How to assess product planning records and supporting decisions

How to Assess Product Planning Records for Data Licensing

Identifying valuable product planning records and their supporting decisions is key for successful referrals to the SourceX data licensing program. AI buyers are often seeking granular, proprietary operational data that reveals a company's unique processes, challenges, and solutions, rather than public-facing information.

What Makes Product Planning Records Valuable?

When evaluating a company's product planning documentation, consider the following characteristics that align with SourceX's criteria for eligible data:

Original Documentation: Look for material created internally by the company, such as detailed product requirement documents (PRDs), internal design specifications, engineering logs, feature prioritization matrices, user story maps, A/B test results, and internal market research reports. These should be records the company generated itself, not generic templates or publicly available information. Decision-Making Context: The value often lies in the "why" behind product decisions. Documentation that clearly outlines the rationale, trade-offs considered, stakeholder feedback, and iterative changes provides rich context. This includes meeting notes, decision logs, and summaries of research influencing product direction. Operational Insight: Data that reflects how the company actually operates, develops, and refines its products is highly sought after. This can include internal process flows, quality assurance (QA) records related to product development, and historical data on product performance and iteration. Proprietary Nature: The records should contain information unique to the company, showcasing its specific approach to product strategy and execution. This differentiates it from generic industry best practices.

Examples of Valuable Records

Illustrative: A software company's historical repository of PRDs, user stories, and bug reports from the development of a specific feature set, including internal discussions and revisions. Illustrative: A manufacturing firm's documentation detailing the design iterations, material selection process, and testing protocols for a new product line, alongside records of production challenges and solutions. Illustrative:* An e-commerce company's internal reports on A/B test results for website layouts, checkout flows, and pricing strategies, including the data analysis and decision memos.

Key Screening Considerations

When you are assessing a potential referral, ask yourself:

Is it proprietary? The company must own the material or have clear rights to license it. Data belonging to clients or third parties is generally not a fit. Is it well-documented? While SourceX manages the preparation, the existence of organized records makes evaluation and potential licensing more straightforward. Does it provide unique insight? Does the documentation reveal how this specific company plans, builds, and evolves its products, offering a look behind the scenes that public data does not? Is there an authorized sponsor? An owner or executive needs to be willing to discuss licensing this type of internal data. Without their knowledge and consent, a referral is not suitable.

What is Generally Not a Fit?

Publicly available product roadmaps or press releases. Generic industry reports or market analyses not produced internally. Data scraped from public sources. Material that primarily belongs to the company's customers, even if the company processes it.

For a preliminary, non-binding screening of a potential company, you can use the company fit checker. Understanding these criteria will help you identify strong referral opportunities for SourceX and increase your chances of earning a reward.

Remember, your role as a partner is to make the introduction; the company controls what data it ultimately licenses and on what terms. SourceX handles the complex evaluation, contracting, and delivery process once an introduction is made. You can learn more about the overall process on the how it works page.

Rewards are calculated as 25% of SourceX's eligible collected platform fees, capped at $100,000 per referred company. A lead, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment. See the program terms.