Proposition and Capabilities
A vision is a destination. To reach it, the team needs two more things written down: the promise it makes to users today, and the abilities it must have to keep that promise. Skip the second and the promise becomes a slogan the product cannot back up.
The rule
The proposition is the promise; capabilities are how you keep it.
The proposition is the core value the product offers its target user, stated as a benefit rather than a feature. ReShelf's:
The right book for your course, from someone on your campus, for about half the price, within a week.
Capabilities are the abilities the product and the team need to deliver that promise reliably. There are two kinds:
- Product capabilities: what the software can do. Match courses to books; verify that users are students at the college; alert sellers when someone wants their book.
- Organisational capabilities: what the team can do. Collect each campus's official book list before term; recruit student ambassadors; settle a disputed handover within a day.
Every part of the proposition needs at least one capability behind it:
| Promise | Capability needed | Have it? |
|---|---|---|
| "The right book for your course" | A course-to-book catalogue for each campus | Yes, pilot campus only |
| "From someone on your campus" | College-email verification | Yes |
| "About half the price" | Enough seniors listing to keep prices low | Partly: supply dips mid-year |
| "Within a week" | Instant alerts to matching sellers | No |
A promise with no capability behind it is a gap. Gaps are not failures. They are some of the most important items on the roadmap.
The shortcut
Underline every promise, then write the capability that keeps it. Any underline left without a capability is a gap to close, or a word to drop.
Underline the promise
"Within a week." Buyers will expect their book in seven days or fewer.
Drills
Answer fast — trust the rule.
Which of these is a proposition rather than a feature?
Which capability backs the promise "from someone on your campus"?
"Collect every new campus's official book list before term starts" is what kind of capability?
ReShelf promises "within a week", but it cannot alert sellers and buyers wait 12 days on average. What is the honest move?
Remember
- The proposition is the promise; capabilities are how you keep it.
- Underline every promise and write the product or team capability behind it.
- Trap: promising what no capability delivers yet.