From Product Management To Social Product Management

From product management to social product management

Tom Grant, Ph.D.Senior AnalystForrester Research

P-Camp Austin

March 27, 2010

2Entire contents © 2009 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

Forrester’s role-based strategy

• DIVISION: The Technology Industry Client Group

• DEPARTMENT: The Technology Product Management & Marketing Team

•ANALYSTS: Yours Truly

oResearch

o Inquiries

oSocial media

oConsulting


Research topics

• The job

– EX: How SaaS shapes PM

• The deliverables

– EX: Big changes to product launches

• The processes

– EX: Using social media to make better product decisions

• The context

– EX: Agile adoption in the tech industry


Complimentary Offer

For a copy of this presentation and to download your free Product Management & Marketing Toolkit, visit www.forrester.com/pcampaustin

Toolkit includes:

• 3 pieces of free research

• 1 hour-long recorded Webinar “2010 Priorities for B2B Tech Community Marketing”


Two sides of social media

Requirements,MOAs,

escalactions,innovation,personas,use cases,buying and

adoption patterns Productmarketing,campaigns,launches,

etc.

LISTENEMBRACESUPPORT

TALKENERGIZESPREAD

INBOUND

OUTBOUND


Agenda

• What’s missing?

• How can social media help?

• What does this mean for you?


Agenda





Questions

• How many of you think your requirements could be better?

• What challenges do you face?


Traditional sources are flawed

Top 3 Sources

Customer meetingsCustomer meetings

E-mail feedback from customers

E-mail feedback from customers

Bug reportsBug reports

Limitations

A lot of work for a small sampleMay talk to the wrong user

Not the customers you don’t have

A lot of work for a small sampleMay talk to the wrong user


Incidental after-effectsYour language, not the user’s


Incidental after-effectsYour language, not the user’s


Incidental after-effectsTechnical issues, not use cases


Incidental after-effectsTechnical issues, not use cases


Source: June 16, 2008, “Improving Your Product Management Tools”


What are the biggest reqs. challenges?

Not enough time to gather and incorporate real-world feedback before the product release.

Not enough time to gather and incorporate real-world feedback before the product release.

Not enough or inaccurate information.Not enough or inaccurate information.

Decision-makers who trivialize or ignore information that challenges their preferred

assumptions or outcomes.

Decision-makers who trivialize or ignore information that challenges their preferred

assumptions or outcomes.

Difficulties in keeping requirements information up to date.

Difficulties in keeping requirements information up to date.

Insufficient insight into the user's, buyer's, or implementer's point of view.

Insufficient insight into the user's, buyer's, or implementer's point of view.

Increase the speed of collection, while lowering its cost.

Increase the speed of collection, while lowering its cost.

Increase the breadth, depth, and reliability of information.

Increase the breadth, depth, and reliability of information.

Use data to increase leverage over product decision-making.

Use data to increase leverage over product decision-making.

Make research into customers and markets an ongoing activity.

Make research into customers and markets an ongoing activity.

Use sources of information from customers, by customers, about

customers

Use sources of information from customers, by customers, about

customers

CHALLENGECHALLENGE FIXFIX

Source: Requirements in the technology industry, 2009 survey, published results forthcoming


The old medium was part of the problem

YOU

IT (or othercompany rep.)

Target user

Stakeholder


The value of improving this information

• As the accuracy of requirements data increases…

– Risk of slip decreases

– Cost of development decreases

– Complexity and overhead decrease

– Product appeal increases

– Revenue and adoption increase

– Decision-making faster and more


Agenda





SM have already changed the conversation

YOU

Target user

Stakeholder

Talk less,listen moreTalk less,

listen more

IT


Social media are where you pose questions

PRODUCT-CENTRIC

PRODUCT-CENTRIC

THE VENDOR • Vendor-sponsored• Allow communication about products and services• May be public or private

THE VENDOR • Vendor-sponsored• Allow communication about products and services• May be public or private

PROBLEM-CENTRIC

PROBLEM-CENTRIC

THE CUSTOMER • Independent• Often discuss role first, technology second• Predominantly public

THE CUSTOMER • Independent• Often discuss role first, technology second• Predominantly public


Social media can answer both

• Problem-centric

– Profiles of key roles

– Deeper insight into business problems and processes

– Solution architecture

• Product-centric

– Product feedback

– Idea generation

– Prioritization


If you can make social media work…

• More reliable information

– Collect data from a larger sample

– Collect data from a more representative sample

– Collect data at a lower opportunity cost

• More effective insights

– Get direct access to target users and stakeholders

– Observe users in their natural state

– Make decisions faster

– Think bigger


GE

NE

RA

L P

OP

UL

AT

ION

L

AW

YE

RS

People vary on how they use SM

Creators

Critics

Collectors

Joiners

Spectators

Inactives

5%

17%

11%

22%

43%

49%

14%

16%

11%

13%

49%

46%

Source: B2B North American and European B2B Social Technographics

Online Survey, Q4 2008


And when they use it

Source: B2B North American and European B2B Social Technographics Online Survey, Q4 2008

CRM/SFA


You must pick the right venue

Vendor forums

Vendor innovation

sitesVendor

blogs

Vendor Wikis

Vendor code libraries

Vendor networking

Vendor subscription

Independentforums

Micro-blogging

Independentblogs

Independentnetworking

Socialbookmarking

Open sourceprojects

Independentcode libraries

Collaborativeaggregation

PR

OD

UC

TP

RO

BL

EM


Archer includes their community in the product development in very specific ways at each point in the process.

Archer innovates with their community


Nokia’s regular updates about QT roadmap

Q1: Annual surveyQ1: Annual survey

Q2: Learning surveyQ2: Learning survey

Roadmap content and prioritiesRoadmap content and priorities

Flesh out requirements and design details

Flesh out requirements and design details

Q3: Validation tourQ3: Validation tour

Q4: Developer DaysQ4: Developer Days

Make corrections and refinements, based on customer/partner feedbackMake corrections and refinements,

based on customer/partner feedback

Go to marketGo to market


Collabnet qualifies through community

Collabnet’s product marketing team used community behavior as the basis for the lead qualification algorithm.


Agenda





The work of PM changes

• Research (inc. requirements) gets more attention

– Other tasks, such as project management, get less

• Some research becomes more regular

– EX: Personas, task analysis, market analysis

• PMs must be poised to answer questions rapidly

– EX: Critical design decision, reality check needed


The work of PM changes

• New criteria for product decision-making

– EX: Has the community voted on this idea?

• New skills needed

– EX: What is a statistically significant number of customer requests?

• Other resources may be needed

– EX: Requirements tool, listening platforms, access to CRM for win/loss information


New methodology needed

PERSONAPERSONA

LOCATIONLOCATION

OPTIONSOPTIONS

Who is the target user or stakeholder?What problems do they face?What tasks do they perform?

Who is the target user or stakeholder?What problems do they face?What tasks do they perform?

How do people in this demographic use social media?

Where can I find them?

How do people in this demographic use social media?

Where can I find them?

What is the question that we want to pose?What are the options among which we’re

choosing?

What is the question that we want to pose?What are the options among which we’re

choosing?

TESTTESTHow do we get a credible, actionable

answer?How do we get a credible, actionable

answer?


Ask clear questions

PRODUCT-CENTRIC

PRODUCT-CENTRIC

PrioritizationInventionDesign

RoadmapCompetition

PrioritizationInventionDesign

RoadmapCompetition

PROBLEM-CENTRIC

PROBLEM-CENTRIC

PersonaSolutionMarket

Innovation

PersonaSolutionMarket

Innovation

“What % of the functionality that role X needs to perform task Y are we delivering in the

next release?”

“What % of the functionality that role X needs to perform task Y are we delivering in the

next release?”

“What are the top 5 challenges facing role X? How do people in

this role address them?”

“What are the top 5 challenges facing role X? How do people in

this role address them?”


MARKET / CUSTOMER INSIGHTS

Another force for clarity & specialization

Product managerProduct manager

Product marketerProduct marketer

Technical product manager

Technical product manager

Community managerCommunity manager

Product ownerProduct owner

Release managerRelease manager

Sales supportSales support

Senior productsomething something

NEWSOCIAL MEDIA

TASKS

Source: Tech Product Management/Marketing Job And Department Profiler, October 1, 2009


Thank you

Name

+1 650.581.3846

[email protected]

www.forrester.com

Blogs.forrester.com/tom_grant

Blogs.forrester.com/product_management

@TomGrantForr


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From Product Management To Social Product Management

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