Prune the Product Tree Template

About the Prune the Product Tree Template

Prune the Product Tree (also known as the product tree game or the product tree prioritization framework) is a visual tool created by Luke Hohmann that helps product managers organize and prioritize product feature requests. The tree represents a product roadmap and helps your team think about how to grow and shape your product or service. 

What is Prune the Product Tree

Prune the product tree helps product management teams gamify the juggling of feedback and opinions from customers and internal stakeholders. 

A product tree usually has four symbolic features: 

• Trunk: Existing product features your team is currently building 

• Branches: Each branch represents primary product or system functions (you can also leave room for more branches to “grow”)

• Roots: Technical requirements or infrastructure that make your listed features possible

• Leaves: Each leaf represents a new idea for a product feature

You can also adapt the image as needed to suit your team discussions and business priorities. For example, apples hanging off a tree can represent a return on investment, and seed baskets under the tree can symbolize deprioritized ideas. 

Create your own version of Prune the Product Tree

Making your own versions of Prune the Product Tree is easy. Miro is the perfect tool to create and share them. Get started by selecting the Prune the Product Tree Template, then take the following steps to make one.

1. Frame the activity for teams new to the game. For anyone who needs context, spend a few minutes guiding everyone through the exercise. The features found closest to the tree trunk represent near-term priorities. Features on the branches’ outer arms represent long-term future plans. The challenge is to prioritize near-term, current, and future product plans. 

2. Grow each part of the tree to prioritize feature requests. You can cluster groups of features (drafted on sticky notes) around labeled branches or sub-branches (with text boxes). Avoid turning this into an idea generation activity. You want your team to focus on what features are both feasible and desirable. 

3. Discuss each part of the tree as a group. When the tree is full of sticky note “leaves,” you can ask questions to kickstart a productive conversation. Ask each other if anyone thinks branches are too heavy. You can also ask if any feature categories are unexpected, if any feature requirements need more user research, or if the tree roots have the necessary infrastructure to make features viable. Consider dot voting with Miro’s Voting Plugin to figure out what features should be further explored. 

4. Turn the prioritization outcomes into a product roadmap. Prune the Product Tree works as a standalone activity. You can also translate your findings into a product roadmap to shape new features you’ll focus on first from quarter to quarter.