Webinar:Data-Driven Prioritization & Roadmap Planning

Muralidhar Somisetty

Today’s Speaker16th Sep 2016

A Typical Challenge for a Product Manager

Product Manager’s Dilemma: Everyone’s requirement is high-priority“

“My customer wants this feature or else deal closure is at risk “- Sales Account Manager

“Most support calls are related to this buggy feature – Prioritize to fix.

- Support Manager “Our competitor has this feature and

needs to be appear on our roadmap” –Biz Dev Manager

“We need to ship the product soon and I have committed

this feature” - Boss

Opinion based Prioritization

• Prioritizing Details, not the big picture

• Decisions not being tied to the strategic goals

• Stakeholders questioning Prioritization

• Priorities usually being driven by the loudest executives or the latest sales prospects

“Companies who build products based on internal opinion will eventually get beaten by the competition.”

DESTINY OF THE PRODUCT – WHO OWNS IT ?

It is “Product Manager” – CEO of the Product

Product Management Cycle

Define/

Gather

Prioritize

Plan/

Roadmap

Build/

Launch

Validate/

Feedback

Key Phasesthat definedestiny of the Product

An objective data-driven prioritization model is the key for defining credible and successful roadmaps.

Question for Product Managers…

Prioritization is a difficult exercise for

Release 1 (or MVP)Or

Release 2

Many Techniques for Product Prioritization

Ref: http://foldingburritos.com/

X-Axis: Qualitative

How oriented a method is towards getting input from the inside or the outside world?

Y-Axis: Quantitative

How oriented a method is towards relying on data & metrics over some expert’s personal opinions.

Striking the right balance between Quantitative and Qualitative methods depends on the many factors.

Popular Quantitative Methods : KANO Model

Ref: http://foldingburritos.com/

Customer Delight Vs Product Function

Popular Quantitative Methods : Prioritization Ranking Matrix

Outside-InCustomerPerspective

Inside-Out StakeholderPerspective

Popular Quantitative Methods : Value Vs Risk

Features are scored in two dimensions: Value and Risk

Risk/Complexity :

• Schedule risk

• Cost risk

• Functionality risk

Value:

Customer Success

Business Value

Company Vision

Instinctive Method for Product Managers

Popular Quantitative Methods : Value Vs Cost

Biggest Bang for the Buck –

Inherent ROI Analysis

Maximize Value Delivery Over

Time

Use Business Model Canvas for

MVP release, especially for start-

ups with scarce resources.

Align priorities/roadmap using Product KPIs

Customer

C-SAT, NPS, VIP Account, Feature

Adoption, Drop-off points,

Surveys

Company Strategic

Initiatives, Revenues, Top-line growth,

Margins,

CompetitionMark

et Size (TAM), Sales Pipeline, TTM,

Differentiators or Missing Features

Operations

Budget, Running Cost, Support,

Quality Metrics

Value

Quantifying ValueThroughProduct Metrics

Popular Quantitative Methods : Weighted Scoring Over Value/Cost

Add a layer of weighted scoring matrix on Value method to fine-tune the prioritization

Weighted Scoring (Sample)

Best Practices for Prioritization Exercise

1. Make it a inclusive process (team/stakeholders) regardless of technique.

2. Drive it is an objective exercise substantiated with data/metrics (as much as possible).

3. Focus on the big-ticket items (limit the number for productive discussion).

4. Bucketize requirements into broad/strategic themes.

5. Have guestimates ready from engineering.

6. Make it a customer-centric conversation on how to increase value.

7. Be realistic in setting goals.

Key Takeaways

1. Striking the right balance is an art and that comes only with experience.

2. Maintain Transparency with Stakeholders (regardless of methods/techniques).

3. Provide insight into feature selection process for stakeholders.

4. Data-driven Prioritization will lead to quick convergence and easy buy-in.

Thank You

Woises

linkedin.com/in/muralis @muralidhar9 woises.com/blog