Using the Jira Align Lean Canvas to Visualize and Shape Product Ideas

[#1]

How do you know if you are building the right product for your customers and not the wrong one?  A lean canvas is a one-page business model canvas that can help shape an idea by visualizing the desirability, feasibility and viability of it 

A lean canvas can be used as a collaborative tool to define the target customers, the top problems for customers, possible solutions, and key metrics for measuring success. The information from a lean canvas can be distilled into Minimum Viable Product (MVP) features, a benefit hypothesis and testing and research of desired outcomes which are components of Value Engineering. 

The Lean Canvas is a template in the Canvas (Labs) under Enterprise in the menu [Enterprise > Canvas (Labs)].

Blocks on the Lean Canvas

Desirability

Customer Segments - Target customer groups or organizations to reach or serve

Unfair Advantage - Competitive advantage or barriers to entry

Unique Value Proposition - Products and services that provide value for a specific customer segment

Channels - How to communicate or reach customer segments to deliver the value proposition

Viability 

Revenue Streams - Cash generated from each customer segment

Cost Structure - Operational cost for taking product to market

Feasibility

Problem - Top problems you are trying to solve for your customer segments

Solution - Possible solutions that will solve the top problems for your customer segments

Key Metrics - Key numbers that will tell you how your product is doing

[Shawn Kessler]

For those interested, here is a link to the Canvas article in the Help Center:

https://agilecrafthelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019692313-10X-Build-and-Customize-Strategic-Canvases-Jira-Align-Labs-

[Rob Phillips]

The new version compared with Business Model is definitely a nice improvement!  With SAFe calling out Portfolio and Value Stream Canvas, we should see more clients using the various templates in the Canvas module. 

I've seen some Product Managers use the Canvas as well sometimes to start preliminary conceptual Roadmap views, but obviously that feeds a different purpose.