With product requirements, one temptation a Product Manager has to fight is the desire to jump into the details. You already know what you want, lord knows you’ve heard what people want often enough, someone’s got to actually put them on paper, and that someone is you, so you might as well get started.

But there’s an important step to requirements that you as the Product Manager must facilitate with the executive or management team. This takes place before getting into detailed suggestions from the market, sales reps, consultants, etc.

I haven’t really heard anyone give a name to this. It’s like a Requirements Executive Meeting. Perhaps “Envisioning Meeting” would be the best term. Its purpose is to have a panoramic discussion of the product, one that takes into account all the different departments and functions the product touches.

The Envisioning Meeting is not about developing a product vision, nor is it the creation of a product road map. It’s about having a thorough discussion between all members of the management team about what is needed - or what might be needed - by each department.

The goal of holding an Envisioning Meeting is to have a product that is designed to be good for the company, not just one that sells well. What I mean by that is that it’s vital to make sure that the product does not neglect a critical function of the company in a way that costs the organization.

Say the product has great new capabilities with each release, but the installation process isn’t automated. It’s a time consuming and money-losing activity draining the profitability of the company.

This is where the Envisioning Meeting serves as the place where Professional Services can address this with the entire team. Read on for some ideas on holding an Envisioning Meeting.