Product 360 Maturity Model

Score each Product 360 dimension against observable evidence. Use this five-level model to choose two priorities for the next quarter and track progress.

How to use the model

Score each dimension at the highest level it meets in full, including every lower level. Support each criterion with a document, calendar record or decision log entry. Take the lower score when evidence is mixed and record the reason.

Choose the two weakest dimensions. Keep the nine scores separate: an average hides gaps. Break ties by business risk or the nearest fixed date, such as a launch, renewal wave or regulatory deadline.

Plan to advance each priority by one level next quarter. The tables below link to the chapters that teach the work. Re-score quarterly and explain any decline, such as an owner leaving, a review stopping or a change invalidating an artifact.

Four scoring rules apply:

• Use evidence. A monthly review counts only when records show it occurred and what it decided.
• Cover the scope. Score the weakest in-scope area, including partner channels where relevant.
• Require sustained use. Level 5 requires at least two consecutive quarters at level 4.
• Get a challenge. Ask a peer, manager or product operations colleague to test your scores. The prompts below can support this review.

The five levels

The levels progress from a missing artifact to an owned, current source, then to regular use and learning. Each level includes the requirements below it.

Level 4 requires evidence that a review uses the artifact to make decisions. Level 5 requires learning across cycles: launch results update personas, experiments update metric trees and forecast misses update business assumptions.

The nine dimensions

Each table describes what you can observe at each level, the artifacts that indicate it and the chapters that teach the move to the next level. Template ids in code font refer to Appendix A.

1. Customer

Who is this for, and what job are they hiring it to do?

2. Strategy

Where do we play, how do we win, and what will we say no to?

3. Business

How does this make money, and is the money worth it?

4. Build

What are we building next, and how does it get made?

5. Measure

How do we know it’s working?

6. Go-to-market

How does it reach, convince and keep customers?

7. Operate

How do we run it week to week?

8. Lifecycle

Where is it in its life, and what happens next?

9. Leadership

Who needs to be aligned, and are they?

The AI overlay

Score the four AI artifacts separately within their host dimensions: evals in Measure, cost in Business, the model register in Lifecycle and risk in Operate.

Record both scores when an AI artifact scores below its host. Consider that gap when choosing priorities. Measure at 4 with evals at 2 means regular reporting exists while AI quality remains weakly assessed.

Chapters to read to move up: Chapter 31 for all four artifacts; Chapter 28 for the monthly AI quality and cost review (28-ai-quality-cost-review); Chapter 15 for pricing that covers inference cost (15-ai-pricing-model-comparison); Chapter 30 for the model deprecation runbook (30-model-deprecation-runbook); and Chapter 33 for impact assessments, red-teaming and incident response (33-ai-impact-assessment, 33-red-team-plan, 33-ai-incident-response-plan).

The Beacon case: scoring at day 90

At day 90, check the harness’s scores against its cited evidence. Two scores fall: it counted a scheduled review as held and treated Beacon Classic’s sunset plan as covering every offering.

The AI overlay scores cost at 4 because regular reviews and pricing decisions use it. Evals, the model register and AI risk score 3: they have owners but lack regular reviews. Evals at 3 beneath Measure at 4 exposes a quality gap.

Priorities. Lifecycle scores 2. Six dimensions tie at 3. Operate takes second priority because Beacon Agents will act in production at Northlight Live and AI risk lacks a regular review. This carries greater business risk than the go-to-market gap at the same fixed date.

The plan for next quarter, one level each:

• Lifecycle, 2 to 3. Assess Correlate and Diagnose with the lifecycle stage assessment, write stage-gate criteria for all three offerings and re-grill the dimension in week 2 (Chapters 30 and 37).
• Operate, 3 to 4. Add the risk register and the AI risk assessment to the monthly product review, and make the AI risk assessment an input to the Northlight Live go/no-go (Chapters 29 and 33).
• Watch item, not a focus. Add eval scores to the monthly review so the eval plan can reach level 4 alongside Measure (Chapter 31).

Nothing else gets new 360 work this quarter. The other dimensions keep their cadence and get re-scored at the next review.

Templates

# Product 360 self-assessment · [Product] · [Quarter] · [Date]

**Scored by:** [PM]   **Challenged by:** [peer PM, manager or product ops]
**Scope:** [link to the scope paragraph on the Product 360 index]
**Evidence sources:** [Product 360 index, decision log, calendar, artifact links]
**Previous assessment:** [link, or "first assessment"]

## Scoring rules
- A level counts only if every criterion for it and every level below is met, with evidence.
- Mixed evidence takes the lower level.
- Level 5 requires level 4 held for two consecutive quarters.
- Score the weakest part of the scope.

## Scores by dimension
| Dimension | Level (1 to 5) | Evidence (artifact, ritual or log entry, with link and date) | Lowest unmet criterion for the next level | Previous level | Confidence (high / medium / low) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer | | | | | |
| Strategy | | | | | |
| Business | | | | | |
| Build | | | | | |
| Measure | | | | | |
| Go-to-market | | | | | |
| Operate | | | | | |
| Lifecycle | | | | | |
| Leadership | | | | | |

## AI overlay (AI-powered products)
| AI element | Host dimension | Level (1 to 5) | Evidence | Lower than host? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evals | Measure | | | |
| Cost | Business | | | |
| Model register | Lifecycle | | | |
| AI risk | Operate | | | |

## The two weakest
1. [Dimension, level] because [evidence]
2. [Dimension, level] because [evidence; if tied, the business risk or fixed date that broke the tie]

## Action plan (one level up per weak dimension)
| Dimension | From level | To level | Unmet criterion | Action | Template or chapter | Ritual that will use it | Owner | Due | Evidence it's done |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |

## Not doing this quarter
[Dimensions and actions deliberately deferred, and why.]

## Challenges raised and how they were resolved
| Dimension | Challenge | Resolution (score kept or changed, and why) |
|---|---|---|
| | | |

# Quarterly maturity review · [Product] · [Quarter] · [Date]

**Attendees:** [PM, manager, product ops, key partners]
**This quarter's self-assessment:** [link]   **Last quarter's:** [link]

## Movement
| Dimension | Last quarter | This quarter | Change | Why it moved (or didn't) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer | | | | |
| Strategy | | | | |
| Business | | | | |
| Build | | | | |
| Measure | | | | |
| Go-to-market | | | | |
| Operate | | | | |
| Lifecycle | | | | |
| Leadership | | | | |
| AI overlay (evals, cost, register, risk) | | | | |

## Last quarter's action plan
| Action | Owner | Done? | Evidence | Did the level move? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | |

## Slips
[Every dimension that dropped a level: the cause (owner left, ritual stopped, event made an artifact false) and the fix.]

## Ritual health
| Ritual | Held as planned (n of n) | Decisions logged | Keep / change / cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | | |

## Decisions
- Focus dimensions for next quarter: [two, with reasons]
- Actions approved: [link to the new self-assessment's action plan]
- Anything escalated: [what, to whom]
- Next review: [date]

Prompts

Goal: Draft a maturity score for each dimension from evidence, ready for you to check.
Paste in (or connect the harness to): the Product 360 index, the artifacts it links, the decision log, the operating cadence and calendar evidence of which rituals were held, last quarter's self-assessment if one exists, and the level tables from Appendix C. This material is usually confidential; use only tools approved for it.

You are helping a product manager score the Product 360 for [product] against the maturity model in Appendix C of The Product 360 Handbook. The model has five levels: 1 Absent, 2 Ad hoc, 3 Defined, 4 Managed, 5 Compounding. The nine dimensions are Customer, Strategy, Business, Build, Measure, Go-to-market, Operate, Lifecycle and Leadership.

For each dimension:
1. List the evidence you found: artifact name, owner, last-reviewed date, the ritual that reviews it (if any) and decision log entries that cite it. Give a source for each item.
2. Test the level criteria from level 2 upward, and stop at the first level whose criteria are not all met. Quote the criterion that failed.
3. Give the score. If evidence is mixed, give the lower level and say why. Give level 5 only if earlier assessments show level 4 held for two consecutive quarters.
4. Rate your confidence (high, medium, low) and name any evidence you could not open or date.

Rules:
- Count an artifact only when it directly answers the dimension's question.
- Count a review as held only when notes or decision records show it occurred.
- Score the weakest part of the scope.

If the product is AI-powered, score the four AI elements (evals, cost, model register, AI risk) against the AI overlay the same way, and flag any that score below their host dimension.

Finish with a table of all scores, the two weakest dimensions (break ties by business risk or nearest fixed date, and say which you used) and a list of evidence gaps for me to check.

[Appendix C level tables]
[Product 360 index and artifacts]
[decision log, cadence, calendar evidence]

Check the output: open the evidence cited for every score of 4 or 5 and confirm the ritual actually ran and decided something. Confirm that no level 3 rests on an artifact without an owner or review date. If the harness's scores and yours differ, record the reason in the self-assessment.

Goal: Get a realistic one-quarter plan that moves the two weakest dimensions up one level each.
Paste in: the completed self-assessment, the Appendix C tables for the two weakest dimensions, the operating cadence, the next quarter's fixed dates (launches, reviews, renewals, regulatory deadlines) and the team's available time.

My Product 360 for [product] scored [scores]. The two weakest dimensions are [dimension 1, level] and [dimension 2, level].

For each of the two:
1. List the criteria from the next level up that are not yet met, quoting the Appendix C table.
2. Propose no more than four actions that would meet those criteria. For each, give the artifact or template to build or repair, the ritual that will use it, an owner role, a due date inside the quarter and the evidence that will show it's done.
3. Flag any action that needs a decision or time from someone outside the product team, and name who.

Then:
- List anything you'd deliberately not do this quarter, and why.
- Estimate the hours per week the plan costs the PM.

Limit each priority to one level of improvement. Include another dimension only when it blocks that improvement.

Check the output: every action should trace to an unmet criterion. If the PM hours look higher than you can spend, cut actions rather than stretching dates past the quarter.

Goal: Find the scores you've inflated before your manager or a peer does.
Paste in: your completed self-assessment with its evidence links, and the Appendix C level tables. Use only approved tools.

Act as a skeptical reviewer of this Product 360 self-assessment for [product]. For each dimension scored 3 or higher:
1. Argue that the score should be one level lower. Use the Appendix C criteria and the evidence provided, and name the weakest piece of evidence.
2. Ask me one question that would settle it.

Present proposed score changes for my review. Use only the supplied evidence. If it supports a score strongly, state that briefly and continue.

[self-assessment]
[Appendix C level tables]

Check the output: answer each question with evidence, not explanation. Lower any score you can't defend, and record each challenge and its resolution in the self-assessment.

Checklist

• Every dimension is scored from evidence I can open, with a link and date for each item.
• Mixed evidence was scored at the lower level, and the reason is written down.
• No dimension is at level 5 without two consecutive quarters at level 4.
• For an AI-powered product, evals, cost, the model register and AI risk are scored, and any element below its host dimension is flagged.
• Someone other than me challenged the scores, and each challenge has a written resolution.
• The two weakest dimensions are named, and any tie was broken by business risk or a fixed date.
• The action plan moves each weak dimension up one level, and every action traces to an unmet criterion.
• Each action names the ritual that will use the artifact it produces.
• The next quarterly maturity review is on the calendar, with last quarter’s scores attached.