensure they remain aligned with evolving needs and continue to drive successful product development.

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