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Transcript of © Radiant Minds Software 10 Roadmap Tools A collection of tools to create, discuss and present...
© Radiant Minds Software
10 Roadmap Tools
A collection of tools to create, discuss and
present product and technology roadmaps.
© Radiant Minds Software
Tools SummaryTool Description Slide #
3 Horizons model Presentation tool to structure roadmap by time and uncertainty (extend/defend current business, create future opportunities).
3
Technology trend capitalization
Analysis and presentation tool to discuss current and future market positioning along relevant trends and implications on the product roadmap.
8
Product Canvas Communicate the key facts to a product (release) in 1 slide to align everyone on what’s the focus.
14
Technology theme Investments
Analysis tool to discover areas requiring more resource investments and areas to divest.
19
Pictures of the future Thinking framework to align short-term and long-term vision and brainstorm new opportunities.
24
Market / technology alignment
Analysis and presentation tool to align marketing messages with technology innovations.
31
Kano model Analysis tool which helps to understand product qualities and their impact on customer satisfaction in order to prioritize the roadmap.
36
Compact QFD Prioritization tool which focuses on customer needs and product qualities relative to competitive products.
41
Technology S-curve Brainstorming tool to shape the discussion around incremental improvements vs. potentially disruptive technologies.
45
The golden feature A communication tool to create a singular focus on doing one great thing.
50
© Radiant Minds Software
3 Horizons ModelThe 3 horizons model an excellent tool to communicate the
high-level product roadmap structured into activities to extending and defending the current business and creating
future opportunities.
The original management-oriented model was proposed by Badhai, Coley and White in “Alchemy of Growth”. Geoffrey Moore picked it up and built on it in “Escape Velocity”.
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summaryStructure your roadmap themes into 3 horizons, make sure to invest into extending and defending the current business, but also into creating viable future options.
Profit
Time (years)
Horizon 1Extend and defend core businesses
Horizon 2Build emerging businesses
Horizon 3Create viable options
Know
ledge o
f M
ark
et
Knowledge of Technology
New market
Existing market that we do not
serve
Existing market that we
currently serve
Existing technology that we currently use
Existing technology that we do not use
New technology
Horizon 1
opportunities
Horizon 2
opportunities
Horizon 3
opportunities
ImprovementExtensionVariantsCost Reduction
Adjacent growth
Next gen.products
Exploration into new markets
Exploration with new technologies
10%
20%
70%
© Radiant Minds Software
How to use for roadmapping?
Rate your current roadmap investments• How would you classify your recent and currently planned roadmap
investments?• How much did you invest per horizon? • Do you have ideas in the pipeline in all categories?
Define your target investments per horizon• How much are you willing and able to seed for long-term growth?• How much does it take to harvest from your core businesses?
Match target investments with actual roadmap ideas• Do your current investments match your target? • Align roadmap themes and budgets with horizon goals.
Share and discuss• Use the results to discuss with all business functions and align short-term as
well as long-term perspective
1
2
3
4
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Ensure your innovation pipeline does not dry up Balance investments in short and long term
opportunities Get people on board with your vision
© Radiant Minds Software
Profit
Time (years)
Resource investment
70%
Resource investment 20%
Resource investment
10%
Theme / Epic
…
…
…
…
Theme / Epic
…
…
…
Theme / Epic
…
…
Horizon 1Extend and defend core businesses
Horizon 2Build emerging businesses
Horizon 3Create viable options
© Radiant Minds Software
Technology Trend Capitalization
A presentation tool to discuss current and future market positioning and implications on the product
roadmap
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summaryThe tech industry has historically been shaped by trends which influence both the customers’ environment and the resulting product needs. Examples of recent mega-trends in IT include Mobile, Social, Cloud, Apps or Big Data. Positioning along a trend can help to better speak the customers’ language and focus on problems with high awareness in the market.
The trend capitalization tool is both a decision support tool and a presentation tool to align a roadmap with market trends (or purposefully position outside mainstream if desired).
Tren
d Implications What does it mean for our customers and their use of our products/services?
Leverage What do we do to capitalize on this trend?
Expected end of hype cycle
Today
Risk mitigationWhat do we do to prevent threats resulting from this trend?
© Radiant Minds Software
How to use for roadmapping?
Identify trends relevant to your business• What’s in the media currently? • What are analysts talking about? Which buzzwords are they using? • What’s talked about on relevant industry events? • What are your customers talking and asking about?
Analyze implications of each trend• What does a trend mean for our customers? Which new challenges will they be
confronted with? What will become easier/better? • What will become mainstream, which activities/habits etc. will be obsolete? • Which tools will be obsolete? • Which new technologies will be available to be leveraged? Which technologies
will be outdated? Are we using any of these? Do we have expertise?
Identify opportunities and threats• How can we leverage a trend with new products or services? • How can we improve existing products to serve the changing needs of our
customers?• Can we shape the trend? • Could the trend negatively impact our core business? Could essential products
become obsolete?
1
2
3
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Leverage current trends, speak the language of customers and the media
Anticipate changes in the customer’s environment resulting from high level industry changes and adapt products proactively
Identify and mitigate risks resulting from major paradigm shifts
© Radiant Minds Software
Mob
ile
Socia
lA
pp
s
Implications
LeverageProduct / Service / BM change … … …
Change for customers 1 …
Risk mitigation
Product changeTech/skill
acquisitionExploration/
Research…
… …
Implications
LeverageProduct / Service / BM change … … …
Change for customers 1 …
Risk mitigation
Product changeTech/skill
acquisitionExploration/
Research…
… …
What it means for our customers and their use of our products/services
What do we do to capitalize on this trend?
What do we do to prevent threats resulting from this trend?
Implications
LeverageProduct / Service / BM change … … …
Change for customers 1 …
Risk mitigation
Product changeTech/skill
acquisitionExploration/
Research…
… …
© Radiant Minds Software
Resource investment
70%
Resource investment 20%
Resource investment
10%
Theme / Epic
…
…
…
…
Theme / Epic
…
…
…
Theme / Epic
…
…
Horizon 1Extend and defend core businesses
Horizon 2Build emerging businesses
Horizon 3Create viable options
Market Trends
Trend 1
Trend 2
Trend 3
Trend 4
Note: The trends can also well be integrated with tool #2 (horizon model) in a presentation.
© Radiant Minds Software
Product CanvasCommunicate the key facts to a product (release) in
1 slide to align everyone on what’s the focus.
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Tool summaryThe product canvas communicates on one page the key facts on a product or product release. Its main purpose is stakeholder communication and alignment. It aims to ensure everyone has the same understanding for what you’re building, for whom and why, and how it will be communicated to the outside.
ReferencesThe canvas has been adapted based on Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas and Roman Pichler’s Product Canvas. http://alexosterwalder.com/http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/agile-product-innovation/the-product-canvas/
Product Vision
for whom?
why? what? Success factors (product)
Key messages and drivers (market)
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How to use for roadmapping?
Envision the next product release• Who will be the main users? (Define personas)• Which problems will the product solve for these users? Particularly, which new
solutions will we offer with the next release?• Why is our solution unique? How are we solving the problem differently? Why is
it better for our users?
Identify success factors• What is key for the product in order to solve these problems / deliver on these
USPs? • What could make or break it? • What do we need to get absolutely right in order to succeed? (Note: these are
aspects the team will focus on afterwards in validating early with customers, designing, polishing to the last detail etc.)
Identify key marketing messages and drivers• If you got the product right, which messages will drive awareness in the market? • What should we emphasize in our content and messaging? • Which trends/changes/forces in the users’ environment will drive adoption of the
new solutions?
1
2
3
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Communicate the focus of a product (release) in one slide
Align the inside perspective on the product with the outside perspective (market messages)
Be clear about who benefits from a release and why
© Radiant Minds Software
Product Vision
for whom?
Top 3-5 target personas w. their role and characteristics
why?
Which problems do they have today, why do they need a solution
what?
What are we doing differently? How are we solving the problem? Why is this product worth buying?
Success factors (product)
Which are key factors that will make or break it product-wise?
Key messages and drivers (market)
How will this be messaged to the outside? What will drive awareness and adoption? What will we emphasize marketing-wise?
© Radiant Minds Software
Technology Theme Investments
Analysis tool to discover areas requiring more resource investments and areas to divest
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summaryThis tools helps you brainstorm technology areas which require increased resource investments and others, where the level of investment can be reduced. Brainstorm in a group and see how each team member judges the current situation. After having achieved an agreement on the status quo, draw conclusions on resource shifts.
Underinvested
Overinvested
Importance / Expected market impact
Resource shift
Step 1 – Brainstorm
Importance / Expected market impact
Step 2 – Derive action items
Overinvested, and not important anymore
Underinvested and important
Tech A
Tech B
Tech C
Tech D
© Radiant Minds Software
How to use for roadmapping?
Create a list of existing products and/or technologies to evaluate• Be as detailed as needed to distinguish separate building blocks, but keep the
list manageable. • Sources of input: Which items are on the price list? Which technical components
exist (and could be shipped independently)? Which basic technologies/platforms did we build on? Which integration points do we have?
Have each team member position the items on the technology investments matrix• Classify all items collected in step 1 by perceived market relevance and
importance to the current/future business and whether the current level of resource investment is perceived too high or too low (relative to other products, relative to competition – make sure to agree with the time on these criteria first)
Discuss, re-arrange and get consensus• See how everyone positioned the items, discuss items with fundamental
disagreements individually
Draw conclusions on technology themes and resource investments on the next roadmap• Once the positioning is final, discuss concrete possibilities to reduce
investments into resource-intensive, but unimportant areas in order to shift to highly relevant areas with lack of resources.
1
2
3
4
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Redistribute R&D resources continuously according to current market priorities
Establish shared understanding of resource situation Derive actionable measures to invest resources where
they have most impact
© Radiant Minds Software
UnderinvestedOverinvested
Importance / Expected market impact
Theme / Technology
Theme, Technology, or
Product
Resource shift
…
…
© Radiant Minds Software
Pictures of the future
Pictures of the futures is a thinking framework originally developed by Siemens. It helps shaping
the thought process from the current business and products to future opportunities.
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summary
Strategic Visioning
Current business
Extrapolation RetropolationVia Roadmaps On the basis of scenarios
ProductsTechnologiesCustomer Needs
New MarketsNew Customer NeedsNew TechnologiesNew Business Impacts
Scenarios
IndividuumSocietyPoliticsEconomyEnvironmentTechnologyCustomersCompetitors
Influential Factors
Today Short-term Mid-term Long-term
Business area [..]
Business area [..]
Cross-sectional segment [..]
Cross-sectional segment [..]
Think “logically ahead” from the current business, and backwards from future scenarios, and align the resulting technology, product and service needs.
© Siemens AG, 2005
© Radiant Minds Software
How to use for roadmapping?
Start with your current business• Which customer needs are satisfied?• What‘s the current product mix and technologies?
Extrapolate from there• If you continue, what would „naturally“ be the next steps? • Which features would you build to serve current needs even better?• What are customers asking for?
Imagine future scenarios• Where do you see current customers or new customer segments in few years from now?• With which challenges will they be confronted? • Which technologies might be predominant at this point in time?
Retropolate from the future scenarios- What do I need to create short and mid-term to fulfill future customer needs? - (How) can long-term needs be aligned with short-term development? - Which product/platform features support both future and current needs? - Which risks result from my current position in relation to all future scenarios? Are we prepared?- …
1
2
3
4
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Think outside the box of current customers and usage scenarios
Shape the discussion to discover potentially disruptive technologies and ideas
Align long-term vision and short-term activities – don’t just address any new greenfield area
© Radiant Minds Software
TODAYKey personas we serve USPs / Unfair advantage
Weaknesses / Immediate Threats
Short-term focus area 1• Enter ideas here to
strengthen current USPs or address immediate threats
• Focus on todays offering• …
Short-term focus area 2• …• …• …
Short-term focus area 3• …• …• …Focus on key segments you
service today, how are they characterized and why do they use the products/services?
What’s unique today? Which USPs work with current customers?
Any immediate threats from competition, new technologies, dissatisfaction with the offering, perceived weaknesses in the market,..?
© Radiant Minds Software
TOMORROW
Long-term focus area 1• Enter ideas here to
address future scenarios
• Focus on potential future USPs in case a scenario materializes
• …
Long-term focus area 1• …• …• …
Long-term focus area 3• …• …• …
Future scenario 1
Key assumptions Expected impact
Future scenario 1
Key assumptions Expected impact
Future scenario 1
Key assumptions Expected impact
Describe the most important assumptions in your future scenario
What’s the potential impact on your current business?
… …
… …
© Radiant Minds Software
Long-term focus area 1
Long-term focus area 2
Long-term focus area 3
Short-term focus area 1
Short-term focus area 2
Short-term focus area 3
Roadmap Theme 1
Roadmap focus area catering to short-
term needs in alignment with long-
term vision
Roadmap Theme 2…
Roadmap Theme 3…
Roadmap Theme 4…
© Radiant Minds Software
Market / Technology Alignment
Analysis and presentation tool to align marketing messages with technology innovations
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summaryContent is product, and vice versa. Everything a company presents and offers to the outside, either products or free content should be in sync and communicate one message. Avoid marketing a technology which you don’t have, or leaving technologies unleveraged.
The market / technology alignment tool simply puts the key items from technology and market perspective next to each other in order to identify if these are in line. Fill out the template with the top 5 content themes and next top 5 technology innovations. If you can’t clearly relate them to each other, it’s a red flag for misalignment!
MarketTop 5 Messages / Content Themes
TechnologyTop 5 Product Innovations
“Core message /theme which shall be communicated to customer segment XY…
New product / Product enhancement & key USP?
… …
© Radiant Minds Software
How to use for roadmapping?
Collect top 5 marketing messages / content themes• What are you planning to message alongside upcoming releases? • Which aspects/benefits will be emphasized?• Which customer needs/pain points will be addressed to create awareness?
Collect top 5 upcoming technology and product advancements• What’s new in the product in the upcoming releases? • Which problems will these advancements solve?
Analyze linkages and relations• Does a market message relate directly to the upcoming product
advancements? • Does a technology advancement deliver on a particular message/content? • Do marketing content and product advancements reach the same group of
users/buyers?
Identify out-of-context items and react if necessary• Technology advancements with no linkage to any marketing message are
not leveraged currently and might get lost – make sure these improvements will be visible to the market!
• Marketing messages with to linkage to technology advancements are in danger to be just marketing buzzwords on which you can’t deliver. Reconsider these messages (unless they are based on technology which you already have for longer time).
1
2
3
4
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Ensure your content and products speak the same language and present a consistent message to the outside
Avoid to disappoint customers by not having product depth and substance behind marketing sizzle
Discover unleveraged technology advancements to create content
© Radiant Minds Software
MarketTop 5 Messages / Content Themes
TechnologyTop 5 Product Innovations
“Core message /theme which shall be communicated to customer segment XY…
“…
“…
“…
“…
New product / Product enhancement & key USP
…
…
…
…
© Radiant Minds Software
Kano ModelOriginally developed by Professor Noriaki Kano in
1984, this tool helps to understand product qualities and their impact on customer satisfaction.
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summaryThe Kano model is a tool to analyze customer needs in relation to expected satisfaction/excitement. It helps prioritizing features, and identify excitement attributes which are great to emphasize in marketing messages. Kano differentiates 5 types of customer preferences:
• Attractive quality – provides satisfaction if achieved fully, do not cause dissatisfaction if not fulfilled
• One-dimensional quality – Satisfaction if fulfilled, dissatisfaction if not fulfilled• Must-be quality – taken for granted if fulfilled, dissatisfaction if not fulfilled• Indifferent quality – Neither good nor bad• Reverse quality – High degree of achievement results in dissatisfaction (e.g. due
to feature overload)
Another good discussion on using the Kano model can be found here.
dissatisfied
satisfied
Fully implementedNot implemented
Delighters
Performance needs
Basic needs
Indifference
Source: N. Kano, 1984
dissatisfied
satisfied
Fully implementedNot implemented
Over time, exciting innovations turn into perceived basic needs.
© Radiant Minds Software
How to use for roadmapping?
List the key features for a new products or the enhancements in an upcoming release
Discuss and categorize which product qualities they add according to Kano’s categories • Which are attractive qualities and potential delighters? • Which one-dimensional quality attributes do we serve and do which degree? • Which are must-be to be viable? • Anything that is in danger to be “too much”, i.e., a threat for a reverse quality?
Brainstorm gaps based on your target personas• Look at your target personas – any must-have’s you do not fulfill on yet? • Which one-dimensional quality attributes might not be well-served yet after a release?
Balance resource investments and leverage the “delighters”• Complete your features list based on the analysis• Categorize and communicate as part of your roadmap• Figure out ways to underline and leverage the delighters among your product qualities
1
2
3
4
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Understand and manage customers’ expectations with regards to different product qualities
Balance the roadmap to be viable by fulfilling basic needs but also excite with delighters
Identify those product qualities which really make a visible difference and focus the positioning and go-to-market
© Radiant Minds Software
Very satisfied / excited
Need well fulfilledNeed not fulfilled
Performance Features
Basic needs
Delighters
Unsatisfied
Theme / Epic
…
…
…
Theme / Epic
…
…
…
Theme / Epic
…
…
…
How we’ll delight users The more, the better
What is simply expected to be viable?
Reverse qualities
We should not: - …- …
What could be even counterproductive?
© Radiant Minds Software
Compact QFDPrioritization tool which focuses on customer needs
and product qualities relative to competitive products.
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summaryCompact QFD is a simplified variant of the quality function deployment methodology originally described by Dr. Yoji Akao. It aims to prioritize product features based on underlying customer needs and their importance relative to competitive solutions. The analysis is done in two steps:
1. Identify relevant product qualitites and compare your product relative to competition
2. Weight the quality attributes: the more your product is behind, the higher the weight
3. Classify enhancements/projects according to whether they improve a particular quality attribute (from 1 to 10) and calculate a weighted total score to prioritize the enhancements
Product quality attribute
Our product
Competitor A Competitor B … …
…
Product quality attribute Weighting
Enhancement 1
Enhancement 2
Enhancement 3
Enhancement 4
… …
Weighted Total 20
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Prioritize a roadmap based on the competitive landscape Focus on emphasizing your strengths or catching up with
competition Clearly explain why certain features are chosen over
others
© Radiant Minds Software
Product quality attribute
Our product Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C Competitor D
PQA 1 10 6 4 8 7
PQA 2 2 8 10 4 3
PQA 3 6 10 9 5 4
PQA 4 7 5 6 8 7
…
Product quality attribute Weighting
Enhancement 1
Enhancement 2
Enhancement 3
Enhancement 4
PQA 1 1 4 10 1
PQA 2 10 3 1 7
PQA 3 7 1 2
PQA 4 4
… …
Weighted Total 11 30 20 85
© Radiant Minds Software
Technology S-Curve
Brainstorming tool to shape the discussion around incremental improvements vs. potentially
disruptive technologies
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summaryProposed by Clayton Christensen* in order to explain how disruptive innovations rise and ultimately wipe existing players out of the market, this tool can be used well to spark a discussion around the status quo of a firms’ current product and idea pipeline, as well as how resources are invested currently.
Tthe S-curve indicates that technologies, after an inception phase, will see a steep curve of advancement, until the boundaries of a solution approach are reached and improvements are only marginal. Disruptive technologies might be inferior first, but by taking the route of advancement, they have the potential to ultimately outpace previous solutions.
Mea
sure
of a
dvan
cem
ent
Measure of applied effort
Existing technologyNew technology
*Clayton Christensen: The Innovator’s Dilemma. http://www.claytonchristensen.com/books/the-innovators-dilemma/
© Radiant Minds Software
How to use for roadmapping?
List the assets in your current product portfolio, and the technologies you are working on• Focus on groups / themes of technology, not individual features
Position your products and technologies on the S-curve• Where do you see yourself? • Is a technology still in its infancy with lots of opportunities for a big performance
jump forward? Is it well established and mature?• Is it a new solution to a problem?
Position competitive solutions from your market research• Who’s competing along the lines of an established technology? • Who’s solving the same problem, but with different technologies and solution
approaches?
Balance your pipeline• Reconsider your resource investments based on the results• Focus on ideation for novel solutions if you mostly invest in established solutions• Focus on improving and maturing emerging technologies ahead of competition
1
2
3
4
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Get potential substitute solutions and disruptive technologies on your radar
Identify “dead ends” of a technology early enough to react
Align resource investments and balance them across technology horizons
© Radiant Minds Software
Advancement
Applied effort
Current product(s) and pipeline vs. competition
Core product 1
Core product 2
Product 3
Competitor ACompetitor B
© Radiant Minds Software
The golden featureA communication tool to create a singular focus on
doing one great thing.
http://www.mii.lt/files/product_roadmap_white_paper.pdf
© Radiant Minds Software
Tool summaryThe golden feature methodology was originally proposed by the experts at the 280group. In Brian Lawley’s words* “The idea behind the Golden Feature technique is that you choose a single feature that is the absolute most important priority for the release, and then you get the entire team to rally around it as the focus. This single feature provides enough customer value to hang the entire release on.”
*Source: Brian Lawlay, 280 Group LLC: How to Create Compelling Product RoadmapsAvailable from http://www.mii.lt/files/product_roadmap_white_paper.pdf
© Radiant Minds Software
What’s the benefit?
Focus around a simple, compelling message for a release Focus the team to get this one aspect really right from all
perspectives Be flexible and clear in planning – the golden feature
needs to be in for sure, cut scope in other areas if necessary
Increase likelihood to get the release you want to market on time due to singular focus
© Radiant Minds Software
Other roadmap themes and features
…
Release v1.0
Golden Feature of Release 1.0USP of golden feature– what is it and what makes it unique? What do we need to do to make it great?
…
…
…
© Radiant Minds Software
Closing remarks
• Tools don’t solve problems, but they can help structure the path to find a solution
• There’s no right or wrong approach – tweak the tools to make them work for your team!
• We’d love to hear from you! • You have other tools we definitely have to include in this collection?
Disagree with a methodology or see downsides we should mention? Any other thoughts on roadmaps and roadmap tools? Feedback on how a tool worked for your team?
• Mail it to me at [email protected] or reach us via Twitter (@RadiantMindsHQ), LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook or whatever media works best for you!
Martin SuntingerFounder, CEO @ Radiant Minds Software
Happy roadmapping!