280 Insider Newsletter
June 2006
- The 280 Insider
- Creating Compelling Product Roadmaps, Part 1
- Product Roadmap Toolkit Now Available
- Cool Product & Hot Companies Blog
- SVPMA July: Adobe Acrobat
- Getting
the Most our of Focus Groups, Part 2
The 280 Insider
This issue includes the first in a series of articles
on creating effective product roadmaps. It also has the second part of
an article with tips by Erica Baccus on how to get the most out of
focus groups.
We're also excited to announce that the new 280 Group Product Roadmap Toolkit is now available.
Creating Compelling Product Roadmaps, Part 1
Product Roadmaps can mean the difference between
success and failure when delivering and marketing products. They can be
one of the most effective tools in a Product Management professional's
arsenal. Done correctly they can help win and keep large customers and
partners, and can guide the engineering and strategic planning efforts
of a company. Unfortunately most Product Roadmaps are created "On
The Fly" and under pressure when sales or the company management
makes a last-minute request. As a result they don't have the impact they
should, and can be a source of much trouble if you aren't careful.
As a Product Management professional who is responsible for the overall success of your product, it is important that you create a product roadmap that is compelling, can drive the strategy for your company and development efforts and can provide your partners, press, analysts and customers with a clear idea of where you are headed. This article will include some of the tips and best practices that I have found to be helpful in creating product roadmaps during my twenty year career in Product Management.
Why a Product Roadmap?
There are many different reasons for developing product roadmaps. It could
be that your sales force is losing a large deal and they need to reassure
a customer of your future directions. Or it could be that you are briefing
the press or analysts and want to reassure them of where you are headed.
It might be that you need an internal roadmap to guide engineering efforts
and assign resources according to well-thought-out priorities. Or you
may need a roadmap to get your company's next round of funding.
There are wide variations in terms of definitions and uses for roadmaps. The first step is to decide what type you need and what it will be used for.
Types of Roadmaps
There are five types of roadmaps that are the most commonly used: Market
and Strategy, Visionary, Technology, Platform and Product (Internal &
External). Each type is good for specific uses, and you may also choose
to combine them to create a bigger picture story.
Market & Strategy
Market & strategy roadmaps paint a picture of which markets you will
be going after and how you plan to develop the products for each segment.
For example, in year one you may want to enter healthcare by partnering
with another company. Or you may want to enter the financial market in
year two by building products in-house or acquiring products.
Visionary
Visionary roadmaps paint a big picture of trends in the industry and society
in general. By showing the trends you can then show how your products
fit into the bigger picture and how you are taking advantage of the momentum
happening in the market.
Technology
Technology roadmaps show what trends are happening in the overall industry
in terms of technology, and then allow you to map your company's products
and releases to them. They are an excellent way to show how your company
is taking advantage of up-and-coming new opportunities created by technology.
Platform
Platform roadmaps are used by companies that have an overall platform
strategy that relies on partners working closely with them. Examples of
platforms includes Windows, the Palm OS, Google, MacOS and many others.
In a platform roadmap you show what will be happening with the core platform
software as well as what the platform company will be delivering in terms
of their own products and the development tools that partners will need
to use to support the platform.
Product (Internal & External)
Product roadmaps are used to show when product releases will be available,
what their overall theme or main features are and what secondary features
will also be included. Internal roadmaps can be used for driving development
priorities, communicating to upper management and other departments and
for use in obtaining funding for the company. External roadmaps are used
for communicating to customers, partners, press and analysts. External
roadmaps should be based on the corresponding internal roadmaps, but should
be much more vague.
Next month's article will discuss an eight step process
for creating product roadmaps.
Product Roadmap Toolkit Version Now Available!
We are excited to announce that the new 280 Group Product Roadmap Toolkit
is now available!
The Roadmap Toolkit includes:
* A 43 slide narrated seminar/presentation:
- Types of roadmaps
- Common uses for roadmaps
- 8 step process for creating roadmaps
- Roadmaps for multiple product lines
- Best practices
- Examples & samples
- Tips & strategies for success* 14 types of roadmaps covering quarterly, annual and combined timelines
* 75 product line roadmap templates in all (PowerPoint and Excel)
* Feature Prioritization Matrix
* Project Prioritization Matrix for multiple product lines
* Solution Component Matrix
* Product Roadmap best practices white paper
* Free half hour consultation with the 280 Group
If you are responsible for product planning the
toolkit is a must have, and will save you hours of time and effort.
For more information go to product
roadmap templates.
New Blog: Cool Products & Hot Companies
If you haven't already checked out our new blog, take
a look. And if you know of a cool product or a hot company we should
write about let us know!
July SVPMA Event: Adobe Acrobat
Make sure you don't miss the July SVPMA event.
Sarah Rosenbaum, Director of Product Management at Adobe (and the original
PM for Acrobat) will be talking about how PM helped to build a billion
dollar business.
See you there!
Getting The Most Out of Focus Groups, Part
2
Continued from last month's issue...
Insight #3: Researchers can be most effective when they understand the client’s beliefs. Trust your researcher with the “hidden agendas”. The more the researcher knows the more capable they are “in the room.”
D. The next step is screener development which seems very pedestrian and clerical but is extremely critical to the success of the project. As the client you need to be able to provide a profile of the kind of person you want included in the focus group discussion AND the kind of person you do not want in the discussion. I always advise our clients that we should be as stringent as possible on the screener. If we get the wrong person in the room, you are wasting your money.
We often help our clients think of criteria that needs to qualify the perfect respondent. Beyond the typical firmagraphics and demographics, consider the following:
- Are there attitudes that would disqualify a participant?
- Must the person report to a certain level of management? Titles are
so insufficient these days.
- Are there certain levels of experience with a product desired?
- Have you described the necessary involvement in the purchase process
appropriately?
- Have you ensured the person is a decision-maker or influencer?
Insight #4: The screener is the foundation of ensuring successful focus groups.
E. The fun part of the project (aside from actually conducting the research) is creating the Discussion Guide. This is not a script. It is the outline of topics for discussion and associated exercises.
First, you should include enough time for all team members to give your researcher the input needed to develop the guide. I ask our clients to just talk about what they want to know when they are all finished with the research.
Sometimes our clients will brainstorm over the phone or in an in person meeting and follow up with email questions they want answered.
It is the researcher’s job to let you know what kinds of questions are appropriate for qualitative research. Typically, yes/no questions are more suited for a quantitative survey. Closed-ended questions are also better for quantitative surveys but often can be changed to find out “why”.
Next, the principle most often abused in qualitative
research is, “ Well, as long as we have them in the room, let’s
ask…….”
Focus groups are so wonderful at gaining an in-depth understanding of
the problem, but if you powder the group with lots and lots of disparate
questions you lose the time to probe in-depth and you lose the focus of
the discussion. Hence, you no longer have a focused group.
Lastly, we believe in using creative exercises to help the respondents articulate their thoughts and feelings. It is very difficult for someone to tell you what he thinks about company X. But, if you ask him to choose a photo of a shoe (from a library of photos) he most associates with that company, he can easily describe the important attributes of that company. For example, “ I chose the wingtips for IBM because IBM is professional and stable and traditional.” So, you will get the most out of your focus groups if your researcher can develop a discussion guide that creatively elicits opinions.
Insight #4. It is a good idea to let your researcher guide you in the development of the Discussion Guide. Try not to put too many constraints on the creativity yet try to remain focused in your areas of questioning.
F. The Report! This is the work part. This is what you paid the money for. This is when you know you are getting your ROI. We always present our reports –even if they are long distance and it has to be done over the phone. The presentation gets the team together to hear the results and provides an opportunity to discuss and debate the results of the research. The objective researcher is the perfect person to interpret the results and ensure internal agendas do not color the results. Otherwise, the report sits on the shelf.
Insist on reports that are visual – that include Verbatim Quotations – that deliver the Key Insights up front. We always provide Recommendations based on conclusions from the research.
Hopefully, your report will be well –thought out, analytical and in-depth. Hopefully, your report will give you information you can act on. Hopefully, your report will consider the original objectives of the research as part of the analysis. Hopefully, you will use your report and so will your key executives. The report should be segmented into Ideas for Executives and Information for The Team. Ideas up front and details in the back.
Insight #5. Your report is critical. Do not give it
short shrift. This is why you paid your money, flew to some city far away
from home and ate M&Ms for several evenings in a row.
Erica Baccus, president of Baccus
Research, founded Baccus Research in 1996, a full service qualitative
research company whose mission is to help clients get to the heart of
their marketing issues and discover the feelings of their customers. With
clients like IBM, Dell, Guess? And Tell Me Networks, Baccus Research is
equally adept at helping high-tech, consumer and consumer electronics
companies.
Resources
BLOGS/ARTICLES
White Papers
PM 2.0 Newsletter
Product Management 2.0
Cool
Products Blog
Marketing
Strategy
Opinions
OTHER
SV Marketing
Directory
Seth
Godin Bull Market
Product
Mgmt Assn's
PM Job Description
Companies to
Watch
PM Software Comparison
PM Webinars
BOOKS
Book
Reviews
Product
Mgmt Book
Product
Marketing Books
Best
Marketing Books
FREE
TOOLS
MRD Samples
Feature
Priority Matrix
Dev Program Roadmap
Bug & Feature Database
AdWords
ROI Calculator
Competitive Matrix
Launch Marketing Budget
Adwords Strategies
More Details...
Bundle! (save $75!)
Training & Templates