Hey there, fellow product enthusiasts!

We’ve just wrapped up the scoping phase for our exciting new venture, Origin Spice, and I wanted to share some insights about this crucial project stage. You might think the product manager’s job is put on pause during this time, taking a welcome break sipping your morning coffee while the development teams are off doing all the hard work. This would be further from the truth and grossly negligent of the product manager if this were the case! If you’re a product manager, entrepreneur, or just curious about how digital products come to life, this post will walk you through the key steps of effective project scoping and why the PM remains central throughout.

What is the Scoping Phase, Anyway?

The scoping phase is that critical period between “we have a great idea!” and “let’s start building!” It’s where vague concepts transform into concrete plans. Think of it as creating the architectural blueprint before construction begins.

For Origin Spice, our premium spice subscription service, this meant taking our vision of “connecting home cooks with authentic global flavors” and mapping out exactly what that would look like as a product.

Step 1: Define the Problem You’re Solving

Every great product solves a specific problem. During our scoping phase for Origin Spice, we started by clearly articulating the pain points we were addressing:

• Home cooks struggling with expired or stale spices
• Consumers feeling overwhelmed by traditional bulk spice purchasing
• People wanting to explore global cuisines but lacking authentic ingredients

Product Manager’s Role: At this stage, the PM conducted customer interviews and compiled research data to validate these pain points. They created user personas like “Curious Carla” and “Adventurous Alex” to keep our target audience front and center.

Step 2: Outline Your Solution

Once you understand the problem, you can define your solution. This isn’t about listing every feature you might want—it’s about identifying the core value proposition and essential components.

For Origin Spice, our solution crystallized around:

• Small-batch spice blends curated by region
• Monthly subscription model with recipe inspiration
• Digital tracking of spice freshness
• Direct trade relationships with farmers

Product Manager’s Role: The PM facilitated workshops where stakeholders prioritized features using the MoSCoW method (Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, Won’t-have). This helped distinguish between our MVP requirements and future enhancements.

Step 3: Define Project Scope and Boundaries

Clear boundaries prevent scope creep. During scoping, we explicitly defined what Origin Spice would—and wouldn’t—include in its initial launch.

For example, we decided that:

• We WOULD include a basic subscription platform and freshness tracking system
• We WOULD NOT include international shipping or AR spice origin tours in the first version

Product Manager’s Role: The PM created a scope statement document that served as our “single source of truth” throughout the project. They also managed stakeholder expectations by explaining why certain features were being delayed.

Step 4: Break Down the Work

With the scope defined, it’s time to break the project into manageable chunks. For Origin Spice, we organized work into several key workstreams:

1. E-commerce platform and subscription management
2. Spice sourcing and quality control processes
3. Packaging design and sustainability system
4. Content creation for recipes and education
5. Marketing and customer acquisition

Product Manager’s Role: The PM should collaborate with the development team to create a work breakdown structure (WBS) and identify dependencies between workstreams. A good engineering manager (@Jason Nov will host estimation sessions with you as the Product Manager in attendance to understand the level of effort required and provide direction where conflict or concerns about features might arise.

Step 5: Resource Planning

With work identified, we determined what resources we needed. For Origin Spice, this meant:

• A development team for the e-commerce platform and app
• Culinary experts for spice curation and recipe development
• Supply chain specialists for farmer partnerships
• Designers for packaging and brand identity

Product Manager’s Role: You will not be directly involved in identifying resource needs and potential constraints, but you are again the voice of the customer when it comes to determining feature priorities. Engineering will have created a staffing plan that aligns with our timeline and budget.

Step 6: Risk Identification and Mitigation

Every project faces risks. During scoping, we identified potential obstacles for Origin Spice:

• Supply chain disruptions due to weather or geopolitical issues
• Quality control challenges with multiple suppliers
• Customer education hurdles for a premium product

Product Manager’s Role: I have been part of stellar engineering teams in the past that take this step seriously. If the head of engineering hasn’t organized a risk workshop where the team identified risks, assessed their impact and likelihood, and developed mitigation strategies, then facilitate one yourself. These sessions are invaluable and will come in handy later when things go off the rails. Document these in a risk register that is monitored throughout the project.

Step 7: Create Timeline and Milestones

With work defined and resources allocated, we created a realistic timeline. For Origin Spice, we mapped out a 9-month roadmap from scoping completion to public launch, with key milestones including:

• Beta launch with 200 customers (Month 3)
• First three farmer partnerships established (Month 5)
• Full public launch (Month 9)

Product Manager’s Role: I will write about this step in a future blog because we, as PMs, tend to hold the roadmap to predefined timelines that may or may not align with development timelines. It is a tricky balance between setting expectations and managing realistic timelines. As the PM, you want to work with the development team to create a release plan with clearly defined milestones. They used techniques like story mapping to visualize our journey to launch.

Step 8: Define Success Metrics

How will we know if Origin Spice is successful? During scoping, we established key performance indicators (KPIs):

• Customer Acquisition Cost: Target $35
• Customer Lifetime Value: Target $540
• Retention Rate: Target 85%
• Net Promoter Score: Target 75+

Product Manager’s Role: The PM collaborates with the leadership team to define metrics that align with business objectives. They also ensured we had the technical infrastructure to measure these metrics.

Step 9: Document and Communicate

The final step in our scoping phase was comprehensive documentation. For Origin Spice, this included:

• Product requirement documents (PRDs)
• User stories and acceptance criteria
• Technical specifications
• Design briefs
• Financial projections

Product Manager’s Role: The team owns the creation and maintenance of these documents. The Product Owner, if there is one, otherwise, the PM ensures it is accessible to all stakeholders. They also presented the scoping outcomes to the broader team in an all-hands meeting.

Conclusion: Ready, Set, Build!

With the scoping phase complete, our Origin Spice team now has a clear roadmap for bringing our vision to life. The development team knows what to build, marketing understands what to promote, and leadership has realistic expectations for timeline and budget.

The scoping phase may not be the most glamorous part of product development, but it’s arguably the most important. It’s where dreams meet reality, and vision transforms into a concrete plan of action.

Have you recently completed a project scoping phase? What techniques worked well for your team? Share your experiences in the comments below!

Happy building, The Origin Spice Team