www.enthiosys.com

1

Agile Roadmapping: Plan, Execute & Re-Plan

Jason Tanner President, Enthiosys

Motivated from Within®

About Jason Tanner •  President of Enthiosys •  Product Management •  Product Marketing •  Project Management •  Sales Engineer •  Network Engineer •  Marine Infantry Officer •  CSM and CSP

Cinderella’s castle

Space Mtn

www.enthiosys.com

2

A Roadmap Should Be…

•  A living document designed to answer key strategic questions:   Who are my desirable markets / market

segments?   What do they care about?   When / how often should I serve them?   What factors must I consider?   What technologies can I leverage?   How should I adjust my plans and goals

relative to these answers?

Roadmaps are Scary

•  Forces you to articulate what you are not going to build

•  Makes you commit to an uncertain future

www.enthiosys.com

3

Benefits of a Roadmap •  Roadmaps identify and clarify the tactical and

strategic intent of your product •  Internally:

  Becomes the filter for backlog prioritization   Builds consensus around direction   Ensures the “ship is headed in the right direction”   Avoids the “last/loudest” priority problem

•  Externally:   Provides customers with access to near-term

commitments and long term “points of view”   Binds customers to your company

Typical Roadmap Failures •  No visible logic •  Created unilaterally

  Lack of buy-in   Poor technical and

market inputs •  No plan for internal or

external sharing

www.enthiosys.com

4

Thundercloud

June 09 Sept 09 Dec 09 Mar 10 June 10

Jayko

Idaho

Version 4.0 SaaS Offering Extra fast install Comprehensive Platforms Multi-site Collaboration Oracle Support

Version 3.2 New platform support Security Management Scalability enhancements Usability improvements Better Integration*

Version 3.01 Security Patch Better Scalability Client Access SDK

Often See Feature Wish Lists

7

Successful Creation of Roadmaps Need

•  Active participation of key constituents   Product Management, Engineering

(architects), Marketing, Support, next-level product strategists

•  Extended in-person working sessions •  Time to research issues •  Quarterly reviews and updates •  Clear (written) distribution plan •  Easy to say, hard to do

www.enthiosys.com

5

What Kinds of Questions?

How big is my market?

Which packaging design will

increase sales?

Which distribution

channel is best for my market?

What do customers want in the next

release?

How are we perceived relative to competitors?

How are customers changing? How can I

prepare for this?

What kind of products could we add to our product mix?

What features should be in the next release?

A Simple Template Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1

Customer Groups

Features and Benefits

Architecture and Systems

Events and Rhythms

Scheduling

www.enthiosys.com

6

Markets & Users •  Short names and descriptions or segmentation

characteristics •  Can be very simple, can attach common personas

found in each segment •  Focus on the markets this product serves •  Example: Small Office

•  < 75 employees •  Limited CapEx budgets •  Need support and services •  Buy from trusted referrals

11

Market Segmentation •  The process of dividing a total market into groups

consisting of entities who have similar attributes   product needs / problems they’re solving   demographics / social class / purchase behavior…

•  Many uses:   market sizing how big? how much money?   promotion: how do I reach them?   product mgmt: how do I serve them?

www.enthiosys.com

7

Many Ways To Segment

Very Weak

Strong

Weak

Knowledge of Security

Very Strong

Experience With Product

<= 1 yr

>= 3 yr

1 – 2 yr

2 – 3 yr

Indifferent

Motivated

Perceived Motivation To Use Product

Forced

Feature / Benefit Map

Beta Launch

Customer Growth

F: Managed Service B: Rapid, easy deployment B: Low initial cost

F: “Fixed” benefit plans B: No hard work or cost in designing a new plan

F: Installed onsite B: Privacy, customization

F: Installed onsite B: Privacy, customization

Development Beta Launch

Q310 Q410 Q111 Q311 Q211

Only the features that move the needle!

Describe in business terms where possible

www.enthiosys.com

8

Use a Low-Tech Approach to Start

•  Speeds collaboration •  Easy to change •  Can be transcribed into tools for sharing & distribution once the plan settles

Roadmapping Best Practices •  Use legends (colors, shapes, etc.) •  Use versions & dates •  Document participants that created each version •  Document assumptions, facts & decisions that

created each version •  Document possible scenario alternatives •  Document issues to be researched •  If using Visio, connect stuff up for easy moving

www.enthiosys.com

9

Questions?

17

•  Thank you for your time! •  jtanner@enthiosys.com •  (919) 740-9678 •  @Enthiosys •  www.enthiosys.com/problems-we-solve/agile-roadmaps/ •  www.innovationgames.com