MOMENTUM: Product Strategy Framework

MOMENTUM is a structured approach to product management built on a core principle: strategy comes before artifacts. It treats product strategy as a versioned specification that can outlive code, tech stacks, and teams. By separating strategic thinking from implementation and connecting them through explicit feedback loops, the framework helps product teams stay aligned, make deliberate decisions, and scale effectively.

Table of Contents

• Manifesto – The "why" and the core principles.
• Overview – A high-level introduction to the framework.
• Core Concepts – The vocabulary: Strategy, Evidence, Artifacts.
• Core Principles – The guiding rules of the framework.
• Getting Started – How to set up and use the framework.
• Workflows – The day-to-day development loop.
• Artifacts – The purpose of each file (product-strategy.md, etc.).
• Git Workflow – How to collaborate and version strategy.
• When to Use This – Scenarios where MOMENTUM fits (and where it doesn't).
• Contribution Guide – How to contribute to the framework.

The Manifesto: Strategy Before Artifacts

A product strategy is not a narrative or a slide deck. It is a behavioral specification that defines what the product must do, for whom, and under which constraints.

Ten core principles:

1. Strategy Is a Specification – If a product cannot be rebuilt from its strategy with equivalent behavior, the strategy is incomplete.

2. Code Is an Implementation Detail – Strategy must outlive code. Code implements strategy; it must never define it.

3. Strategy Deserves Version Control – Strategy must be versioned, reviewed, approved, and auditable—it should go through a pull request.

4. Execution Without Intent Is Just Output – Shipping features is easy. Shipping the right features repeatedly requires intent first, execution after.

5. AI Requires Explicit Constraints – AI amplifies structure or the lack of it. Vague strategy invites AI to invent one.

6. Separate Thinking from Building – Product thinking and code execution deserve different repositories, instructions, and review standards.

7. Strategy Changes Deliberately – Every strategy change should answer what changed, why, and what was learned.

8. Production Is the Only Source of Truth – Only shipped features count as evidence. Experiments, staging work, and prototypes are hypotheses, not data.

9. Rebuildability Is the Quality Bar – The same users should experience the product as continuous—same workflows, same outcomes, same feel—even if code or technology changes.

10. Artifacts Are Disposable. Intent Is Not – Documents, epics, and stories can be regenerated. Strategy cannot.

Read the full manifesto: Strategy Before Artifacts

Contact

Wolfgang Heinz
Email: mail@wolfgangheinz.com
Website: wolfgangheinz.com