Free product review process framework for maintaining strategic clarity while shipping at scale. Helps product teams decouple strategic thinking from sprint execution, inspired by Stripe and Airbnb.
Companies like Stripe and Airbnb often do use Scrum but they treat Scrum as the execution layer. The product review process is a separate strategic layer that ensures the right things get built, the right way, with the right impact.
“Companies like Stripe, Airbnb, Shopify, Meta, etc., often use Scrum or Scrum-ish methods (sprints, stand-ups, retros), but they decouple strategic product thinking from sprint rituals.
Scrum is for delivery: managing the how and when
Product reviews are for decisions: aligning on why and what
This is why the product review process exists alongside Scrum, not within it.”
It provides space for strategic thinking, cross-functional feedback, and roadmap discussions — none of which are well-supported by Scrum ceremonies like sprint planning or reviews.
| Stage | Artifact | Purpose | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kick-off / Opportunity | 1-pager | Frame the problem, opportunity, or idea. No solution yet. | Do discovery. It may be that it doesn't make implementation review. |
| 2. Implementation Review | PRD | Share solution direction, get feedback on scope, sequencing, feasibility. | Build |
| 3. Ship feature | Ship feature | Ship feature | Ship feature |
| 4. Impact Review | Impact Assessment | Close the loop. Did it work? What did we learn? How did it go? | — |