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Prioritizing Features

Prioritizing Features. Fritz Mueller. Director of Product Management. Prioritizing. What gets done Gather Requirements Prioritize Write the Plan How it gets done Defending and selling the plan If you cannot defend the plan, the priorities will get changed. Prioritizing.

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Prioritizing Features

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  1. Prioritizing Features Fritz Mueller Director of Product Management

  2. Prioritizing • What gets done • Gather Requirements • Prioritize • Write the Plan • How it gets done • Defending and selling the plan • If you cannot defend the plan, the priorities will get changed.

  3. Prioritizing • The Ideal – Do all positive Net Present Value (NPV) projects. • Reality – What rules do you use to decide on the tradeoffs

  4. Sources of Input Customers Long Term Fixes New Technology Embattled Prod. Mngr. Competitors Support Engineering Cool Features Sales

  5. Rule #1 – Identify the Customer • Identify the customer or else: • You will only listen to the vocal customers • You will define too broad a group of customers • You will not solve anyone's problems or needs

  6. Rule #2 - Categorize Big Payoff Little Payoff 2 Easy 1 Generates Momentum 3 X Difficult High Risk

  7. Rule #3 - Balance • Frequent Customer Requests • Press • Competitive Response • Engineering Ideas • Long Term Architecture Issues • New Technologies • Support • Development Costs

  8. Optimal Balance • You have to balance so what is the optimal balance? • Most common requests • Press Demo Features • Competitive Response • Lifecycle of Product • Target Market

  9. Rule #4 – Disruptive Change • While you are refining the product some else is redefining the space. • Be the first to sound the alarm and state a response plan with a reasonable first step.

  10. Customer Input Risks • What customers ask for and buy are different • Understand why do customers stay with you • Technical vocal minority vs. silent majority

  11. Causes of Confusion • If you cannot decide on a plan then. • Too diverse a customer set or not sure who the customer is. • Not confident about defending the plan • Market is changing • You saturated the market

  12. Handling Confusion • If you cannot decide on a plan then. • Too diverse a customer set. – split the line and segment the market or focus. • Not confident about defending the plan – talk to more customers • Market is changing – new product line needed or company must change • You saturated the market – expand the definition of the market you are in. • If you still cannot decide then the company may be in trouble and have no safe direction

  13. Rule #5 –Don’t Forget the Basics • Who is the customer? • What do they value? • Is the product consistent with the marketing plan? • Is the product consistent with the corporate strategy? • Don’t go into a market half way. Do go in one step at a time. (Honda)

  14. Implementing the Plan • The biggest problem is defending your plan because any plan you come up with will be questioned.

  15. Rule #6 – Sell the Plan • You will never make everyone happy. • Since not everyone is happy you need to convince everyone that you have the best possible plan and any other plan would be worse.

  16. Interested Parties Sales, Customers Eng. Senior Mngmt. Prod. Mngr.

  17. Selling the Plan • Senior Management • Q: Why are we doing …? • A: Strategic answer • Sales • Q: When do we get…? • A: The most requested features are … and we are working on them. • Engineering • Statement: I am going to build… • Response: Customers don’t want it or they won’t pay for it or it will take too long to build. • Customer • Q: Why should I care about…? • A: It will solve a huge problem for you.

  18. Senior Management • This is our customer… • This is why they buy… • This is where the market is going… • This is why we will win… • Therefore the product plan has these features…

  19. From PM to CEO Corporate Strategy Successful corporate strategy is built from the bottom up. Product Strategy Customer Requests

  20. Summary • #1 - Identify the Customer • #2 - Categorize • #3 - Balance • #4 - Watch Disruptive Change • #5 - Basics • #6 - Sell the Plan

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