© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.
The Study of Product Team Performance, 2014
© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.
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The survey data in this presentation is available for use by qualified educational institutions and may be licensed by all other parties. Please
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.About Regalix
An award-winning Global Co - Innovation company that leverages technology and marketing to help companies grow.
Forefront of Innovationo Digital Marketing Serviceso Technology Enabled Serviceso Regalix Labs
Multi-disciplinary Leadership Team & Strong Advisory Board, 175+ Team
Fortune 500 and Venture Backed Customers (B2B and B2C)
Global Operations: HQ in Silicon Valley, 2 Offices
Industry Recognition
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Greg Geracie
President Actuation Consulting, Adjunct Professor and Author of Two Books on Product Management
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Contents
Product Team Insights
Development Methodologies and ROI
Key Findings
About the Respondents
How Do Teams Reach High Performance?
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Survey Method
• The sponsor and promotional partners emailed invitations to take a web-based survey
• Respondents were anonymous (optional disclosure)
• Interested in hearing from the following roles:– Business analyst
– Development managers
– Engineer
– Product manager
– Program manager
– Project manager
– Product owner
– User experience professionals
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Demographics
Who Responded to the Survey?
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Demographics
98%of respondents
play an active role in creating or
enhancingproducts or services.
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Type of Product Enhancement or New?
Demographics
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Which of the following titles do you directly report to?
Demographics
71%of respondents
report to a company officer, VP or a director.
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Which of the following best describes your organization’s primary business focus?
Demographics
48%work in the technology
industry 21%work in the
service industry12%work in
consumer products
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
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Company Size (Annual Revenue)
Demographics
40%less than $50
million
36%$50 million to $2
billion
24%over $2 billion
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Product Team Dynamics
What Did Survey Respondents Tell Us About Their Product Teams?
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Product Team Dynamics
Which of the following best describes the effectiveness of your product team?
Blank space.
67%Of product teams acknowledge
inconsistent or sub standard effectiveness.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Product Team Dynamics
Blank space.
How would you rate your product team’s cross-functional collaboration, trust and communication?
The Good News
10%of product teams function as
a seamless team.
The Bad News
90%of product teams don’t.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.In Their Own Words
Cross-Functional Collaboration Challenges
• “People at all levels of the team have trouble communicating, effectively dealing with problems…and needs.”
• “There is a feeling that we’re working like a relay race instead of working like a team…things get lost.”
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Product Team Dynamics
78%of product teams are not actively seeking ways to continuously
improve.
Blank Space.
How effective is your product team in identifying and incorporating industry best practices?
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Development Methodologies
What methodologies are in use and what is their perceived impact on profitability?
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.
Which of the following methodologies best describes the way your organization develops products?
Product Development Methods
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Product Development Methods
Adoption Rate Trend
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Which methodology do you associate with increasing the profitability of your product?
Product Development Methods
While 33% of
product teams actually use Agile
43% view Agile as
the best way to increase product
profitability.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.And What About ROI?
Less than 17% of respondents indicate the ROI is
central to everything they do.
83% indicate they are not held accountable to ROI,
use it on a limited basis or don’t use it at all!
Blank Space.
Is ROI a metric your company uses to determine the relative success of your product’s profitability?
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.
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2014’s Key Findings
© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Five In Focus
A Critical Hand-Off
Awareness of the Sales Cycle
Enhancing the Marketing Relationship
Product Team Culture
What Factors Contribute to High Performance?
Optimizing the Relationship with Sales
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.
Components of a Strong Product Team Culture
Common goal unites the team
Effective line management
Inclusion of talented UX
professionals
Strong engineers and recognition of
their importance
Infusion of a project manager or scrum master
helps other members of the team succeed
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.
The Critical Role of Project Management
A resounding 42% of survey respondents view the role
as essential and another 18% important!26
© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.
Optimizing the Sales Relationship
Product team provides sales with timely
information and the tools to
succeed.
The sales team makes
reasonable requests.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Sales Cycle Knowledge
67% of
product teams appear to be too
internally focused.
High performing teams understand and
integrate sales cycle knowledge.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.
Enhancing the Relationship with Marketing
Only 34% of
product teams have a strong
working relationship with
marketing.
Role clarity is essential to realize the full benefits of this relationship
through the lifecycle.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Landmines
In 2013 we asked about the causes of breakdowns:
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.2014 Drill Down
Where within the team does effectiveness break down?
Food for thought:
56% of the
self-reported breakdowns involve product managers.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.The Bottom Line
Our regression analysis clearly indicates that product teams
have a 67% chance of attaining high performance by
effectively implementing our 2012 findings. Conversely
there is only a 2% chance without these factors in
place.
High Performance is Attainable
2013 and 2014’s finding add to our growing knowledge of what differentiates high
performance product teams from the pack.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Past Findings
2012• Unwavering Executive Team
Support
• Strong Product Team Alignment with Company Strategy
• Post-Product Development Focus and Accountability
• Bringing Product Team Members on Board
• Assigning Product Team Members Based upon the Skills Needed
2013• The Importance of an Aligned
Strategy
• Business Unit Leader Engagement
• Product Manager Role Definition
• The Importance of Product Launch
• Onboarding Product Team Members
These white papers are available on our website.
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.2014 White Paper
Download your free copy at www.ActuationConsulting.com
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.The Co-Authors
Matt Jackson
President,
Jackson Consulting
Ron Lichty Principal, Ron Lichty
Consulting
David Heidt
Principal, Enterprise Agility
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Lead Author
Greg Geracie President, Actuation
Consulting
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© 2012-2014 Actuation Consulting, LLC
Propel forward.Questions? Contact Us.
Greg Geracie
President
Actuation Consulting
@GregGeracie 312. 775. 2373
www.ActuationConsulting.comGreg Geracie
Download the Study – free – at www.ActuationConsulting.com
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