1. Priori%zing
Features
Brennon
Mar%n,
Project
Manager
October
18,
2012
*
With
sincere
thanks
to
Rob
Bischoff,
Teal
Walker
and
Stephanie
Oran
for
their
contribu;ons
1
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2. Agenda
• Feature
Priori;za;on
in
Context
• Process
Overview
• Case
Studies
2
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Priori;zing
Features
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October
18,
2012

3. Feature
Priori%za%on
in
Context
3
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4. Product
Manager
Toolkit
LEVEL
SETTING
ON
TERMS
What
is
it?
What
is
it
good
for?
What
is
it
NOT
good
for?
Scope
Map
High-­‐level
overview
of
system
• Big
picture
overview
of
features
• Implementa;on-­‐level
detail
func;onality
and
func;ons
• Managing
minor
scope
creep
• Organiza;on
and
codifica;on
of
requirements
categories
4
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Priori;zing
Features
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October
18,
2012

5. Scope
Map
Samples
COMMON,
BUT
NOT
NECESSARILY
UBIQUITOUS,
ELEMENTS
• Visual
organiza;on
of
features
into
categories
(and
some;mes
subcategories)
• Color
coding
and
tagging
– Phasing
– In
Scope/Out
of
Scope
– Team
responsibility
– New
vs.
refactored
features
• Legend
5
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

6. Product
Manager
Toolkit
LEVEL
SETTING
ON
TERMS
What
is
it?
What
is
it
good
for?
What
is
it
NOT
good
for?
Scope
Map
High-­‐level
overview
of
system
• Big
picture
overview
of
features
• Implementa;on-­‐level
detail
func;onality
and
func;ons
• Managing
minor
scope
creep
• Organiza;on
and
codifica;on
of
requirements
categories
Road
Map
Phased
strategic
implementa;on
• Summary-­‐level
communica;on
of
a
• Detailed
release
planning
plan
long-­‐term
release
plan
• Seeng
schedules
“in
stone”
• Organiza;on
of
interconnected,
inter-­‐dependent
threads
of
work
6
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
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October
18,
2012

7. Road
Map
Sample
2012 Q4 2013 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4
Voyager 4.1 Upgrade Voyager 4.2?
CMS Platform
Customer Database (OLB and website) Customer Database (CRM Ready)
Voyager 3.2.5 Reskinning Voyager 4.1/4.2 Skinning New OLB Features
Online Account Origination (Revamped)
Website Responsive Redesign
Comm. Lending Tablet
Remote Deposit Capture
Basic PFM
P2P/A2A Transfers
How can we shift this timeframe?
Mobile/Tablet Upgrades (TBD)
Customer Communications
Program Governance
Personnel Planning
SEO/SEM
Customer Analytics
Technology Foundations Projects Design / Functionality Projects Operational Foundations Projects
7
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
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October
18,
2012

8. Product
Manager
Toolkit
LEVEL
SETTING
ON
TERMS
What
is
it?
What
is
it
good
for?
What
is
it
NOT
good
for?
Scope
Map
High-­‐level
overview
of
system
• Big
picture
overview
of
features
• Implementa;on-­‐level
detail
func;onality
and
func;ons
• Managing
minor
scope
creep
• Organiza;on
and
codifica;on
of
requirements
categories
Road
Map
Phased
strategic
implementa;on
• Summary-­‐level
communica;on
of
a
• Detailed
release
planning
plan
long-­‐term
release
plan
• Seeng
schedules
“in
stone”
• Organiza;on
of
interconnected,
inter-­‐dependent
threads
of
work
Feature
Scoring
model
for
objec;ve
• Providing
balance
to
an
otherwise
• Complete
replacement
of
human
Priori%za%on
feature
ranking
wholly
subjec;ve
ranking
of
judgment
Framework
features
• Ensuring
a
mul;-­‐faceted
approach
to
the
weighing
of
op;ons
• Gathering
organiza;onal
consensus
8
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
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October
18,
2012

9. Process
Overview
9
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10. Feature
Priori%za%on
Process
Overview
Document
Priori%ze
Synthesize
Document
and
consolidate
poten;al
Rate
features
and
capabili;es
from
both
an
Extract
priori;zed
features
into
a
features
into
a
single
feature
matrix
IT
readiness
and
a
business
Value
product
scope
map
that
will
drive
perspec;ve
design
High
CONSIDER ACT
Low
hanging
fruit
that
can
be
Ready
to
deliver
and
high
quickly
baked
into
product
business
value
make
these
integral
product
features
for
a
IT Readiness
1st
release
Technical Business
Team DEFER PLAN Team
How complex, Low
readiness
and
business
Important
features
that
require
How desirable is a
time consuming value
implies
these
features
considerable
;me/resources
to
particular feature
and resource are
easy
to
defer
or
queue
to
deliver
and
need
a
plan
to
from an user
intensive is adoption,
lowest
priority
address
delivery of a differentiation and
particular feature parity perspective
Low High
Business Value
10
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

11. A
More
Detailed
Look
at
the
Process
1. Iden;fy
the
feature
set
to
be
considered
2. Determine
the
criteria
by
which
features
will
be
evaluated
3. Select
a
scoring
mechanism
4. Define
the
set
of
stakeholders
who
will
par;cipate
5. Collect
feature
scoring
data
6. Synthesize
data
and
analyze
results
7. Iden;fy
outlier
data
points
8. Package
conclusions
for
presenta;on
9. Be
ready
to
defend
conclusions
that
are
not
supported
by
the
data
10. Create
roadmap
and
release
strategy
11
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

12. 1.
Iden%fy
the
feature
set
to
be
considered
• Exis;ng
product
backlog
• Compe;;ve
gap
analysis
• Customer
support
data
• Sales
team
requests
• User
research
• Stakeholder
interviews
• Execu;ve
visions
• Remember
also
to
iden;fy
the
features
that
will
NOT
be
considered
– Compe;;ve
requirements
/
must-­‐have
features
– End-­‐of-­‐life
items
12
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

13. Where
does
feature
priori%za%on
fit
in
the
product
planning
process?
• Level
1
– Level
2
o Level
3
 Level
4
» Level
5
13
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

14. 2.
Determine
the
criteria
by
which
features
will
be
evaluated
• “Business
priority”
(vaguely
defined)
• Alignment
with
strictly
defined
strategic
goals
• Financial
ROI
Requires
advance
knowledge
of
implementa;on
feasibility
• Risk
reduc;on
• Feasibility
is
a
cri;cal
piece
of
the
puzzle.
– The
ques;on
is
WHEN
do
you
factor
it
in
–
during
the
desirability
scoring
process
or
in
a
parallel,
but
separate
process?
14
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

15. 3.
Select
a
scoring
mechanism
• High,
medium,
low
– “Group
features
into
three
buckets.”
• Forced
rank
ordering
– “List
features
in
order
of
importance.
There
can
be
no
;es.”
• Virtual
budget
assignment
– “You
have
$1.00
to
spend
on
purchasing
features,
and
you
can
spend
that
$1.00
any
way
you
wish.”
• Weighted
criteria
aggrega;on
– “For
each
of
the
following
criteria,
evaluate
each
feature
according
to
the
scoring
rules
indicated.”
15
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

16. Weighted
Criteria
Aggrega%on
A
PRIMER
• Priori%za%on
Criteria
• Weigh%ng
Factors
that
will
be
considered
in
feature
ranking
Rela;ve
importance
of
each
criterion
– Alignment
with
strategic
impera;ves
– Each
criterion
assigned
a
frac;on
– Customer
demand
– Total
of
all
criteria
weights
should
equal
1.0
– “Wow
factor”
– New
revenue
poten;al
• Scores
– Compe;;ve
differen;a;on
Values
on
which
final
ranking
will
be
based
– Etc.
– Raw
score
– Weighted
score
• Scoring
Rules
Provide
detailed
explana;on
of
how
to
evaluate
each
criterion
Compe;;ve
Differen;a;on
– 0
=
commodi;zed;
everyone
has
it
– 1
=
common
but
not
ubiquitous
– 2
=
rare
– 3
=
highly
differen;a;ng
16
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

17. Weighted
Criteria
Aggrega%on
A
SIMPLE
EXAMPLE
17
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

18. 4.
Define
the
set
of
stakeholders
who
will
par%cipate
• Sales,
marke;ng,
execu;ves,
etc.
• Customers
• Users
• Partners
• The
right
answer
depends
on…
– The
poli;cal
climate
of
your
organiza;on
– The
breadth
of
opinions
that
you
want
to
consider
– The
compe;;ve
sensi;vity
of
the
feature
set
you
are
considering
– Your
;meline
18
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

19. 5.
Collect
feature
scoring
data
• Homework
assignments
• Stakeholder
interviews
• Group
stakeholder
workshops
– Consensus
scoring
vs.
dedicated-­‐;me
individual
scoring
• Combina;on
approaches
are
perfectly
legi;mate
• Effort
es;mates
and
feasibility
should
be
evaluated
by
the
technology
team
in
a
parallel
effort
19
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

20. 6.
Synthesize
data
and
analyze
results
7.
Iden%fy
outlier
data
points
• Each
scoring
mechanism
involves
a
quan;fica;on
of
stakeholder
opinions,
so
mathema;cal
analysis
techniques
can
be
applied
(averaging,
ranking,
etc.)
– Pro:
lends
extra
degree
of
legi;macy
to
results
– Con:
can
give
a
false
sense
of
legi;macy
if
you
s;nk
at
math
– Con:
can
lead
to
analysis
paralysis
if
you
are
really
good
at
math
• Remember
that
the
methodology
is
not
meant
to
be
a
total
subs;tute
for
sound
judgment
–
you
the
Product
Manager
are
s;ll
accountable
for
the
decisions
that
are
made.
20
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

21. 8.
Package
conclusions
for
presenta%on
9.
Be
ready
to
defend
conclusions
that
are
not
supported
by
the
data
10.
Create
roadmap
and
release
strategy
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• Updated,
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backlog
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• Preliminary
release
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• Don’t
forget
to
bring
must-­‐have
features
back
into
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removed
earlier
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• Feasibility
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be
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what
you
can’t
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• Consider
having
compe;;ve
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ready
for
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• Expect
confusion
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21
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

22. Key
Challenges
DOES
FEATURE
PRIORITIZATION
EVER
NOT
WORK?
• Garbage-­‐in
/
Garbage-­‐out
– The
ranking
is
only
as
good
as
the
scoring
• Analysis
Paralysis
– At
some
point,
decisions
must
be
made;
feature
priori;za;on
results
are
not
always
100%
clear
and
there
is
always
one
more
way
to
slice
and
dice
the
data
• Overly
Complex
Matrix
– Don’t
overcomplicate
the
matrix;
stakeholders
need
to
be
able
to
understand
the
results
• Showcase
of
Results
• Geeng
Buy
In
• Timeline
22
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RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

23. Feature
Priori%za%on
Process
Overview
Document
Priori%ze
Synthesize
Document
and
consolidate
poten;al
Rate
features
and
capabili;es
from
both
an
Extract
priori;zed
features
into
a
features
into
a
single
feature
matrix
IT
readiness
and
a
business
Value
product
scope
map
that
will
drive
perspec;ve
design
High
CONSIDER ACT
Low
hanging
fruit
that
can
be
Ready
to
deliver
and
high
quickly
baked
into
product
business
value
make
these
integral
product
features
for
a
IT Readiness
1st
release
Technical Business
Team DEFER PLAN Team
How complex, Low
readiness
and
business
Important
features
that
require
How desirable is a
time consuming value
implies
these
features
considerable
;me/resources
to
particular feature
and resource are
easy
to
defer
or
queue
to
deliver
and
need
a
plan
to
from an user
intensive is adoption,
lowest
priority
address
delivery of a differentiation and
particular feature parity perspective
Low High
Business Value
23
Property
of
Roundarch
Isobar.
Privileged
&
confiden;al.
RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

24. Case
Studies
24
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25. Priori%za%on
Project
Snapshot
LARGE
PRIVATE
BANK
• Overview
– Created
a
mul;
release
roadmap
over
2
years
– Applica;on
design
and
development
– Work
was
tabled
due
to
change
in
business
plan
– No
defined
target
release
date;
more
concerned
with
levels
of
func;onality
available
for
each
release
• Priori;za;on
approach
– Primary
feature
iden;fier:
Roundarch
Isobar
– Scoring
methodology:
Separated
“Core”
features
that
were
necessity
in
the
offering,
and
then
had
stakeholders
purchase
addi;onal
features
–
done
in
absence
of
tech
LOE
– Matrix
comple;on:
Completed
solely
by
client
– Addi;onal
Calcula;ons:
Weighted
results
by
proximity
to
user
and
level
in
organiza;on
– Packaging
of
results:
detailed
results
presenta;on
and
LOE
workshops
• Post
mortem
– Led
to
a
detailed
LOE
breakdown
and
roadmap
– Pised
business
and
tech
against
each
other
during
the
roadmap
discussions
as
expecta;ons
were
already
set
coming
out
of
priori;za;on
25
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Priori;zing
Features
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October
18,
2012

26. Sample
Results
LARGE
PRIVATE
BANK
26
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Priori;zing
Features
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October
18,
2012

27. Priori%za%on
Project
Snapshot
MID-­‐SIZE
RETAIL
AND
BUSINESS
BANK
• Overview
– Concept
design
phase
for
complete
overhaul
of
online
banking
system
– Previous
release
strategy
largely
delivered
by
vendor
priori;es
– Client
now
wants
to
own
the
user
experience
• Priori;za;on
approach
– Primary
feature
iden;fier:
Roundarch
Isobar
– Scoring
methodology:
Weighted
desirability
and
feasibility
criteria
– Matrix
comple;on:
Client
workshop
– Packaging
of
results:
2x2
grids
by
line
of
business
• Post
mortem
– Methodology
well
received
by
client
sponsors
but
poorly
understood
by
some
stakeholders
– Approach
was
a
bit
too
complex;
simplifica;on
would
have
helped
27
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RMPDMA
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Priori;zing
Features
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October
18,
2012

28. Priori%za%on
Project
Snapshot
US
GOVERNMENT
ORGANIZATION
• Overview
– 11
year
rela;onship
– Applica;on
design
and
development
for
the
Logis;cs
Repor;ng
and
Asset
Tracking
– Mul;ple
releases
per
capability
• Priori;za;on
approach
– Primary
feature
iden;fier:
Roundarch
Isobar
– Scoring
methodology:
H,M,L
Ranking
or
1
–
x
priori;za;on
– Matrix
comple;on:
Client
w/o
Roundarch
Isobar
support
– Packaging
of
results:
Summarized
list
of
features
with
cost
es;mates
• Post
mortem
– Without
Roundarch
Isobar
involvement,
clarity
is
not
provided
– Approach
is
not
detailed
enough;
client
buy-­‐in
to
a
new
approach
is
necessary.
Happy
medium
between
details
we
need
and
what
they
are
willing
to
support
is
needed.
28
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RMPDMA
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Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012

29. Priori%za%on
Project
Snapshot
DIGITAL
CONTENT
AND
DATA
PUBLISHER
• Overview
– Created
a
mul;-­‐year
roadmap
across
mul;ple
business
unites
– Applica;on
design
and
development
for
mul;ple
publishing
divisions
across
mul;ple
plaxorms
– Mul;ple
releases
per
business
line
– Had
defined
launch
target
dates
for
each
release
• Priori;za;on
approach
– Primary
feature
iden;fier:
Roundarch
Isobar
– Scoring
methodology:
1-­‐4
–
created
with
no
firm
understanding
of
technical
LOE
– Matrix
comple;on:
Completed
solely
by
client
– Packaging
of
results:
Led
to
workshops
showcasing
inconsistencies
across
the
organiza;on
and
anomalies
in
LOE/
Priori;za;on
• Post
mortem
– Approach
was
refined
over
;me.
Leads
to
clarity
on
inconsistencies
from
user
needs
and
business
priority
and
where
there
was
a
dis;nct
difference
in
LOE/priority
29
Property
of
Roundarch
Isobar.
Privileged
&
confiden;al.
RMPDMA
|
Priori;zing
Features
|
October
18,
2012