1. Boot Camp
Setting Up for Success;
Applying Product Management
& Development Techniques

2. Introductions
• Gail Lewis
• Myron Cizdyn
• Thomas Squeo

3. COMBINING MODERN
METHODOLOGIES FOR
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT &
DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS
Gail Lewis, Director of Product Strategy, myON

4. A product manager walks
into a bar. It isn’t what he
expected so he
immediately blames
development for no
reason
#prodmgmtbarjoke #prodmgmt @jefflash

5. A Sampling of Product
Management Methodologies

6. Common Framework Themes
• Strategy
– Market Research &
Opportunities
– Distribution &
Channels
– Profitability & Pricing
• Technical
– Product Definition &
Design
– User personas &
Requirements
– Project management
• Marketing
– Buyer Personas
– Marketing & Launch
Plan
– Sales Readiness

7. PMs Work With Many Teams
Product
Management
Sales
Executives
Finance
Customer
Service
Operations
Engineering
QA
Technical
Support
PD & Services
Research &
Development
Legal
Marketing
Each Team Has
Their Own:
– Processes
– Frameworks
– Acronyms
– Methodologies
– Deliverables
– Priorities

8. Regardless of the Framework You’re Using…
• First things first… What’s your
customers’ problem? And how
will you solve it in a profitable
(and mutually beneficial) way?
– Business – maximize value to
meet your goal
– Technology – understand the
technology stack and level of effort
– User experience – be the voice of
the customer
Business
TechnologyUX

9. Solving A Problem
• Problems get identified from market research, bids,
customer needs, competitive influence, technical
standard emergence, support call trends, company
strategic directives, etc…
• Finding a problem to solve isn’t the challenge. How do
you find one that fits:
– Your company distinctive competencies
– Your company revenue goals
– Your company brand
• Ultimate question: Can we build a solution to this
problem, and can we acquire customers / revenue?
– Problem size (& business opportunity) will determine if you
are adding features, or creating a new product line (1.0)

10. Describing the Solution
• Development methodology determines
how you’ll describe the solution:
– Waterfall developers need MRDs & PRDs
– Agile developers need user stories & backlog
– UML developers need verbs & actors
The chef will prepare
food that is ordered by a
customer and served by
wait staff for restaurant
revenue
As a restaurant patron, I
want food without
having to cook it myself,
so that I get high quality
food, quickly

11. Stage-Gate Models
• On a project of any size, a stage-gate process:
– Makes sure that stakeholders are involved in decision
points
– Organizes internal resources
– Sets a loose schedule
• These tend to be company / industry specific, but
overall, they all look like this…

12. PM and Stages
• Market research
• Competitors
• Technical standards
• Buy / build / partner
• Channel review
• Proposal
• Requirements
• Define KPIs
• Focus groups
• Communications
• Assist with questions
• Persona’s
• Product Positioning
• Draft marketing plan
• Alpha / Beta
• Launch plan
• Maintenance plan for
feedback / changes
• Report on KPIs

13. Time For Questions and
Discussion

14. BALANCING PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT &
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
FOR CLIENT SUCCESS
Myron Cizdyn, CEO, The BLPS Group

15. WHY, WHAT, HOW?
Product
Manager
Product
Developer
Professional
Services
Market
Requirements
Specification
Design
Product
Why
Why
Why
What
What
WhatHow
How
How

16. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
• Good News: vendors have a great idea of
everyday client processes, and given the
need for profitability, they have more efficient
processes than client product development
teams.

17. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
• Bad News: vendors often have little to no
idea of the medium and long-term product
goals of the client, and their main goal is to
produce quality work and not to lose the
client.

18. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
• Solution: project management teams must
work together on the client side to ensure
that vendor and development goals are
aligned.

19. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
• Good News: if the development is internal,
the everyone is working insourced. So in
theory, product development and
professional services should be aligned.

20. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
• Bad News: professional services are usually
much less centralized that product
development, so it’s easy to get off track.

21. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
• More Bad News: if product development is
outsourced, then the client teams managing
professional services and product
development are usually distinct and often
do not share enough information.

22. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
• Solution: make the entire company agile,
especially in the case of content
development and production services
procurement.

23. VENDOR HANGUPS
• Do what you’re told and don’t fight the
power.
• Concentrate on your own processes and
profitability.
• Don’t ask about product development or
medium- to long-term goals.

24. SOLUTION 1:
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
• This is primarily the role of the client.
• Fully or partially integrated project
management teams are essential, and no
excuse about different processes or needs
should be permitted. The false distinction
between product and service project
management must be eliminated, and all
project management should become agile.

25. SOLUTION 2: DISCOVERY
• If you’re a service provider, you must budget
your own internal discovery. Get the answers
you need and assume nothing.
• If you’re a development partner or internal
client, a discovery period is essential, even if
all teams are internal. I’ve never encountered
a case where service and development goals
were aligned without formal discovery
involving internal and external development
and services.

26. Case Studies From the
Audience

27. Time For Questions and
Discussion

28. LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER FOR INNOVATIVE
LEARNING PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
Thomas Squeo – SVP, Technology SchoolMessenger

29. SESSION GOAL
EdTech has many cousins in the larger economy, whether looking at Learning
Science, Knowledge Management, eDiscovery or other domains we can see
advances in these areas innovate without restriction. Advances in computer
science, machine learning, big data and even innovative business models;
education technology professionals can apply these techniques to innovate in ways
institutions and policy makers would never demand.
This session will review sources to discover new innovations, products and
prototyping techniques that can be immediately applied.

30. INTRODUCTIONS &
OVERVIEW
+ Definitions
+ Axes
+ Sources
+ Techniques
+ Application

31. OUTMANEUVERING COMPETITORS

32. MARKET LEADERSHIP VIA INNOVATION

33. DEFINITION
Education as a market is a "Late Adopter" the
introduction of technical, operational and
business model innovations can be
foreshadowed by observing other sectors.

34. TRANSFERABLE AXES

35. SOURCES

36. TECHNIQUES

37. APPLICATION

38. CLOSING & RECAP
+ Definitions
+ Axes
+ Sources
+ Techniques
+ Application

39. Time For Questions and
Discussion

40. Thank you for your participation!
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