Is The Aha! Framework right for you? Use this new checklist.
What is innovation without implementation? Hardly more than a daydream. It takes immense planning and coordination to actually bring ideas to life. To do it well, you have to know both why you are choosing what to build next and how the team will get the work done.
The right way of working allows you to translate promising ideas into real value.
We recently published The Aha! Framework: our own approach to product development. (If you are not familiar with the methodology, it is worth revisiting the introductory post.) For each stage of the product development process, there are discrete activities within The Aha! Framework that we follow. Some occur at fixed intervals. Others are concurrent to support continuous delivery.
Because we have found success with the framework, we have written detailed guidance on every stage and activity — so you can benefit as well. You might not need to overhaul all your product development processes, but I bet there are some areas you would like to improve.
If any of the following pain points resonate, then The Aha! Framework can be helpful:
☐ Strategy at your organization is more of a buzzword than a guiding principle.
☐ You spend far more time talking about how work will get done instead of why.
☐ Customer feedback is not fully integrated into roadmap planning.
☐ You feel like you are working at a feature factory instead of solving meaningful customer problems.
☐ The loudest voices in the room guide prioritization.
☐ No one is really ever happy with what is delivered (including customers).
☐ You are consumed by semantics and ceremonies.
☐ The team favors incrementalism as a quick way to show impact without deep thinking or exploration into the improvements customers truly need.
☐ Stakeholders are unaware of what is coming next (and unhappy about it).
☐ Launches are a scramble, with no structured plan to guide the team.
☐ Product value is unclear.
Hopefully, you do not have to check every box above. And if you do, now might be a good time to get a cold glass of water and unclench your jaw. :-) We all have hard truths to accept in regard to what is (or is not) serving us, our teammates, and our customers.
In the spirit of changing what you can control, head over to our 10-step guide on adopting The Aha! Framework to evaluate which pieces are right for you. The framework is not your typical prescribed methodology. It is designed to be flexible and adaptable to your needs.
The Aha! Framework offers structure and guidance where you need it. Adopt key pieces or the whole thing — choose what works for you.
If you are an Aha! software user, remember that you can implement any new product development process using the Frameworks functionality in Aha! Roadmaps. Our Customer Success team is here to help if you need it.
More resources to help you get started with The Aha! Framework:
Product development software your entire team will love. Try Aha! software for 30 days.
