Dixon Lau - Product Management

My Product ManagementConcepts and Techniques

Last update – Summer 2014

To share with my colleagues

Concepts and Techniques I used as a Product Manager- Software monetization- Pricing- Competitive Analysis- Requirement Prioritization- Product Growth Analysis- Product Life Cycle Management- Launch and Sales support- Cross-Functional Collaboration- Project Management

Requirement Ranking Technique

1-to-5 Ranking by Customers / Market segments (A .. G)Converted to relative importance in percentage Total

Normalized features A % B % C % D % E % F % G % #customers Total %Points F#Merchant self-service profile registration 2 3 2 5 1 2 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 14 1Merchant ID for multitenant environment 4 7 5 12 8 16 3 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 43 2Authentication of merchant 2 3 0 0 1 2 1 2 2 5 2 4 3 5 6 21 3Geo-location association of merchants 5 8 4 9 3 6 3 6 1 2 1 2 3 5 7 39 4Mobile apps for merchant services 4 7 0 0 2 4 4 9 2 5 4 8 3 5 6 37 5Mobile apps for buyer services 5 8 4 9 5 10 4 9 4 10 5 10 6 10 7 65 6Buyer search by merchant categories 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 2 16 7Buyer search offers at his geo-location 5 8 4 9 4 8 4 9 4 10 4 8 4 7 7 58 8Buyer zoomable and expandable search radius 0 0 1 2 2 4 1 2 1 2 3 6 0 0 5 17 9Buyer instant registration with offers 5 8 4 9 4 8 4 9 4 10 2 4 4 7 7 54 10Website to see merchants and buyers activities 3 5 0 0 4 8 4 9 4 10 4 8 0 0 5 39 11Buyer self-service profile registration 3 5 3 7 3 6 3 6 3 7 3 6 2 3 7 41 12Buyer social blog for merchants comment and referrals 0 0 3 7 4 8 3 6 3 7 3 6 3 5 6 39 13Merchant buyers ranking and tagging 3 5 2 5 2 4 2 4 2 5 0 0 2 3 6 26 14Buyer credential based on consumptions analytics 5 8 0 0 2 4 2 4 2 5 2 4 2 3 6 28 15Buyers-offers-merchants analytics basics for merchant 3 5 2 5 3 6 3 6 5 12 4 8 4 7 7 48 16Optional consultation and campaign services 2 3 0 0 2 4 1 2 0 0 4 8 0 0 4 17 17Basic subscription billing for merchants 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 2 1 2 3 8 18Optional advertizing feature billing for merchants 5 8 1 2 0 0 2 4 2 5 3 6 4 7 6 32 19

61 100 43 100 50 100 47 100 41 100 52 100 61 100

Dixon Lau - Product Management Portfolio

Normalized requirements with # customers and their ranking from 1 to 5

Derive the relative importance in % for each customerTotal the % Points for all customers

Competitive Analysis

Dixon Lau - Product Management Portfolio

•Compare with competitors’ total offering at the feature level

• Analyze associated value and demands of our customers

• Identify advantages, differentiators, weaknesses, and must fix

Others capability

Ours capability

High DemandHigh Value

High Demand Low Value

Low Demand High Value

Low Demand Low Value

Y Y Common Common Common Not important

N Y Our Advantage(if others cannot replicate)

OurAdvantage(if others cannot replicate)

Our Advantage(maybe a differentiator that can turn into more demand)

Not important

Y N OurWeakness (must fix)

Our Weakness(must fix)

OurWeakness(may choose to not fix if demand is low and not profitable)

Not important

Important to customers

• Element Management Systems (EMS) / Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security (FCAPS) for specific devices

• Configuration management

• Physical inventory and topology

• Event management

Element Management • Service provisioning

• Services inventory

• Service health

• Service assurance

• Service SLA monitoring

Service Management • Subscriber self service

provisioning

• Operator control service policy

• Subscriber account management

• Subscriber usage accounting

• Subscriber experience monitoring

• Subscriber preference intelligence

Subscriber Management • Large Data Mining

• Customizable Report Templates

• Scheduled reporting

• Cloud based data archive

• Service Usage Pattern

• Subscriber characteristics

• Network Utilization Pattern

• Ad hoc query

Analytics

Product line Roadmap ExampleExtending Value for Customers

Customer Network Applications

Video Services Cloud / Managed Services

Val

ue

Executive Decision Making

Business Enablement

TechnologyEnablement

Mobile Services

Booking Analysis

Dixon Lau - Product Management Portfolio

Generate analysis for• Individual product• Product line•New and existing products

Observe trends•Up, down, cyclical• Average discount•Market segment differences•New customers vsrepeat customers•New product vsexisting product • Product attachment

Recommendations•Monthly refresh•Drive product, sale, marketing

Charter, Scope & Project Plan -> Kick Off

Define Charter

• Business Case• Market segment• Strategic Plan• Investment model• Business Model• Market Segment• Time Frame• Key Stakeholders• Constraints

HL Project Scope

• Description• Goals• Requirements• Constraints• Dependences• Assumptions• Risks• Exclusions• Sign-off

Detail Project Plans

• MRD/PRD• Stories/WBS• Resource Plan• Sequencing• Schedule• Cost baseline• Reserves• Quality Plan• Risk Analysis• Procurement• Comm. Plan• Sign-off

Execute, Monitor & Control

•Release Plan•Development•Testing•Architecture

•Design•Procurement•Quality Assurance

•Sprint Review•Scope Verification •Demo•Acceptance

•Integration•Quality Control

•Sprint Plan•Daily Scrum

Execute

•Monitor Progress, Expense, & Risks•Scrum Burn Down Chart•Measure Project Performance (EVT)•Problem Resolution•Change Control – Scope/Schedule/Budget

Monitor & Control

Supporting Marketing and Sales

Dixon Lau - Product Management Portfolio

ProductMgr

Publish for both•Datasheets• Presentations•White Papers• Pricing•Ordering Guide• Promotions•Roadmap•User doc’s•Demo• FAQ•Release plan• Product Release

•External Web•Advertizing•Branding•Social Media•Press Release•Analyst interface•Hosting Webinars•Hosting Tradeshows•Measure marketing results•Support new marketing trends•Generate leads for Sales

MediaWebsites

TradeshowsWebinarsAnalyst Press

ConferencesCustomers

MarketingTeam

• Support Webinars• Support Tradeshows•Align with branding

SalesTeam

• Support customer meetings•Track customer requirements

LeadsCustomers

• Bottom up forecasts•Deal status tracking•Closing deals for products and servicesOther topics may be added in the

futureDixon Lau - Product Management

8 Components of a Software Monetization

Licensing modelEntitlementFulfillmentEnforcementContentsSupportEOL PolicyRevenue Recognition

To monetize your developed software, a good marketing program to engage all sales channels is essential.

But don’t forget these other 8 components that are critical to your success and potential for additional revenue.

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Monetizing Downloadable Software

•Specific version and feature set. •Specific number of computer hosts or site. •Specific term duration or perpetuity. •Full License and Upgrade License.

Licensing Model

•Warranty against significant defects.•Limited Time Return Policy.

Entitlement

•Registration for trial license.•Ordering/Invoicing/Payment for license.•Electronic software and license key delivery.

Fulfillment

•Mechanism to manage licenses for physical and virtual hosts.

Enforcement

•Collaterals, release notes, specification.•Use case and demos.•Social media group support.•User forum for registered customers.

Online Contents

•Business hour Tech Support.•7/24 Tech Support and software update.•High touch SLA based support.•Specialist training and certification.

Support Services

• Publish version specific EOL schedule.•Trade-in program for replacement products.

EOL Policy

•Software License 100% upon delivery. •Support contract ratably.

Revenue Recognition

$ - Opportunity for revenue

$

$

$

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Monetizing Software as a Service (SaaS)

•Specific software product or feature set. •Specific to the number of users.•Flexible duration.•Specific to web browser and device type.

Licensing Model

•Pro-rated refund for cancellation.• Automatic software updates.

Entitlement

•Registration for trial license agreement.•Ordering/Invoicing/Payment for subscription.•Activation of user account.•Access via Web Browser Instantly.

Fulfillment

•User account determines subscription terms and features.

Enforcement

•Collaterals, release notes, specification.•Use case and demos.•Social media group support.•User forum for registered customers.

Online Contents

•Business hour Tech Support.•7/24 Tech Support and software update.•High touch SLA based support.•Specialist training and certification.

Support Services

• Retire older software release after migration of all servers.

EOL Policy

•Ratably for SaaS and Support contract.

Revenue Recognition

$ - Opportunity for revenue

$

$

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Pricing Concept

Analyze CompetitorsCustomer

alternativesMonetize

differentiation Pricing

Customer Value

Company Cost

Brand Image

Simple Pricing Model

Easy to UnderstandVary by Market SegmentVary by value dimensions

Customer social statusMarketing Campaign

Break even analysisMargin for channel discounts

Consider license, subscription, optional

services, on-going replenishment, upgrades

& trade-in as monetization opportunities

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Per computer host Per backup host Per plug-in feature Per market / enabled use cases Per usage scale Per user / seat Per interface type and quantity Per type of data Import/Export Per version (for perpetual license) Per license term (for term license) Per upgrade Per subscription duration (for SaaS)

Ways to define software pricing

Different market may value different software functionality. Tailor the feature set for different segments to maximize revenue.

Value dimensions to consider for software pricing are:

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Competitive Analysis

• Compare with competitors’ total offering

• Analyze associated value and demands of our customers

• Validate customer value with market analysts and trends

• Identify advantages, differentiators, weaknesses, and must fix

OurCapability

Competitors Capability

Commodity Our Differentiation

Opportunities

Don’t care Defer

DeferDefer Must fix

DeferDon’t careValu

e

Demand

Valu

e

Y N

N

Y

Demand

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Sources of Product Requirements

Use Outside-in Approach

• Actual Customers

• Sales Teams

• Support Team feedbacks

• Survey samples

• Products of other business

units

• Industry Standards

• Integration Partners

• Validate with market reports

Avoid Inside-out Approach

• Opinions without data

• Engineering designs

• Status quote

• Ideas not validated

with customers or sales

X

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Persona & User Story

Customer Persona•Buyer and User •Per target segment•Context that they live in•Problems they face•Use case

User Story•Related to a persona•What they need to do•What value they get•Acceptance criteriaMay break down into smaller stories overtime to be ready for story point estimate in order to fit into a sprint or release.

• Maintain the backlog, and determine the priority of the stories to be handled by development team.

• Must, Should, Could, Won’t

Define in the scope in the MRD/PRD to serve as the reasons of the product

Requirement Ranking Technique

1-to-5 Ranking by Customers / Market segments (A .. G) Converted to relative importance in percentage Total

Frequently asked user stories A % B % C % D % E % F % G % #customersSum of %Points

Merchant self-service profile registration 2 3 2 5 1 2 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 14Merchant ID for multitenant environment 4 7 5 12 8 16 3 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 43Authentication of merchant 2 3 0 0 1 2 1 2 2 5 2 4 3 5 6 21Geo-location association of merchants 5 8 4 9 3 6 3 6 1 2 1 2 3 5 7 39Mobile apps for merchant services 4 7 0 0 2 4 4 9 2 5 4 8 3 5 6 37Mobile apps for buyer services 5 8 4 9 5 10 4 9 4 10 5 10 6 10 7 65Buyer search by merchant categories 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 2 16Buyer search offers at his geo-location 5 8 4 9 4 8 4 9 4 10 4 8 4 7 7 58Buyer zoomable and expandable search radius 0 0 1 2 2 4 1 2 1 2 3 6 0 0 5 17Buyer instant registration with offers 5 8 4 9 4 8 4 9 4 10 2 4 4 7 7 54Website to see merchants and buyers activities 3 5 0 0 4 8 4 9 4 10 4 8 0 0 5 39Buyer self-service profile registration 3 5 3 7 3 6 3 6 3 7 3 6 2 3 7 41Buyer social blog for merchants comment and referrals 0 0 3 7 4 8 3 6 3 7 3 6 3 5 6 39Merchant buyers ranking and tagging 3 5 2 5 2 4 2 4 2 5 0 0 2 3 6 26Buyer credential based on consumptions analytics 5 8 0 0 2 4 2 4 2 5 2 4 2 3 6 28Buyers-offers-merchants analytics basics for merchant 3 5 2 5 3 6 3 6 5 12 4 8 4 7 7 48Optional consultation and campaign services 2 3 0 0 2 4 1 2 0 0 4 8 0 0 4 17Basic subscription billing for merchants 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 2 1 2 3 8Optional advertizing feature billing for merchants 5 8 1 2 0 0 2 4 2 5 3 6 4 7 6 32 61 100 43 100 50 100 47 100 41 100 52 100 61 100

To rank frequently asked requirement.Figure out the value from 1 to 5 for customer or market segment.

Rank requirement based on which has the higher sum of % points

Example

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Product Growth Analysis

Generate analysis for• Individual product• Product line• New and existing products

Observe trends• Up, down, cyclical• Average discount• Market segment differences• New customers vs repeat customers• New product vs existing product • Product attachment

Recommendations• Monthly refresh• Drive product, sale, marketing

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Product Life Cycle Management

Consider maximizing revenue• Repeated customers last-time buy• Price-sensitive customers• Trade-in to new products

Announcement to customers• Product identification• Up sell replacement products• Schedule for customers

End-of-SalesEnd-of-service-renewalEnd-of-software bug fixEnd-of-serviceEnd-of-technical support

When to replace an existing product?• New product revenue growth exceeds existing product• Existing product growth trend is declining• Support cost for multiple products become a concern• Legacy product is no longer a cash cow

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Supporting Marketing and Sales

Product

Mgr

Publish for both• Datasheets• Presentations• White Papers• Pricing• Ordering Guide• Promotions• Roadmap• User doc’s• Demo• FAQ• Release plan• Product Release

•External Web•Advertizing•Branding•Social Media•Press Release•Analyst interface•Hosting Webinars•Hosting Tradeshows•Measure marketing results•Support new marketing trends•Generate leads for Sales

MediaWebsites

TradeshowsWebinarsAnalyst

Press ConferencesCustomers

Marketing

Team• Support Webinars• Support Tradeshows• Align with branding

SalesTeam

• Support customer meetings• Provide RFx answers• Track customer requirements

Customers

• Bottom up forecasts• Deal status tracking• Closing deals for products and services

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Cross-Functional Teams – Collaboration & Leadership

System Architecture,Electrical Engineering,Mechanical Engineering,ASIC Engineering,

Software Engineering,Usability and Accessibility,Technical Publication,Commodity

Quality and Compliance,Environment Test,System Test,Trial Support

Manufacturing,Ordering and Shipping,Technical Support,Professional Services

Functional Team leads

- Review requirements- Provide estimate- Allocation of staffs and resources- Identify and mitigate risks- Status and spending Reports

Product Manager Role

Prior to Program started- Initiate executive approved project- Provide requirement in PRD/backlog- Define and clarify user stories- Agree on scope/sprint plan- Review deliverable against criteria- Evaluate risks, mitigations and ROI

Project Manager Role

After Project started- Coordinate with team leads- Project /Sprint Planning- Scrum meetings- Monitor and Report Status- Resolve risks & issues- Control Scope

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Project Management for Product Management DomainCharter, Scope & Project Plan -> Kick Off

Define Charter

• Market segment• Business case• Use case• Strategic Plan• Buy or build• Business Model• Time Frame• Key Stakeholders• Constraints

HL Project Scope

• Description• Goals• Requirements• Constraints• Dependences• Assumptions• Risks• Exclusions• Sign-off

Detail Project Plans

• MRD/PRD• Stories/WBS• Resource

planning• Sprint planning• Cost baseline• Reserves• Quality Plan• Risk Analysis• Procurement• Comm. Plan• Sign-off

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Project Management StrategyStakeholders Communications

Identify• Form Team • RACI, R&R• Wants & needs• Requirements• Expectations

Internal•Sponsors•Executives•Project teams

External•Partners & Suppliers•Customers

Environmental•Standard compliance•Regulations

High

Influ

ence

HighInterest

Low

Satisfy

Inform

Manage

Recognize

Interactive•Regular Meetings•Core/Extended Team•Informal/Formal•Written/Verbal

Push Comm.•Agenda/Minutes•Notice/Announcement

Pull Comm.•Team Roster•Mgmt Plans•Milestones•Baseline Doc•Status/Performance•Issue Log•Change Log

Core Team

Extended Team

Subscribers

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Project Management Tactical FlowExecute, Monitor & Control

•Release Plan•Development•Testing

•Architecture•Design•Procurement•Quality Assurance

•Sprint Review•Scope Verification •Demo•Acceptance

•Integration•Quality Control•Sprint Plan

•Daily Scrum

Execute

•Monitor Progress, Expense, & Risks•Scrum Burn Down Chart•Measure Project Performance (EVT)•Problem Resolution•Change Control•Scope/Schedule/Budget

Monitor & Control

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Problem Solving Mechanics

1. Issue Analysis

2. Solutions & Analyze New Risks

3. Make Decision

4. Change Control Approval

5. Adjust baseline & Continue

Dixon Lau - Product Management

Tools & Methods

Quality & Issue Analysis-Control Chart-Run Chart-Fish Bone-Pareto Chart

Risk Management-Probability-Impact Ranking-Probability-EMV-Contingency Reserve-Avoid, Transfer, Mitigate, Monitor

Strategic Planning-Market Segment, SWOT-VSE, Business Model Canvas-JIRA, Rally, PRD/MRD

Performance Measurement-Earned Value & Forecast-Burn Down Chart-Project Mgmt Portal

Decision Making-Effort vs Return-Demand vs Value-Technology Depth vs Value-Growth vs Market Share-NPV, IRR, Payback-Buy vs Lease-OEM vs Develop-Decision Tree with EMV

Scope Control-Change Control Board-Backlog grooming

Project Closing/Retrospective-Check list for acceptance & postmortem lessons learned

Dixon Lau - Product Management