The Surprising Connection Between an Ancient Principle, “Rule of the Divided Cloth” and Product Management
I recently read about the “Rule of the divided cloth”, an ancient principle, and found it fascinating. Here is my attempt to apply this principle to product management.
- What is the “rule of the divided cloth”?
Two people are fighting over a piece of cloth. They visit an arbitrator. The arbitrator asks one person to cut the cloth into two pieces. But, the other person is asked to choose which piece he/she wants.
The person cutting the cloth is incentivized to divide it fairly because they do not know which piece they will end up with. - Why apply this principle to product management?
In product management, we face challenges in allocating resources fairly and equitably among stakeholders, such as customers, shareholders, and employees.
By applying the “rule of the divided cloth” principle, we can prioritize features based on their value to each stakeholder, and allocate resources proportionately to each feature.
Everyone gets an equal opportunity to benefit from the product’s success with this approach.
- How to apply this principle to product management
To apply the “rule of the divided cloth” principle in product management, follow these steps:
a. Identify your key stakeholders
b. Set the rules of the game
c. Understand your players’ preferences
d. Allocate resources proportionately - Example of this principle
Envisage you’re developing a new e-commerce platform.
You have identified three potential features: faster checkout, personalized recommendations, and customer reviews. You only have the resources to develop two of them in the first release.
To apply the “rule of the divided cloth” principle, you can prioritize the features based on their value to each stakeholder.
Customers might value faster checkout, shareholders might value personalized recommendations, and employees might value customer reviews.
Allocate resources proportionately to each feature based on its value to each stakeholder.
By applying this principle, we can allocate resources fairly and prioritize features based on their value to our target audience and help us achieve product goals.
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