Map the Product/Service Logic

Clarify what your product or service actually delivers: its core functionality, user experience, and delivery mechanics. This step aligns product development with strategic intent and customer expectations.

Why it's Matters

Many startups can describe what they’re building but few can explain how all the pieces fit together to deliver real value. Mapping your product or service logic helps align your team, guide decisions, and avoid wasteful development. It’s also a key checkpoint: does the solution match the problem, the customer, and the opportunity?

What You Need to Do

Break down your product or service into core components
Show how those components work together to create value
Validate that what you’re building solves the defined problem for the defined ICP

How to Approach It

Start with the customer journey:

What’s the end-to-end experience?
Where do customers first interact with your solution?
What happens next and what are the outcomes at each step?

Map features to outcomes:

Avoid just listing features
Instead, show the logic behind the design:
“We built X because customers need Y to solve Z”

Consider service layers if relevant:

Support, onboarding, integrations, data flows, etc.
Are these components clear and deliberate or ad hoc?

Align product logic with ICP:

Are features built for your best-fit customers or for edge cases?
Is anything bloated, unused, or overly complex?

Deliverables

Product logic diagram or service flow
Feature-outcome mapping table
Annotated user journey
Internal explainer or “product narrative” deck

How to Tell if You Got It Right

Your team can describe the product consistently and coherently
The solution clearly addresses your ICP’s pain points
No major disconnect between features, delivery, and outcomes
Future decisions (features, pricing, support) follow the same logic

What to Watch Out For

Product that tries to do too much (or too little)
Features without a clear use case or connection to strategy
Internal misunderstandings about what the product actually does
Gaps in the customer journey (handoffs, onboarding, retention)