Commercial Product Framework

The framework is designed to improve business outcomes by combining product strategy, customer satisfaction and commercial viability with the benefits of rapid test and learn

CPF process flow

CPF is a product-focused delivery framework used for new product ideas or evaluating and improving existing products.

It starts with Product Positioning, which helps you optimise your value proposition. This stage includes a full innovation process for taking new products to market. It then helps you prioritise an overall Strategic Direction. For example, you decide to tackle a major churn problem before you consider growth. After this, you prioritise specific strategies and shape each with a Strategy Area. Finally, these are delivered using Minimum Valuable Increments.

CPF uses canvases to help you structure your work. Each comes with very detailed guidance. CPF can be used end-to-end or as individual tools:

The full CPF guide is below. The Detailed process guidance section below the overview has links to CPF’s four stages.
OR use CPF’s tools standalone. For example, you want to use its competitor analysis canvas.

CPF is primarily designed for digital products and services. For example, a SaaS offering or insurance purchased and managed online.

Commercial Product Framework high level flow

Overview of CPF’s process stages

Each output uses a canvas to structure your work, helping you see the big picture in one place. The Detailed process guidance section below contains links that provide full detail for these stages:

Product Positioning - The clarity and strength of your value proposition will be the difference between customers buying or not. Feeding into this are the Ideal customer profile, which helps you determine who to target, and competitor analysis, which gives you a clearer view of your market.
Strategic Direction - This helps you prioritise your overall direction. It starts by considering your product’s health. You may need to tackle churn or deal with high costs before you look to expand your offering. This prioritisation can cut out a great deal of strategy work. This stage may result in new products or chargeable features that require their own Product Positioning.
Strategic Area - A foundational part of the framework is strategy definition. Organisations that start building quickly may discover they have released with major functional gaps or, worse still, may not be building the right thing at all. You will regularly evaluate the results of your strategy to ensure it is achieving the outcomes you expect.
Minimum Viable Increment (MVI) - These work items help you release the smallest possible amount of value to market with each increment. These work items may not be small, a new chargeable feature may require a significant investment.