Why Simple Diagrams Reveal Complex Product Strategies: A Guide for Product Managers

1. Reflections on Abstraction and Complexity for Product Managers

In daily work, a playful comment about abstracting everything into a class except a colleague highlights the concept of abstraction: extracting common essential attributes while discarding non‑essential details.

Abstract thinking is a crucial soft skill in a personal ability model, distinct from hard skills like documentation or Axure. Many great theories and formulas—Euler's formula, Maxwell's equations, E=mc², Aristotle's syllogism, Newton's laws, Darwin's evolution—are highly abstract.

Conclusion: The more complex the thinking, the simpler the form, and vice versa.

2. Design Considerations and Methods for Product Architecture Diagrams

2.1 Why Draw

Clarify product direction: Helps answer where the product should go in the next six months, how to phase and implement requirements, dependencies, competition, and future scalability.

Support technical and operational output: The diagram enables clear roadmap breakdowns and guides teams in creating operational plans and system architecture proposals aligned with product direction.

Visualize product architecture for others: Presents clear boundaries and development direction, useful in project planning or summaries to quickly convey structure, functionality, and complexity.

2.2 When to Draw

Before a complex project starts: Skipping the diagram often leads to repeated revisions and overturned requirements.

Even if the project is mid‑way: It’s never too late to create a diagram and gain the benefits.

2.3 How to Draw

2.3.1 Diagram Types and Drawing Methods

(1) Technology & Function‑Based Product Architecture Diagram

This simple functional diagram abstracts and categorizes existing or planned features, showing module structures and relationships such as sub‑features or prerequisite dependencies.

(2) Product, Technology, and Function Service Architecture Diagram

This example from Alibaba Cloud’s Internet Finance solution shows how services are built on top of product functions, using layered models (bottom, middle, top) to express architecture.

(3) Ecosystem & Business Model Architecture Diagram

This diagram integrates technology, product, and service layers into an ecosystem or business model, illustrating how they interrelate.

2.4 Review: Steps to Create an Architecture Diagram

Identify the type of diagram to draw.

Confirm the elements (technology, product, service).

Define relationships: simple diagrams use inclusion, support, parallel; complex diagrams reference appropriate models, layer them, then apply simple relationships.

Produce a logical structure with clear relationships.

Final Thoughts

Simple representations often conceal great complexity; mastering abstraction lets you express intricate products, services, ecosystems, and business models with clear, minimal diagrams, demonstrating true understanding.