Wikimedia Product/2016 Product Team Strategy/Outline of Product Team Strategic Planning process

Attempt to Reconcile these milestones with External timing constraints

• We want to have picked a strategy by end of March meeting (March 8).
• Therefore, we need to go into the March meeting with strategies fully fleshed out and all testing complete.
• Therefore, can only do guerilla tests, via homework after Feb 16 meeting.
• Therefore, the February 16 meeting has to conclude with mostly complete strategies, and tests.
• Therefore, the February 16 meeting has to start with the strategic problem Done and strategic possibilities already fully brainstormed.
• Therefore, we need to decide on the strategic problem by early next week (Feb 8 or 9) in order to have a week to brainstorm Strategic Possibilities.
• Therefore we need to shrink our list of candidate problems this week and probably meet next week to settle on one.
• Also, testing can only include
  • "gut" checks, i.e., expert knowledge and experience of participants
  • small guerilla tests in late Feb

Assumed: We can test and revise the strategy further in 2016, including integrating with other Strategies.

Milestones

1. Participants agree on process to be used - DONE prior to Jan 22 Meeting.
   1. Proposed: "Playing to Win"
2. Team has consensus on strategic problem
   1. Everyone has offered a version of the problem. DONE Jan 22 meeting and weeks following.
   2. All versions are reconciled
   3. Strategic choice is framed.
3. Strategic Possibilities Defined
   1. Adequately large population of possibilities considered
   2. Likely possibilities well-defined and non-overlapping
   3. Initial Possibilities pruned
4. One possibilities reviewed in detail
   1. Full cascade drafted
      1. Specify conditions that would have to be true for each possibility to be a great strategy.
      2. Identify barriers to choosing each possibility.
      3. Design tests to assess the most worrisome barriers and assign responsibility for testing.
5. All possibilities detailed in full cascades
6. Cascades reviewed and possibilities pruned
   1. Pruning criteria defined
7. Final (skeptic) review of cascades and barriers
   1. Share progress with stakeholders
8. Design tests to assess the most worrisome barriers and assign responsibility for testing.
   1. Finalize test plan.
9. Run tests.
10. Discuss Test Results
    1. Make Strategic Choice
    2. Refine Cascade
11. The Great Unveiling