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I understand—it can be daunting to know where to start when introducing new processes to your team. But worry not! I’ve broken it down for you, and you’ll see it’s simpler than you think. Let’s dive in together. 🚀

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to structure your work using the template, taking the perspective from Team 1 as an example. Each exercise will be carried out on their homepage.

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1. Starting with WHY

First step is understanding WHY you’re tackling a particular challenge. This is where you define your Problem Statements - the foundation for everything you’ll build on. So, let’s navigate to Team 1 and begin thinking about your core challenges. You have 2 options for creating a Problem Statemetn:

• Clicking the large, inviting “New Problem Statement” purple button
• Or, add a new page by clicking “+ New Page” at the bottom

When creating a Problem Statement, include:

• Problem Summary: describe what the problem is, including background and WHY it matters.
• User Pain Points: outline specific frustrations or pain points for affected users.
• Business Impact: explain how this problem impacts business goals or key metrics. You should add it on the columns.
• Goal for Resolution: define the desired outcomes of solving the problem. What does success look like?

At the end of the template, you’ll find a table linking to related success metrics and initiatives - we’ll touch on that later.

Key fields such as Problem Status or Severity Level are here to help you and your stakeholders quickly assess the issue’s urgency and impact.

First Step of the process: defining the WHY

2. Measuring Success

Next, let’s make sure success measurable and data-driven. You can create a Success Metric in two ways, similar to before: click “New Success Metric” button or add a new page.

You will define in the (suggested) following order:

• Success Metric Name
• Related Problem Statement (ensure it’s linked to your earlier Problem Statement)
• Status (e.g., Under Review, At Risk, On Track, Achieved)
• Values: Set Initial, Current, and Target values, which auto-populate the Completion status.
• Expected Timeline: Specify the quarter in which you aim to achieve it.

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Important: Don’t forget to link each Success Metric to a Problem Statement! This connection ensures your groundwork is solid.

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Second Step: defining the success metric(s)

3. Breaking down problems: Initiatives

Once you understand the problem and have set success metrics, break it down into actionable Initiatives. These are smaller steps towards solving the larger problem, ideally 3-5 per problem. To create an initiative: click the “New Initiative” button or add a new page.

Initiatives database info

• Status (e.g., Now, Next, Later)
• Working Timeline & Expected Delivery
• Related Problem (link to the broader problem)
• Success Metric (auto-updated through rollups)
• Owner and Features (added later)

Template information

• Objective: Outline the Initiative’s purpose.
• Key Problems Addressed: List which specific problems this tackles.
• Key Milestones: Important phases or checkpoints.
• Risks & Challenges: Known obstacles and their mitigation.

Third step: creating the multiple initiatives to solve the problem

4. Creating tangible outputs: Features

Now, we reach the exciting part - creating Features! This is the tangible output your team can deliver. Navigate back to the Team 1 and either click the brown button or add a row to start creating features. If you’re in a hurry, you can also create the feature from the very same Initiative.

Once set up, you can seamlessly manage User Stories within each Feature.

Features can be also created via Initiatives page, you just need to scroll down and create them there. You can even create the user stories!

Kanban Example of seamless experience

Bonus: Capabilities

Capabilities are basically what your product can do in a broad sense. Think of it as the bigger goal or function that your product delivers, rather the individual parts of it. Capabilities give users the power to achieve things within your product, even if they don’t involve one specific button or setting. They’re more about the overall job your product helps users get done.

One Capability often relies on multiple features working together. Each feature is like a smaller, specific function that builds up to support the larger capability. You might not even notice the individual features as a user, but they’re there, working together to make the capability work.

Example:

Let’s say your product is a CRM, and one big capability is Managing Customer Data. To make this happen, you’d probably have a few features like:

• Search Contacts – lets users quickly find a contact by name.
• Filter by Attributes – users can narrow down contacts by things like location, industry, or past interactions.
• Edit Contact Information – users can update details as they go.

These features are part of what makes Managing Customer Data possible. They work together to give users a seamless way to view, update, and organize their customer information. The capability, in this case, is broader than any one feature. It’s all about helping users handle their data efficiently, which is the real goal.

Capabilities conceptualisation and example