How we use the Business Model Canvas in Product Management

A major misconception of Product Managers around the world is to focus solely on technology, the software, the design, and the implementation of the product, but neglect to ever figure out the business model. How the company makes money by acquiring and serving its customers and users. This is why we need to think about the business model — and there is no better and more lean way than using the Business Model Canvas.

What is the Business Model Canvas?

The Business Model Canvas is one of the tools Alex Osterwalder et. al. created. It is a condensed view of a company's business model. Its nine fields contain all the necessary aspects you must consider when building a business. And because of this holistic view of the Business Model, is a perfect tool for Product Managers to create a consistent Product Strategy.

Why do Product Managers need the Business Model Canvas?

Depending on how the position of a Product Manager or Product Owner is lived in your organization you might or might not need to fill out and use the Business Model Canvas. When the Product Owners in your organization are only lower-tier Product Managers like Scribe or Proxy Product Owners, you might not need to think about the business model of your company and your product. This is a clear anti-pattern in my opinion. If you are such a Product Owner/Product Manager you have three options:

• Change it: Try to change your role in the organization to be a fully empowered Product Owner.
• Love it: Get used to it and live with it — for me, this would not be an option, I would be really unhappy with that.
• Leave it: Quit your job and look for a real Product Owner job or Product Manager job where you have the power to decide things that actually have an impact on the product and its business Model.

So why do Product Managers and Product Owners think about the Business Model and use the Business Model Canvas? Because they should be responsible for maximizing the product value and this can only be done if you are responsible or at least influential for the business model.

How to use the Business Modle Canvas as a Product Manager?

The Business Modle Canvas can be used to design, describe, challenge, invent, and pivot your…