Week 7 Assignment – Product Development Plan: Value Proposition and Statement

Overview

In Chapter 5 of The Lean Product Playbook, you read about creating a value proposition template for your product. A value proposition template enables you to list your product’s desired features and benefits compared with those of your competitors to clearly identify and fine-tune your value proposition.

Instructions

Using the Value Proposition Template [DOCX] Download Value Proposition Template [DOCX], you will develop a Value Proposition and Statement for your product as Part B of your Product Development Plan (see page 72 of The Lean Product Playbook for more details).

Value Proposition

List your product or service along with Competitor A and Competitor B.
- These are the two main products or services that customers in your space are currently using to address their needs.
List the three must-have benefits for these products or services (current or planned).
- Remember that must-have benefits don’t increase customer satisfaction but do cause dissatisfaction when they are absent.
List the three performance benefits for these products or services (current or planned).
- When it comes to performance benefits, more is better. The better your product’s performance, the higher your customer satisfaction will be.
List the three delighters for these products or services (current or planned).
- Delighters are those features that exceed the customers’ expectations. Because customers aren’t expecting them, they won’t notice when they are absent. The delighters do, however, bring customers additional pleasure when they are using the product or service, which leads to higher levels of satisfaction.
Evaluate each product or service in terms of the following features or benefits.
- Must-haves: There should be a Yes or No. Either the must-have is present or it is not.
- Performance benefits: You can use a numerical rating (a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest), or a scale of high, medium, and low. You can also use raw numbers, or whatever works for your product.
- Delighters: You may list separate delighters for each product, or the same if there is some overlap.

Value Proposition Statement

Develop a 4–6 sentence value proposition statement that describes the following:
- How your product or service addresses your target customers’ problems better than the competitors, and what specific benefits it provides. In other words, what can you offer your customers that is better than what your competitors have to offer, and how will customers benefit from using your product to address their underserved needs?
- What your plans are to continue to improve your product or service.