Strategy on Konstantin Zavarov

Product Strategy ≠ Template

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The goal of strategy is to move from «build whatever anyone asks for» to a deliberate position aimed at creating a better future for both users and the business.

As much as we’d like one to exist, there’s no universal product strategy template — honestly, no template at all. The format depends on company and team maturity, team structure, business model, business strategy, and a whole host of other factors.

ICE, RICE, DRICE Prioritization Frameworks

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:17:01 +0300

Ein, zwei, drei… There are endless ways to prioritize tasks. Every product I’ve ever worked on had its own unique ranking method, each with its own quirks. For a quick tour of all the approaches used at major companies, check out Misha Karpov’s talk at Yandex’s product meetup [1]. As for me, my personal favorite prioritization methods are the energy-based one — where priorities are chosen based on how you’re feeling that day — and the intuitive one, where you simply follow your gut and your heart. Too bad the team rarely agrees to go along with either.

The Evolution of Goal-Setting Frameworks: From OKR to NCT

Sat, 24 Aug 2024 15:17:01 +0300

I came across an interesting approach to goal-setting — NCT (Narratives, Commitments, Tasks) by Ravi Mehta [1]. What makes it compelling is that it positions itself as an alternative to OKR and could be genuinely useful for many product teams. Before diving into NCT, let’s take a quick look at the history of goal-setting frameworks.

In 1954, Peter Drucker introduced the concept of MBO (Management by Objectives) in his book The Practice of Management [2]. The core idea is to set goals at the company level and cascade them down to individuals at each level. Many services within Yandex, for example, still use a similar approach today. There’s even a dedicated internal tool for cascading goals called «Golzyatnitsa.»

The Growth Dilemma of Online Course Economics

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 15:17:01 +0300

Comparing the top edTech companies in the Russian internet market, I noticed an interesting scaling problem baked into their course economics — one they all seem to live with. I’m not talking about product-driven edTech platforms like Lingualeo, but companies that create educational courses for upskilling or career transitions.

Product EdTech Theorem #1

The absence of deadlines in an educational course leads to ↑ Revenue and ↓ Completion Rate (COR). Conversely, having deadlines leads to ↓ Revenue and ↑ Completion Rate.

ICE, RICE, DRICE Prioritization Framework Template

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0300

A Google Sheets template for prioritizing product initiatives using three frameworks: ICE, RICE, and DRICE. For a deeper dive into the methods, check out the article «ICE, RICE, DRICE Prioritization Methods».

Download template

What’s inside

ICE — the simplest prioritization method. Each initiative is scored on three factors from 0 to 10: