The Product Field Kitandersonco.uk/field-kit

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The Product Field Kit.

58 tools I use with product teams, organised by the need in front of you. Each one has a fillable worksheet and, where numbers are involved, a calculator that does the maths as you type.

Many come from agile practice, and I still value it. I just treat agile as the expected norm now, so the kit is built around the jobs product people do rather than any one method.

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Free AI Coach

Knowing Whether a Product Makes Sense.

Product sense is knowing whether a product makes sense: for the people who would use it, for the market it would enter and for the company building it. Should Facebook move into travel? Product sense is how you answer that well. It is the skill interviewers test for and the skill you use every time you weigh up a new opportunity. Choose how you would like to practise it today.

Mode One

Practise for an Interview

A realistic product sense interview. The coach sets a question, or takes yours, and plays a fair, friendly interviewer while you lead: users, pain points, solutions, metrics and trade-offs. Afterwards you get clear feedback on each stage and the shape of a strong answer.

Mode Two

Explore a Market or Opportunity

Bring a real market or idea from your work. The coach walks through eight lenses with you, one question at a time, from the customer and market size to strategic fit and risk, and finishes with a go, not yet or no go recommendation drawn from your own reasoning.

58 toolsBuy the Full Kit

I Need to Find the Real Problem

Before you spend a penny, make sure you're solving the right thing.

Tool 01Free

5 Whys

Keep asking why until you reach the cause, not the symptom.

Choose this when the same problem keeps coming back and you suspect you're fixing symptoms.

Use it free

Tool 02

Fishbone Diagram

Map every possible cause of a problem before you fall in love with one.

Choose this when a problem clearly has several causes and you need the whole team to see them.

In the full kit

Tool 03

Conflict Resolution Diagram

Turn a stand-off into a shared goal and a list of assumptions you can test.

Choose this when two sensible people or teams are pulling in opposite directions and the debate has turned personal.

In the full kit

Tool 04

Customer Interviews

Learn what people actually do, not what they think you'd like to hear.

Choose this when you're relying on opinions or assumptions about what customers want.

In the full kit

Tool 05

Jobs to Be Done

People don't buy products. They hire them to make progress in their lives.

Choose this when you need to understand why people really choose a product and who your real competitors are.

In the full kit

Tool 06

Opportunity Solution Tree

Connect the outcome you want to the opportunities and ideas that might get you there.

Choose this when your team has lots of ideas but no clear line from customer needs to the outcome you want.

In the full kit

Tool 07

Reference Customers

Build the product alongside a small group of real customers who'll vouch for it when it's ready.

Choose this when you're building something new for a market and need proof that real customers will buy and vouch for it.

In the full kit

I Need to Set the Direction

Give teams a vision, a strategy and goals worth pursuing.

Tool 08

Product Vision

A picture of the future you're trying to create, usually three to ten years ahead.

Choose this when teams are busy but can't say what the product will become or why it matters.

In the full kit

Tool 09

Product Strategy

Choose the few problems that matter most on the way to the vision, based on real insight.

Choose this when there are more opportunities than people and you need to decide where to focus.

In the full kit

Tool 10

Product Principles

A short list of beliefs that help teams make the same call when values compete.

Choose this when teams keep re-arguing the same trade-offs and need a shared way to decide.

In the full kit

Tool 11

Customer Letter

Write the letter a delighted customer would send after the product launches, before you build it.

Choose this when you want to test whether an idea is worth building by imagining the moment it succeeds.

In the full kit

Tool 12

Startup Canvas

One page that sets out the problem, customers, solution and business model of a new product.

Choose this when you're exploring a new product and need the whole business case on one page.

In the full kit

Tool 13

Opportunity Assessment

A handful of questions to answer before you commit a team to anything.

Choose this when someone wants to commit a team to work and nobody has asked the basic questions.

In the full kit

Tool 14

The Four Big Risks

Before you build, ask whether it's valuable, usable, feasible and viable.

Choose this when you're about to build and want to know which risk could sink the idea.

In the full kit

Tool 15

Team Objectives

Give each team a problem to solve and a measure of success, then let them work out how.

Choose this when teams are given features to build rather than problems to solve.

In the full kit

Tool 16

OKRs

An inspiring objective and a few measurable results that show you got there.

Choose this when you need goals that say what success looks like and leave teams free to decide how.

In the full kit

Tool 17

North Star Metric

One measure that captures the value customers get from your product.

Choose this when teams chase different numbers and you need one measure of the value customers get.

In the full kit

I Need to Decide What to Do First

Choose between good ideas with money, time and evidence, not volume.

Tool 18

Fast Benefits Assessment

Put a rough money figure on an idea so you can compare it with the others.

Choose this when ideas are being compared on gut feel and you need a fair, quick money figure for each.

In the full kit

Tool 19

Kano Model

Sort features into the ones customers expect, the ones they want more of and the ones that delight them.

Choose this when you need to decide which features are must-haves, which compete and which delight.

In the full kit

Tool 20Free

Cost of Delay

Put a price on waiting, so urgency stops being a matter of who shouts loudest.

Choose this when everything is urgent and you need to show what waiting really costs.

Use it free

Tool 21

CD3

Divide what each week of waiting costs by how long the work takes, then do the highest scores first.

Choose this when you have a queue of valuable work and need the order that loses the least money.

In the full kit

Tool 22

WSJF

Do first the work that delivers the most value for the least time.

Choose this when you need to sequence a large backlog using relative scores rather than money.

In the full kit

Tool 23Free

RICE

Score ideas on reach, impact, confidence and effort.

Choose this when you need a quick, repeatable way to score and compare a list of ideas.

Use it free

Tool 24

MoSCoW

Split a release into must have, should have, could have and won't have this time.

Choose this when a release or deadline is fixed and you must agree what's truly essential.

In the full kit

Tool 25

Classes of Service

Give different kinds of work different rules, so the urgent doesn't swallow everything else.

Choose this when urgent requests keep derailing planned work.

In the full kit

Tool 26

Incremental Funding Model

Fund a little, learn a lot, then decide whether to fund the next bit.

Choose this when someone wants a large investment approved up front and the uncertainty is high.

In the full kit

I Need to Test an Idea Before We Build It

Learn cheaply and quickly whether an idea will work.

Tool 27

The Scientific Method

Ask a question, make a prediction, test it fairly and believe the result.

Choose this when strong opinions are driving decisions and you need evidence everyone will trust.

In the full kit

Tool 28

Build-Measure-Learn

Build the smallest thing that answers your biggest question, then decide to persevere or pivot.

Choose this when you have a new idea and need to find out quickly whether to persevere or pivot.

In the full kit

Tool 29

Three Question Model

Three questions and a short loop for any improvement.

Choose this when you want to improve something and need a light, repeatable way to test each change.

In the full kit

Tool 30

Assumption Mapping

List what must be true for your idea to work, then test the riskiest first.

Choose this when an idea rests on lots of beliefs and you need to know which to test first.

In the full kit

Tool 31

Paper Prototyping

Sketch it, put it in front of a real person and watch.

Choose this when you want feedback on a design in hours, before anyone writes code.

In the full kit

Tool 32

User Prototype

A simulation of the product, from rough sketch to realistic mock-up, that people can try.

Choose this when you need to see whether real people can use and understand a design.

In the full kit

Tool 33

Feasibility Prototype

A quick, throwaway build that answers one technical question before you commit.

Choose this when engineers aren't sure something can be built well enough, fast enough.

In the full kit

Tool 34

Live-Data Prototype

A limited real build that runs on live data with a small group, so you can measure behaviour.

Choose this when you need real usage numbers before committing to a full build.

In the full kit

Tool 35

Usability Testing

Watch real people try to use your product, and notice where they struggle.

Choose this when you need to know where people struggle with your product.

In the full kit

Tool 36

Fake Door Test

Offer the feature before you build it and see who knocks.

Choose this when you want to measure real demand for a feature before building it.

In the full kit

Tool 37

Wizard of Oz Test

The customer sees what looks like a working product, while a person does the work behind the scenes.

Choose this when you want to test an automated or smart experience without building the automation.

In the full kit

Tool 38

Concierge Test

Deliver the service by hand, openly, to learn what customers really need.

Choose this when you want to learn exactly what customers value by delivering the service by hand.

In the full kit

Tool 39

A/B Testing

Show two versions to similar groups at the same time and measure which one works better.

Choose this when you have real traffic and need to know which version actually performs better.

In the full kit

Tool 40

Pre-Mortem

Imagine the project has failed, then explain why.

Choose this when a project is about to start and you want the risks out in the open.

In the full kit

I Need to Shape the Work for a Team

Turn big ideas into small, clear pieces a team can finish.

Tool 41

User Stories

A short note about who needs something and why, written to start a conversation.

Choose this when requirements read like specifications and nobody remembers the people they serve.

In the full kit

Tool 42

Acceptance Criteria

The conditions a story must meet before the customer will accept it.

Choose this when teams and customers disagree about whether something is finished.

In the full kit

Tool 43

User Story Mapping

Lay the customer journey out left to right, then slice releases from top to bottom.

Choose this when the backlog is a long flat list and you can't see the whole customer journey.

In the full kit

Tool 44

Refining the Backlog

Regular tidying, so the top of the list is always ready for work.

Choose this when planning meetings drag on and the backlog has become a storage unit.

In the full kit

Tool 45

Points Estimating

Size work relative to other work, not in hours.

Choose this when hour-based estimates keep being wrong and you need a faster way to forecast.

In the full kit

Tool 46

Planning Poker

Everyone estimates at once, in secret, then talks about the differences.

Choose this when estimates come from one or two loud voices and risks are being missed.

In the full kit

Tool 47

Definition of Done

A short, shared list of what "finished" really means.

Choose this when work is often "nearly finished" and releases keep slipping.

In the full kit

Tool 48

Incremental Development

Finish small, usable slices one after another, instead of everything at once.

Choose this when customers are waiting a long time for value and feedback arrives too late.

In the full kit

I Need to See How the Work Is Really Moving

Find the delays, bottlenecks and queues nobody can see.

Tool 49

Kanban Board

Put every piece of work on a wall so everyone can see where it is.

Choose this when nobody can see all the work in progress or where it's stuck.

In the full kit

Tool 50

Measuring Lead Time

Measure how long work takes from first request to reaching customers.

Choose this when you need to know how long customers really wait and where the time goes.

In the full kit

Tool 51

Cumulative Flow Diagrams

One chart that shows queues, bottlenecks and lead time together.

Choose this when you want to spot bottlenecks and growing queues before they become a crisis.

In the full kit

Tool 52

Burndown Charts

Plot the work left against the time left.

Choose this when you need early warning on whether a fixed piece of work will finish in time.

In the full kit

Tool 53

Daily Stand-Ups

Fifteen minutes to agree the plan for the day and clear what's blocking it.

Choose this when small blockers grow quietly and the team rarely plans its day together.

In the full kit

I Need Quality Built In, Not Bolted On

Catch problems in minutes, while they're small and cheap.

Tool 54

Test-Driven Development

Write a failing test first, then just enough code to pass it.

Choose this when bugs keep slipping through and the team is nervous about changing code.

In the full kit

Tool 55

Continuous Integration

Merge everyone's work many times a day and check it automatically every time.

Choose this when merging work is slow and painful and problems surface late.

In the full kit

I Need to Learn and Change Course

Look up, learn from what happened and adjust without drama.

Tool 56

Demonstrations

Show real, working things to the people who'll use them, early and often.

Choose this when customers see work too late to shape it.

In the full kit

Tool 57

Retrospectives

Regular time for the team to look back, learn and pick one thing to improve.

Choose this when the team keeps hitting the same problems and never stops to fix them.

In the full kit

Tool 58

Now, Next, Later Roadmap

A roadmap of problems and outcomes, grouped by how sure you are, not by date.

Choose this when stakeholders want dates for things nobody can predict yet.

In the full kit

Nothing matches that yet. Try a simpler word, such as priority, test or flow.

Written by Elle Anderson from years of teaching and using these methods with product teams. Some come from the lean, agile and quality traditions, and some from product thinkers such as Marty Cagan, Teresa Torres and Jeff Patton. The words and examples here are my own. If you'd like help putting any of them to work, let’s have a chat.