[Made at SP Jain, Mumbai. Aug 2012]
We live in an era of massive disruptive innovation. More than at any other time in history of industry, we are witness to the massive upheaval of established incumbents – and their replacement by aggressive upstarts. Depending on your point of view this sea change provides massive opportunity – or a terrifying existential threat.
This new reality places substantial burdens on managers. Historical tools of product management are obsolete – and there is an attendant critical need for new practices.
Product management doctrine was based on a core principle best described as “Big up-front design”. The assumption was of a predictable future that could be analyzed – and planned for. Emphasis in this paradigm was on executing according to the plan. However, an analysis of the historical success rates for new business innovation has demonstrated that this process has been, at best, an abysmal failure.
New practices have emerged to enable product managers to adjust to a world of uncertainty. These are based on the premise of fast response to change rather than big up-front planning. They are predicated on documenting business models and conducting focused experiments to validate key assumptions. New practices and concepts have emerged: Customer Development, Business Model Canvas, Lean Startup, and Minimum Viable Product.
In this presentation, we introduce these new concepts – and describe how they can be integrated into new practices of product management that are effective in dynamic and disruptive environments. We provide an overview of the structure and application of these practices and their associated tools.
5. Product Management („70s-‟00s)
Build product Big-Bang
Develop concept Build product Alpha /test
Alpha beta Customer
test Launch after
Shipment
Get funding and offering Market test
3-5 years
Write business plan
Build the product Test / fix Ship / fix
Planning / collateral PR / plan launch Launch /
Demand gen.
Initial sales rep Build sales team /
selling
7. 1998:
Bankrupt
1987: 1990: Spun
Iridium out of
founded Motorola 1997:
Launch
$5.2b investment
15 rockets
72 satellites
8. Viable price:
$0.5/min
Actual users: 30,000
1998:
Target price: $7/min Bankrupt
Target users:
42million
1987: 1990: Spun
Iridium out of
founded Motorola 1997:
Launch
$5.2b investment
15 rockets
72 satellites
9. “Big Up Front Design”
Build product Big-Bang
Develop concept Build product Alpha /test
Alpha beta Customer
test Launch after
Shipment
Get funding and offering Market test
3-5 years
Unbridled False sense of Rude Resetting Predictable
enthusiasm security awakening expectations disaster
29. Minimum + Viable
Fertile area for new products
• Demonstrate value
• Gather feedback
Minimu Viable
m
Too-basic products Incumbent
no one wants products
Source: Start-up Chronicles
This deck is a tool for facilitating a discovery conversation between a ThoughtWorker and a prospect.The idea is to draw the prospect into conversation as soon as possible, and get them to share their challenges. This means the ThoughtWorker should spend a good deal of the time asking questions and listening to the answers, i.e. “Does this sound familiar to you?”, “How is your Agile adoption going?”, “Are you doing weekly/monthly releases?”, “How is experience design incorporated into your process?”, etc.The goal is to discover whether or not there is a basis for a potential future relationship (cultural compatibility, good overlap between their needs and our capabilities, etc.) and identify the next steps.