User need: outcomes for people, their representatives or communities
Policy intent: meeting explicit outcomes sought by politicians or ones implicit in legislation
Capability to operate: building a collegiate team, unpicking legacy software or answering a knotty technical question
Product leadership in the public sector is, more often than not, about balancing these 3 things.
3 axes graph showing user needs, policy intent and capability to operate. There is a spiral that grows in size away from the origin