Welcome to Product Management Challenges!

04005 Product Road Map: the Real and the Ideal

Like so many of the tools used by Product Managers to make the software product successful - the Requirements documents come to mind - the Product Road Map takes many different forms at different companies, and needs to be customized to suit each company. While it may seem that no two of these are alike, in every case the Product Manager struggles to balance the ideal with the real in putting together a road map.

In addition, the Product Road Map deals with information at different levels of detail. And what looks realistic from 30,000 feet may seem a little idealistic once you get down to ground level.

How do you balance the real and the ideal in your product’s road map? Read on for a look at the types of content to include.
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04004 Faster! Gaining Product Momentum

We all heard people, during the dot-com era, bypass tried and true business concepts to champion untried - and untrue - concepts such as “The Internet changes everything” and “The company with first mover advantage wins.” While there is some truth to these concepts (and I think we will learn where to apply them correctly) the problem was that they were built on beliefs that the old rules - the law of gravity, for instance - no longer applied.

We all know, however, that the law of gravity does in fact still apply. And like the law of gravity, the Law of Momentum is one of the most important laws for your product.

The Law of Momentum basically states that you can push a thing to make it go faster, and that as a thing builds up speed, it’s easier to make it go even faster.

One of the top jobs of a Product Manager - and I’ve never seen it on a job description - is to make the product gain momentum. When you make it gain momentum, it catches up to competitors that were ahead, and eventually pulls ahead of the pack. Leading to a more profitable product and a more successful company.

And once you’ve got the momentum, you don’t have to work so hard to increase your speed.

Read on for tips on how to build momentum for your product.
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05003 Setting the Product Direction: A Mechanical Approach

One of the central reasons that companies hire a Product Manager is to make sure that they have someone who sets and drives the direction of the product. In a world where there is never enough time to implement all the ideas that come along for great new features, you need to choose the right ones to put your development dollars into, or there’s always that potential that your product will lose its competitive edge.

I believe that when defining a Product Manager’s role in setting the product direction, most companies mistakenly consider the focus of that role to be choosing capabilities, when in fact the best contribution of a Product Manager is to provide a structure and mechanism for selecting new features. It’s the team as a whole that chooses the features, with the Product Manager ensuring that it all happens on schedule, consistently, and completely. And happens again and again.

Setting the product direction may sound like a highly strategic and conceptual activity, with no clear standards in the industry, similar to the Product Road Map, whose definition is “all over the map.” If you want it to bear results, however, you need to turn it into a tactical and somewhat mechanical effort.

Read on for more discussion of how to construct the mechanism for setting the product direction at your company.

04003 Trade Shows: Maximizing ROI

In the previous topic I covered how to estimate the return on a trade show, in order to determine whether or not to use a show in your marketing plan. If your company decides to exhibit at a trade show, your top priority is making certain that you get the most return on your investment (ROI).

Product Managers can play a pivotal role in maximizing this return, because of the nature of their position. When they man the booth, they approach the show from both a tactical and strategic standpoint. They help keep the sales reps honest - literally - when they describe the product and gather and qualify leads.

A Product Manager can be a focal point for such details as lead collection, presentations, and setting up meetings with partners, analysts, and the press.

Read on for some tips on how to get the most out of a trade show.
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04002 Trade Shows: Measuring ROI

It seems that the necessity to exhibit your product at trade shows is one of those trying truisms in the software industry. Like press releases and advertising, manning a company booth at trade shows is considered de rigueur for a marketing plan.

Product Managers are often called upon to man the booth at shows as well as actively attend speeches and presentations. Because a trade show can easily eat up a week of your time between travel, setup, and the show itself, it’s vital that you attend only those trade shows that net you a positive return on investment (ROI).

Read on for tips on measuring the expected ROI of a trade show.
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