How can an oversized Information Product be decomposed into smaller ones?
Instead of building “one Information Product to rule them all”, it’s usually more effective to break it down into a set of smaller, focused Information Products
How can an oversized Information Product be decomposed into smaller ones?
When defining an Information Product Canvas, it’s not uncommon to realise that the scope is too broad. It might try to answer too many Business Questions, serve too many Personas, or rely on data from too many Core Business Events at once. Instead of building “one Information Product to rule them all”, it’s usually more effective to break it down into a set of smaller, focused Information Products. This approach keeps complexity manageable, speeds up value delivery, and makes it easier to iterate based on feedback.
Start with the Actions and Outcomes
Review the Actions and Outcomes. Ask whether a subset of the Actions and Outcomes can be carved out as standalone Information Products.
For example, a “Customer Lifetime Value” Information Product might include Actions such as:
Develop loyalty programs to increase customer retention;
Implement targeted up-selling and cross-selling campaigns;
Tailor marketing strategies to target high-value segments.
These could be split into smaller Information Products like “Customer Retention”, “Customer Growth”, and “Customer Segmentation”.
Separate by Delivery Type
If an oversized Information Product Canvas includes multiple Delivery Types, for example a dashboard, an API and a report, consider splitting by the type of delivery. Each Delivery Type often has its own audience, its own usage pattern, and its own technical requirements.
Rather than trying to wrap all of these into a single Information Product, it can be more effective to separate them into their own focused Information Products, each optimised for its specific mode of delivery.
For example, a separate Information Product for the Monthly Report for the Board, a Data Extract API for the Data Analysts and a Dashboard for Executives.
Break down by Business Questions
Cluster Business Questions into logical groups. Each cluster can form a focused Information Product.
For example, a “Sales Summary” Information Product might have Business Questions defined such as:
Which regions are achieving or missing their sales targets?
What are the total sales by region this month, quarter, and year?Which products are delivering the highest profit margins?
Which products have strong sales volumes but low profitability?What are the overall sales trends over the past four quarters?
How does this quarter’s sales performance compare to the same quarter last year?
These could become three smaller Information Products, “Regional Sales Performance”, “Product Margin Analysis”, and “Quarterly Sales Trends”.
Decompose by Data Domains
Split the Information Product based on distinct data domains or subject areas that are apparent in the Core Business Events. This reduces cross-domain complexity and aligns delivery with business areas.
For example a “Customer Order Lifecycle” Information Product might have Core Business Processes defined such as:
Customer Places an Order;
Customer Pays for Order;
Product is Shipped to Customer.
These can become “Sales”, “Revenue”, and “Fulfillment” Information Products.
Define iterative deliverables
Break an oversized Information Product into progressive iterations, each delivering a subset of the required features stories. For example, the first iteration could deliver top-level KPIs, the second iteration could deliver drill down to detailed transactions and the third iteration could deliver a predictive forecast. By treating each feature story as its own Information Product, value can be delivered incrementally.