Week 13 · learning day 1
Products versus projects
Product Concept Generation and Selection and Project Management · 45–60 minutes
Today’s outcomes
- Explain products versus projects in the context of product concept generation and selection and project management.
- Frame a product decision using the source outcome rather than intuition alone.
- Produce a reusable section of a concept charter.
Source trace
W13-O01Differentiate between products and projects.
Core lesson
Make the choice inspectable
Products versus projects matters when it changes a real allocation of attention, money, time, or delivery capacity. Products pursue continuing outcomes; projects deliver bounded change.
Start by naming the decision and the uncertainty around it. Separate evidence from assumptions, compare at least one alternative, and state what would make you revise the choice.
The source outcome for today is: Differentiate between products and projects.
What decision will products versus projects improve, what evidence is sufficient for that decision, and what is the cost of being wrong?
Worked example
Products versus projects in practice
For a permissions-management product, the product manager must frame a choice about products versus projects. The team records the target user and outcome, the evidence currently available, the strongest alternative, and the next reversible test. The recommendation is written as a choice with a reason—not as a list of features.
Do the work · 20 minutes
Turn the idea into a decision
- Choose a product you know and write the specific decision that products versus projects should support.
- List two pieces of evidence, two assumptions, and one credible alternative.
- Make a recommendation in three sentences and add one condition that would change it.
Save to your portfolio
A concept charter — section: Products versus projects
Knowledge check
Answer before opening
What is the decision at the centre of products versus projects?
A good answer names an accountable choice, not merely an activity or output.
How should evidence and assumptions be separated?
Label observed facts, interpretations, and untested beliefs explicitly so the next learning step is visible.
What makes the recommendation revisable?
It includes a trigger, threshold, or new evidence that would justify changing course.
What should the portfolio artefact communicate?
The context, considered alternatives, chosen direction, rationale, evidence, and remaining risk.
Spaced review
Reconnect the learning
Reflection