What needs to be finished first
A North Star Metric or comparable outcome metric with established measurement is set, and Current and Target Condition orient to it.
What needs to be ready before start
Kata board with four fields (Direction, Current Condition, Target Condition, Next Step); live measurement dashboard with outcome metric; experiment log; storyboard per iteration; coach or mentor (optional but recommended).
One Product Lead or PM as owner; cross-functional team (PM, designer, engineer); one coach with kata experience; sponsor for direction setting and obstacle escalation.
Direction (vision or strategic goal); current measurement data; previous kata loops with learning effects; obstacle list; available experiment methods (interview, prototype, pretotype, data analysis).
1-2 weeks per kata loop, ongoing
Kata board visible in team room or digital. Cadence: loop start Monday, mid-week sync, loop review Friday. Measurement dashboard visible. Experiment log continuous.
The one question this method answers
Which Target Condition does the team want to reach in 1-2 weeks, and which smallest next step moves us there or lets us see where the obstacle is?
Marker: Phase
| Step | Duration | Action | Hint |
|---|---|---|---|
1Phase 1: Clarify direction | Initial 1-2 h, then every quarter | Direction in one sentence: where do we want to be in 6-12 months? Link to vision or product goal. Clarify what success in this direction looks like. | Direction is not vision alone, but an operationalized line of flight. If direction becomes arbitrary, the kata loop swings between topics week by week. |
2Phase 2: Measure Current Condition | 30-45 min | Where are we today, measured? Outcome metrics plus relevant leading indicators. Data in numbers or observations. Do not guess; measure or name missing measurement as obstacle. | Anyone filling Current Condition with gut feeling will guess Target Condition. Better write "we do not know" and plan measurement setup as Next Step. |
3Phase 3: Target Condition for the loop | 30-45 min | Which measurable change in Current Condition do we want to see in 1-2 weeks? Concrete number, clear behavior, not "better". Target Condition is a learning goal, not a delivery goal. | Target Condition too large: loop fails, no learning. Too small: loop is useless. Rule of thumb: ambitious enough that current knowledge is not sufficient. |
4Phase 4: Plan and execute Next Step | Plan 30 min, execution days to 1 week | Smallest experiment that creates learning: interview, spike, prototype, data analysis, A/B test. Before start: what do we expect, what would surprise us, how would we recognize obstacles. | Anyone starting Next Step without an expectation statement will not know afterward whether they learned. Writing expectation is mandatory. |
5Phase 5: Reflection and next loop | 1 h at loop end | What did we learn? Was Target Condition reached? Which obstacle became visible? Derive new Current Condition and new Target Condition from it. Next loop starts. | Reflection without addressing the obstacle is bookkeeping. The obstacle must become visible, named and addressed in the next loop, otherwise the team learns nothing. |
What comes out at the end
Kata board with current Direction, Current Condition, Target Condition, Next Step and expectation; experiment log with hypothesis, result, obstacle; loop history as chronological list for coaching.
One entry per loop with date, loop number, kata-board snapshot and reflection. Loops archived chronologically. Quarterly learning synthesis.
Compact working template for Product Kata with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
Iterative learning cycle from Direction, Current Condition, Target Condition, and Next Step.
When and for what do we use this method?
Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?
Short notes along the runsheet.
Owner, date, and success signal.
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Direction: By Q4 2026, 50% of first installers reach the aha moment in week 1.
Current Condition (2026-05-12):
Target Condition (target 2026-05-23):
Next Step (experiment): Wizard layout for step 3 as A/B test with 50% traffic from 2026-05-14.
Expectation: 50% reduction in step-3 drop-off, +4 points activation rate. It would surprise us if drop-off increases in the wizard variant.
Reflection (2026-05-23):
Next Current Condition (Loop 15):
Next Target Condition: Step-5 drop-off < 10%. Next Step: interviews with users who drop at step 5.
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
Loop 1 targets activation, Loop 2 retention, Loop 3 pricing. No continuous learning thread.
Set and protect direction quarterly. Within the quarter, only sub-targets change; direction remains. Anyone changing mid-quarter learns nothing cumulatively.
Current values are assumptions, not data. Target becomes arbitrary.
Use measurement setup as first kata loop if data is missing. Until then, honestly label the loop as measurement setup, not as outcome loop.
Target demands a doubling in one week, team fails and is demotivated.
Target at the edge of reachability, not beyond. Rule of thumb: existing knowledge is just not enough. Coach can help calibrate.
Next Step is "build feature X", takes 3 weeks, no learning along the way.
Next Step is experiment, not implementation. Maximum duration 1 week. If longer, find a smaller experiment that gives insight faster.
Loop reflection summarizes what happened, but next Current Condition is identical.
Obstacle must flow into next Target Condition or Next Step. If obstacle is not addressed, what are the next 1-2 weeks for?
Team runs loops, quality remains low, targets become feature lists.
Plan coach (internal or external) for first 10-20 loops. Coach checks questions, not answers. Without coaching, kata quickly becomes a standup variant.
Done signals checkable in under a minute
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