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Product decisions heuristic

As explained in Architecture Modernization: Socio-technical alignment of software, strategy, and structure

An independent service heuristic for evaluating whether a team can independently discover user needs and make product and roadmap decisions.

The product decisions heuristic tests whether a value stream is independent enough for its team to discover unmet user needs, set its roadmap, and make product decisions without being merely directed by other teams. section 11.3.1

Use questions such as:

  • Does the team provide discrete value within a well-defined sphere of execution? section 11.3.1
  • Can the team define its roadmap from what it discovers is best for the product and its users? section 11.3.1
  • Is the team involved in discovery and design, or simply told what to build? section 11.3.1

Supporting subdomain teams

A supporting subdomain team may reasonably have its roadmap influenced by a core domain, but it should participate in discovery and design, understand why work matters, and retain the final decision for its value stream. section 11.3.1

How Architecture Modernization: Socio-technical alignment of software, strategy, and structure covers it

How deep it goes
Provides diagnostic questions and autonomy warnings, while allowing legitimate variation for supporting subdomain value streams.
Examples
Uses core-domain and supporting-subdomain teams to illustrate roadmap influence, discovery involvement, and decision ownership.
What it assumes
Assumes a value-stream and team context while grounding product autonomy in user discovery, roadmaps, and decision ownership.
What you can do after
Evaluate product-decision autonomy and identify when external requirements constrain innovation, motivation, or flow.
How it connects
Connects product-decision autonomy to value streams, user needs, roadmaps, flow, Wardley Mapping, and EventStorming.
Cover of Architecture Modernization: Socio-technical alignment of software, strategy, and structure
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