2. OVERVIEW --
PRODUCT ROADMAP DEVELOPMENT FOR THE
EARLY-STAGE SOFTWARE COMPANY
• Outline key principles around successful product management in a
new or young company
• One view of a methodology to lead to a successful new product that
ultimately lead to developing a multi-stage product roadmap
• Discuss Lean Startup Approach to Create a Viable Business Plan
• Document our hypotheses of 9 components of the business model canvas
• Define the minimum viable product
• Test the business model and value proposition by talking to prospects
• Iterate based on feedback until a clearer vision comes into view
3. CHARACTERISTICS OF PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT IN A NEW COMPANY
• Focused on innovation that improves or disrupts the status quo
• Often founder-driven and resource constrained
• Constantly iterating to determine what customers want and will pay
for
• Trying to either re-segment an existing market, drive costs way
down, or create a new market
• Small customer base not expanding rapidly (yet)
• Not yet accepted as a market player
4. NEW COMPANY PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
(CONT.)
• Product Management is more hands on vs. larger companies
• Product planning processes will be less formal or minimal
• Product managers will have frequent face-to-face customer
interaction
• Daily involvement with the product team
• Product Vision Roadmap will cover release 2 but not typically defined
for multiple releases
• Objective is to define a viable business model and create a product
that meets a specific market need that can then be scaled quickly to
rapidly grow the company
5. STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL NEW PRODUCT
• 1 Document and validate market problems
• 2 Define product requirements
• 3 Assess competitive landscape
• 4 Positioning
• 5 Business Case
• 6 Roadmap definition
• 7 Development and launch (NOT COVERED HERE)
• 8 Review and plan for future (NOT COVERED HERE)
6. 1 DOCUMENT AND VALIDATE MARKET
PROBLEMS
• Are the problems
• Urgent
• Pervasive
• Something that customers are willing to pay for
• By focusing on problems that meet these criteria, products will be
customer-driven
• Problems solved by speech analytics have been fairly well documented – will
we address additional problems, or improve on how others have solved
today’s challenges?
• Get feedback from customers, evaluators and prospects
• SWOT analysis to determine company’s ability to deliver on the new product
7. PERFORM NECESSARY INITIAL RESEARCH
• Product manager must be
immersed in the organizations
objectives
• Review the business plan
• Perform market research (size,
segments, trends, players, pricing,
features)
• Review customer list and successes
and failures
• Review sales and marketing
collateral
• Product P&L to date
• Review competitive intelligence
already in hand with sales and
marketing teams
• Review any other roadmap or
visionary materials that exist
• Review analyst reports, competitor
websites, social media
• Document the product strategy as it
exists today
8. DEVELOP A PRELIMINARY PLAN
• Sense the market’s direction and
where this company is currently
positioned
• Define where we want to take
the product
• Product Manger documents
initial thoughts for review with
internal stakeholders
• Create a 1-3 year vision slide
• Minimum viable product
• Release 2
• Longer term capabilities
• Test and refine the vision with
key customers and prospects
9. ESTABLISHING A WINNING APPROACH TO
THE MARKET
• Internal Vision review with
company thought leaders
• Needs to be directionally correct
but not exact as course
corrections are possible
• Review vision and basis for
strategic direction based on initial
research
• Internal thought leaders should
challenge the logic, refine the
draft in live meetings
• External prospect and customer
review
• Present and test alignment on the
top 3 business challenges they
are facing as we see them
• Walk through the vision
• Determine level of engagement
and excitement and whether the
vision addresses the challenges
• Refine the vision as necessary
10. 2 DEFINE PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS
• Discover as many potential features as possible
• Prioritize the list of features
• Include the most critical features in the minimum viable
product for the first release
11. MOVING FROM VISION TO AN EXECUTABLE
PRODUCT PLAN
• Identify market needs in detail
• Gather inside-out requirements
from internal visionaries and
experts
• Gather and review outside-in
requirements from customer
interactions
• Include market research on
competitive features
• Needs become epics and possibly
lower level user stories (Agile)
• Create a feature priority list
(also known as Product
Development Matrix)
• Creates a reasonably objective
means for deciding on product
priorities vs. subjective voices
• Lays out logic clearly
• Review with the cross-functional
team before priorities make it
onto a roadmap
12. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MATRIX
• Organizes product requirements input into a prioritized list for determining
what to include on the roadmap
• Rating criteria include:
• Source of input – directly from customers vs. internal sources
• Alignment with product vision and company objectives
• Alignment with product vision/strategy
• Enables market leadership
• Required for regulatory compliance
• Anticipated revenue impact
• Margin
• Cost to develop
• Efficient use of resources – will this benefit multiple products or initiatives
• Create a rating across these criteria as an initial way to rank feature requests
13. 3 ASSESS COMPETITIVE FEATURES
• Compare features with competitors to identify differentiation
• Take analysis of competing products
• Review top competitor feature lists and identify key areas of
strength and differentiation for our product
14. 4 DEFINE MARKET POSITIONING AND
SEGMENTATION
• What market segments can be defined
• Which segments can we dominate
• Create a positioning statement to describe our target customer,
primary benefit, and why should they buy from us
15. 5 DEFINE PRELIMINARY BUSINESS CASE
• Consolidates market research
• Quantifies risks and rewards, costs and benefits
• Should be conservatively stated
• Should not be used to staff for growth immediately until initial
success is proven with the product
• Estimate costs, break even, profitability and gross margin %
• Create a go/no go analysis document (the product development
charter)
16. 6 CREATE INITIAL PRODUCT ROADMAP
• Guide product development
• Provide needed information to marketing
• Communicate product strategy to customers and prospects
• Contains the inevitable requests for scope creep
17. DEVELOP AN INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL
ROADMAP
• Internal roadmap
• Coordinates Cross-functional
internal development activities
and thus contains more detail
• Manages expectations of internal
stakeholders (executives and
cross functional teams)
• Measures team productivity
• More aggressive than the external
view
• External roadmap
• Used to manage customer
expectations
• Used in the sales process with
key clients
• Sets expectations that are
achievable so customers are not
disappointed
• Rankings on Product
Development Matrix are key to
deciding what constitutes each
18. ROADMAP CONTENTS
• More than just a list of product features – can be seen as a blueprint for the
upcoming releases and how they will be successful
• Estimated revenues per market segment
• Describes Target customers for the release and their needs
• Product features to be included (internal and external commitments will differ)
• Technology requirements to develop and deliver the product
• Marketplace trends that are impacting the roadmap
• High-level development schedule (planning, design, development, testing,
training, launch activities)
• External roadmaps are simpler and more focused on product features and
overall timeline
• 2-3 releases initially laid out in a roadmap
19. ESTABLISH A PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
BUDGET
• Ensure resources are properly allocated
• Logically organize cost categories so nothing is missed and
there are no surprises
• Loaded personnel costs for Product Management, Project
Management, Development, Test, Documentation, Training,
Sales education, Product Marketing, Professional Services
development of new skills
• Technology resources
21. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT AND “LEAN
STARTUP” PRINCIPLES
• This is an approach that can be used in conjunction with the previously outline approach
that would lead to a roadmap
• Create or document the current hypotheses for the 9 major areas of the business model
• Value proposition and Product features, Market segmentation, Channels to market, Customer
relationship requirements, Partners, Resources, Activities, Pricing and Revenue, Costs to develop and
sustain
• Test the hypotheses with external parties (customers, prospects, partners) to more fully
ensure you are on target before investing a lot in development, marketing and sales
• Modify the hypotheses until a firm business model comes into shape that has early
adopters excited and willing to pay for the solution
• Create a Minimum Viable Product
• First define through low cost sales collateral (presentations and mockups), define and demonstrate the
product’s value
• Second in an actual product, to get actual sales to early adopters who are in need of the solution
22. EXAMPLE OF BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
• An example of a business model canvas, which portrays the
highlights of the 9 major parts of the business model, is on the next
slide.
• A 1-2 page write-up of each hypothesis would appear in a separate
document
• This model would be initially defined and then tested with customers
and prospects as quickly as possible to make sure the value
proposition is on track
• This approach is widely adopted for startups and has been
documented in various formats.
• Leads to greater likelihood of success prior to major investment
25. REFERENCES
• Blank, Steve and Dorf, Bob; The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-
by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company; K&S Ranch Press; 2012.
• “Launching Market-Driven New Products and Services”; Demand
Metric Resarch Corporation;
https://www.demandmetric.com/content/product-development-
strategy-methodology; 2011
• Geracie, Greg and Eppinger, Steven D. (ed); The Guide to the Product
Management and Marketing Body of Knowledge; Association of
International Product Marketin and Management; 2013.
