3 tools for world class product management

| 1 of X | © Product Focus 1

Cambridge Product Management Network

3 tools to make your product

management world class

Ian Lunn

Thanks to our sponsors

© Product Focus www.productfocus.com 2

Product Focus – who are we?

Europe’s leading product management & product marketing

training business with a focus on Telecoms, IT and software

Ian Lunn

Founding Director


Product Management Journals

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http://www.productfocus.com/journal.php


Our experience …

Product Management reviews and assessments

run by product Focus

Around a dozen over the last 3 years

Reviews with the Head of Product Management

prior to training

In-depth assessments of the whole product

function


Key learnings …

5


The product management role is not

clearly understood

Roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined

Interfaces with other departments are fuzzy

No-one really knows what to expect from product

managers

Senior management often don’t have a lot of

experience

The way it’s done is different from business to

business (and even within the same business)


Three tools we use …

7

Product Management Maturity Model

Product Management Activity Framework

Product Management Audit Framework


Product Management Maturity Model

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The value of maturity models

Maturity models help us know what ‘good’ looks

like

Provide guidance

Areas of product management to consider

Typical behaviours to look out for and how these

change as companies mature

Provide a start point

One model doesn’t fit all businesses

Performance will vary over time and across the

company


Product Management

Maturity Model


Vision, strategy and leadership

Level 1 : ad-hoc

PM lacks leadership

Senior management

have little PM

experience

Weak vision from

above and regularly

changing priorities

Tactical focus and a

lack of product

strategy

Level 2 : managed

Head of PM in place

Insights from PM are

regularly sought by

senior management

PM team

understands

company vision

Product strategies

based on market

insights

Level 3 : Leading

PM on the Board

PM leading within

the business

Full alignment of

vision & strategy

down the business

PM seen as the

'voice of the market'


Structure, organisation & governance

Level 1 : ad-hoc

Lack of structure -

confusion on who

does what

Not all products are

managed

Work overloads and

unmet commitments

Little governance

Level 2 : managed

Roles and

responsibilities clear

PM in place for all

products.

Things get done

Governance

approach is 'one

size fits all‘

Level 3 : Leading

Well established

roles &

responsibilities

agreed with all

interfacing

departments

PM driving product

performance

improvement

Decision making

process is clear &

appropriate to size

and risk


People

Level 1 : ad-hoc

Reactive and

tactical. Lots of fire-

fighting by "heroes"

PMs not valued by

rest of the business.

Lacking influence

and authority to say

'no'

No PM training

Level 2 : managed

Strategic focus as

well as tactical work

PMs accepted

across the business

Some PMs trained in

some areas e.g.

marketing, Scrum

Product Owner

Level 3 : Leading

High-performing,

benchmarked and

well-balanced team -

measured &

rewarded on KPIs

PMs well respected -

everyone wants to

work here!

All PMs trained on

Product

Management.

Ongoing learning

and development


Systems, templates, tools and checklists

Level 1 : ad-hoc

Few tools, templates

& systems to support

activities

Market insight and

product knowledge

held in individuals'

heads

Level 2 : managed

Templates, tools &

checklists in place

for all key activities

Systems to store

information on

market insights,

projects and

products

Level 3 : Leading

Tools evaluated

against best practice

and revised to keep

optimal

Market insights,

project and product

information

systematically

collated and actively

disseminated


Processes

Level 1 : ad-hoc

Few standard

processes - often

sacrificed under

pressure

Few (or no) reports

Level 2 : managed

Processes defined

and used for key PM

activities

Product reporting in

place

Level 3 : Leading

Processes well

established,

monitored and

continually improved

Reporting

systematically used

to track performance

and inform decision

making


Product Management

Maturity Model



17



Is based on the

Product life-cycle

Product management enablers

A structured framework to help businesses

Recognise the things they should be doing

Decide what could be done better

Communicate findings

Target their efforts



20


The 3 fundamentals for world class product management

24


World class product management

1. Providing a balanced view for the business

2. Leading rather than responding

3. Driving product performance

Operational

Commercial

Technical

TacticalStrategic


Wrap-up

I’ve shown 3 tools you can use to understand, explain

and improve product management in your business

They will help you to …

Identify issues

Clarify roles

Decide what you can do better

Make your product management team world class

If you’d like some support or an independent view we can

help


What we offer…

Product Management and Product Marketing for

Telecoms, IT and Software

3 day course – runs regularly in London

A thorough grounding in all aspects of the roles

Tools, templates and checklists and best practice

Certification

Reviews and Assessments

Looking at the whole product function

Helping to make sure that things are

set up for success


Q&A

[email protected]

www.productfocus.com

+44 (0) 207 099 567

3 tools for world class product management

Business

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