By Peter Pascale at ProductCamp Twin Cities 2016 Building a roadmap for a product-led business is straightforward. But what if your business sells a service instead of a product, and uses products and platforms to deliver that service? How do you build product roadmaps to support the common 'sell then build' cycle of the services business? How do you drive product evolution to stay ahead of your market? How do you maintain a strategic focus for your products? This session offers practical tools you can employ to build product roadmaps for the service business that will keep you on the right road.

1. 1
Now - Next - Future
A Roadmap for Services Companies
Twin Cities Product Camp - 2016
Peter Pascale
Vice President, Product Management

2. Participants wanting a free digital
copy should contact Peter Pascale

3. How do you:
… build product roadmaps to support the services business?
… drive product evolution to stay ahead of your market?
… maintain a strategic focus for your products?
… signal what you support?
… say no to bad ideas?

4. Do you sell…
Product Service?

5. We sell…
Products
Service
Operations
Support
Content

6. Products
Service
Too much roadmap?

7. Products
Service
Too much roadmap?
Bankrupt

8. Products
Service
No roadmap?

9. Products
Service
Unscalable
No roadmap?

10. Pearson VUE - a service company powered by products
10
14million test delivered each year
in more than 20,000test centers
in 175countries
for 450global clients
with over 100using our test development services
Pearson VUE delivers a test somewhere in the world every 2.2seconds

11. Pearson VUE - a service company powered by products
11
14million test delivered each year
Publishing
Tools
Candidate
Web
Platform
Test Dev
Tools
Test
Driver(s)
Results
Processing
Reporting
Platform
Digital
Credentials
(Acclaim)

12. Sell - Then - Build
12
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Feature A
Feature B
Feature C
…
Feature 1
Feature 2b
Feature 3
Feature A
Feature B
New C
…
Prospect wants: Business proposes:

13. Sell - Then - Build
13
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Feature A
Feature B
Feature C
…
Feature 1
Feature 2b
Feature 3
Feature A
Feature B
New C
…
Prospect wants: Business proposes:
Enhance Feature 2, Build Feature C

14. If you don’t know where you’re going…
… any road will take you there.
— George Harrison
A
We are here
D
E
G
I
C
B F
H
J
L
O
Q
K
M
P
T
S
V
Y
U
X
N
W
R
Z

15. Traditional Product Roadmap…
… Releases, milestones, progression
— Pragmatic Marketing, et al
A
We are here
D ECB

16. Roadmapping for a Services Business…
… Clear Trajectory, Uncertain Timelines
A
We are here
D
E
G
I
C
B F
H
J
L
O
Q
K
M
P
T
S
V
Y
U
X
N
W
R
Z
We’d like to go here
valuable stops along
the way

17. Supporting Solution Evaluation
… Should we go to L?
A
We are here
J
L
P
X
Z

18. Supporting Solution Evaluation
… L no!
A
Proctor Unlock
J
L
P
X
Z
Proctor-Authorized
Time Extension
Photo Capture
Proctor Unlock
Event Codes
Photo Capture
Proctor Unlock
Group Unlock
Event Codes
Photo Capture
Proctor Unlock

19. Not always sequential
… Sometimes you have to over-invest
A
We are here
J
P
X
Z
We are here
Prospect takes
you here

20. $
100M
Roadmap Development
“… Finding the resonance”
•Clients
•Pipeline - Prospects
•Market assessments (another form of Prospects)
•Industry
•Parallels

21. $
100M
Roadmap Development
Sales-focused. Not “what could be” but
“what is needed to make the next sale”
•Clients
•Pipeline - Prospects
•Market assessments
•Industry
•Parallels

22. Communicating Roadmap as a Direction
Now
Next
Future
Now Available in your products NOW
Next What the team is currently working on
Future Longer-term direction

23. Defining timelines specific to your dev cycle
Now
Next
Future
Now Now. You can have it. You’re welcome.
Next
We will deliver this capability
in the next 3 - 9 months
Future 12 - 18 months out pending no interuptions*
* “This represents our future direction,
but business priorities may insert themselves in the middle”
VUE’s Definition

24. 24
Every Pearson VUE roadmap
presentation begins with the
reminder of Privileged Access

25. Now
Next
Now
Next
Future

26. Commercialization - Define the Box
Commercialized Custom
- Feature complete
- Operationally
supported
- Documented
- Onboarding
- Not developed
- Not fully supported
- May be client-
specific

27. Differentiation is for Product Companies
Client Basic
Premium
Advanced
Features
Pearson VUE’s first draft IBT Integration ‘Service Line’

28. Differentiation is for Product Companies
Client Basic
Premium
Custom
Features
Poor Differentiation, Custom Everywhere

29. Differentiation for a Service Company
IBT
Integration
Custom
Clear, no false distinctions, easy to sell

30. Commercialization and Now - Next - Future
Now
Commercialized.
Done and Done.
Next/
Future
Not Available

31. Is Black and White too Harsh?
NO. You are always having a
conversation about business
commitments and your ability
to meet them.

32. A Framework for Saying No
A J
L
P X
• Your defined roadmap is a wall against crazy ideas!
• The roadmap reinforces the ‘crazy loner’ idea for outliers.
• Clients can pay for custom work.
• Clients can pay to accelerate work on the timeline.
Proctor Unlock
Proctor-Authorized
Time Extension
Photo Capture
Proctor Unlock
Event Codes
Photo Capture
Proctor Unlock
Group Unlock
Event Codes
Photo Capture
Proctor Unlock

33. Now - Next - Future
•Enforces the ‘future directionality’ of roadmap
•Simple enough for salespeople!
•Enforces what is, and is yet to be
•Defines the landscape of delivery
(and interuptability)

34. Roadmaps in a Services Business
Product Business Services Business
Roadmap
Sequential
Drives Sales
Directional
Supports Sales
Communication
Features and
Timelines
Futures and
Capabilities
Product
Commercialization
Tiers, Product Levels,
Differentiation
Supported vs.
Custom
Prioritization Product P&L Led Business Led

35. Discussion