Workbook

Make the Mission Yours

Role: Federal Agency - Business/Product Owner

Use these activities to apply each principle to your current product, service, or project. These activities are a sample to get you started, not an exhaustive list. Adapt and expand them based on your team's context and needs. Capture your answers, share them with your team, and revisit them as you learn.

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Important: When Using AI Tools

When using AI-assisted activities, always double-check for accuracy and meaning each and every time. AI tools can help accelerate your work, but human judgment, validation, and critical thinking remain essential.

Review AI-generated content with your team, validate it against real user feedback and domain knowledge, and ensure it truly serves your mission and user outcomes before proceeding.

1) Shared Mission and Vision

Connect product decisions to agency mission and citizen outcomes while navigating federal constraints.

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Learn More

For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 1) Shared Mission and Vision section in the framework.

Workbook Activities (do now)

☐Document how the current product initiative supports the agency's strategic mission and at least two citizen outcomes.
☐Create a one-page mission alignment document that maps product features to agency goals and citizen value; share with stakeholders and vendor teams.
☐In backlog refinement, require each item to state its connection to agency mission and citizen outcome; defer items without clear alignment.
☐Review the agency's strategic plan and identify how this product supports key objectives; adjust scope if misaligned.
☐Partner with program managers to validate that product priorities align with agency mission and citizen needs.
☐Conduct a mission alignment session with vendor teams to ensure they understand the agency mission and how their work contributes to citizen outcomes.
☐Create a shared mission statement document with vendor partners and review it quarterly to ensure continued alignment.
☐Include vendor team leads in mission planning sessions and require them to articulate how their deliverables serve the agency mission.

AI Assisted Activities

☐Use AI to help draft mission alignment documents or outcome mappings for federal products, but have your team and stakeholders review them to ensure they reflect real citizen needs and agency goals.
☐Ask AI to generate potential citizen outcomes for your product initiatives, then validate each one against direct citizen feedback, agency mission, and compliance requirements.
☐Use AI to help structure mission alignment documents, but ensure human team members validate that each product decision truly serves the agency mission and citizen outcomes.
☐Have AI analyze past federal product decisions to identify mission alignment patterns, then use those insights in team discussions to improve how product work connects to citizen value.

Evidence of Progress

☐Product backlog items show explicit linkage to agency mission and citizen outcomes.
☐Stakeholders can articulate how the product serves the agency mission.

2) Break Down Silos

Foster collaboration across program offices, IT, security, and compliance teams.

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Learn More

For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 2) Break Down Silos section in the framework.

Workbook Activities (do now)

☐Run a joint planning session with IT, security, compliance, program stakeholders, and vendor teams to align on product scope and constraints.
☐Create a shared product board that includes all stakeholders and vendor teams; remove duplicate function-specific tracking.
☐Document product decisions and compliance requirements in one place and review with all stakeholders including vendor leads.
☐Hold a 30-minute live decision review for compliance or security concerns instead of async email chains; include vendor representatives.
☐Pair with IT stakeholders to agree on technical constraints and acceptance criteria for the current initiative.
☐Establish regular cross-functional sync meetings with vendor teams to break down silos and ensure shared context across all teams.
☐Create a vendor onboarding checklist that includes mission alignment, compliance requirements, and collaboration expectations.
☐Document vendor handoff points and establish joint working sessions to reduce context loss between agency and vendor teams.

AI Assisted Activities

☐When AI generates product requirements or feature descriptions for federal products, have cross-functional stakeholders (IT, security, compliance, program) review them together to ensure they serve citizens and align with agency mission.
☐Use AI to help draft product briefs or requirement documents, but ensure all stakeholder groups contribute their perspectives during actual planning sessions.
☐Have AI analyze product handoff patterns and stakeholder communication gaps, then use those insights in cross-functional discussions to improve collaboration.
☐Use AI to help structure stakeholder collaboration sessions, but ensure human team members make decisions together about what to build and how it serves citizens.

Evidence of Progress

☐Fewer misalignments between program, IT, security, and compliance teams.
☐One shared product board is used across all stakeholder groups.

3) User Engagement

Stay connected to citizens and end users despite federal access constraints.

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Learn More

For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 3) User Engagement section in the framework.

Workbook Activities (do now)

☐Schedule at least one citizen engagement session this quarter (interview, usability test, or shadowing) and include IT, program stakeholders, and vendor team members.
☐Publish a one-page readout with citizen quotes and observations after each session; highlight one product decision it informs and share with vendor teams.
☐Replace one assumption in the backlog with a validated citizen quote or data point from support channels.
☐Work with support or help desk teams to identify top citizen pain points and prioritize them in the backlog.
☐Review citizen feedback channels (surveys, support tickets, public comments) and adjust product priorities based on real signals.
☐Invite vendor team members to participate in citizen engagement sessions to build their direct understanding of user needs.
☐Share citizen feedback and research findings with vendor teams in a structured format to ensure they understand user context.
☐Establish a process for vendor teams to contribute their observations from user interactions back to the product backlog.

AI Assisted Activities

☐Use AI to analyze citizen feedback, support tickets, or public comments to identify patterns for product decisions, but always validate AI insights through direct citizen engagement or observation.
☐Have AI generate questions for citizen interviews based on your product assumptions, then use those questions in real conversations with citizens to build genuine empathy.
☐Use AI to help summarize citizen research findings for product planning, but ensure team members review the summaries and add their own observations from direct citizen interactions.
☐Have AI analyze citizen behavior patterns from analytics or support data, then discuss those patterns with actual citizens or citizen-facing staff to understand the "why" behind the behavior.

Evidence of Progress

☐Product backlog items reference citizen quotes or observed behaviors.
☐Stakeholders can cite recent citizen engagement that influenced a product decision.

4) Outcomes Over Outputs

Measure success by citizen impact and agency mission advancement, not just feature delivery.

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Learn More

For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 4) Outcomes Over Outputs section in the framework.

Workbook Activities (do now)

☐For the current product initiative, define 1–2 citizen outcome metrics and a review cadence with stakeholders and vendor teams.
☐Add outcome hypotheses to product documentation and review them at quarterly business reviews with vendor participation.
☐Post a short outcome readout after release; propose next actions based on citizen impact data and share with vendor teams.
☐If a metric missed the target, write one hypothesis and a concrete next experiment to validate.
☐Align with analytics and IT teams on exact events/metrics for this initiative before development starts.
☐Establish shared outcome dashboards with vendor teams so everyone can see progress toward citizen impact goals.
☐Include vendor teams in outcome review meetings and require them to report on how their deliverables contributed to citizen outcomes.
☐Create outcome-based acceptance criteria for vendor deliverables that focus on citizen impact, not just feature completion.

AI Assisted Activities

☐When AI generates product features or roadmaps, define citizen outcome metrics upfront and measure whether AI-generated product work achieves intended citizen outcomes, not just feature completion.
☐Use AI to help analyze citizen outcome data and identify patterns, but have human team members interpret what those patterns mean for citizens and the agency mission.
☐Have AI help draft outcome definitions and success criteria for product initiatives, but ensure the team validates them against real citizen needs and agency goals before proceeding.
☐Use AI to track and report on citizen outcome metrics, but schedule human team reviews to discuss what the metrics mean and how to adjust product strategy based on observed citizen impact.

Evidence of Progress

☐Each product initiative has defined citizen outcome metrics and scheduled reviews.
☐Post-release actions reference citizen impact data, not just feature completion.

5) Domain Knowledge

Understand federal regulations, compliance requirements, and agency ecosystem constraints.

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Learn More

For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 5) Domain Knowledge section in the framework.

Workbook Activities (do now)

☐Create or refresh a service map showing how your product fits into the broader agency ecosystem and citizen journey; share with vendor teams.
☐List key compliance and regulatory constraints (FISMA, Section 508, PII handling) in product documentation and review with IT, compliance teams, and vendor leads.
☐Identify the top two upstream/downstream agency systems or services per initiative and involve their owners early.
☐Review a recent compliance or security incident in this domain and note one mitigation you will enforce in the current initiative.
☐Call out one regulatory or policy risk in the current product plan and secure owner/mitigation strategy.
☐Conduct domain knowledge transfer sessions with vendor teams to ensure they understand federal regulations and agency ecosystem constraints.
☐Create a compliance checklist for vendor deliverables and review it together before work begins.
☐Establish a process for vendor teams to ask questions about domain constraints and get timely answers from agency experts.

AI Assisted Activities

☐Use AI to help summarize federal regulations, compliance requirements, or agency policy documents for product planning, but validate AI-generated domain knowledge through direct engagement with compliance and legal experts.
☐Have AI generate questions about federal compliance or agency ecosystem relationships for your product, then use those questions in conversations with compliance and IT experts to build deep understanding.
☐Use AI to help draft service maps or ecosystem diagrams for product planning, but ensure team members review them with agency experts to verify accuracy and completeness.
☐Have AI analyze past federal product decisions or compliance-related issues, then discuss those insights with the team and agency experts to identify patterns and prevent similar problems.

Evidence of Progress

☐Product initiatives reference compliance constraints and agency dependencies explicitly.
☐Stakeholders acknowledge and plan for shared dependencies and compliance requirements early.

6) The Art of Storytelling

Use narrative to align agency stakeholders and communicate citizen impact.

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Learn More

For more information and deeper understanding of this principle, refer to the 6) The Art of Storytelling section in the framework.

Workbook Activities (do now)

☐Write a one-page narrative for the current product initiative: citizen problem, agency mission alignment, impact, and success signals; share with vendor teams.
☐Prepare two versions of product updates: one for executives (citizen outcomes/risks) and one for the team including vendors (decisions/next steps).
☐Share a before/after citizen story at quarterly review tied to outcome metrics with vendor participation.
☐Add a real citizen quote or data point to the narrative to anchor the story in human impact.
☐Record a 60-second update for agency leadership focusing on citizen impact and next decision points.
☐Conduct storytelling workshops with vendor teams to help them articulate how their work connects to citizen impact and agency mission.
☐Include vendor team members in narrative development sessions so they can contribute their perspectives and understand the full story.
☐Create a shared narrative document that vendor teams can reference when making decisions, ensuring alignment with agency mission.

AI Assisted Activities

☐Use AI to help structure or draft product narratives and updates for federal stakeholders, but refine them with real citizen anecdotes, emotions, and personal observations from direct citizen interactions.
☐Have AI generate different versions of product updates for different audiences (agency executives vs team), but ensure each version includes authentic human stories about real citizen impact.
☐Use AI to help summarize product work in reviews, but lead presentations with human stories about real citizens, using AI-generated summaries as supporting material.
☐Have AI help draft product documentation or updates, but always include real citizen quotes, data points, or anecdotes that connect your product work to human impact and agency mission.

Evidence of Progress

☐Agency stakeholders can retell the narrative and success signals.
☐The team references the narrative when making product trade-offs.