Everything You Wanted To Know-Product Management

Everything You Wanted to Know about Product Management
(but were afraid to ask!)
www.powerpoint4u.blogspot.com Page 1
Why you should be here today
Product management is the most common role that Kellogg marketing majors will
find themselves in, on their first job. Despite this:
– There is a lot of ambiguity about the roles and responsibilities of product

managers in the industry.
– Kellogg currently has no course on product management, so students really
don’t know what to expect.
To plug these gaps, I have been working on a research project aimed at identifying
best practices in product management.
– We have conducted depth interviews with 25 product managers in a wide

range of companies.
– We have also surveyed 200 product managers to identify the drivers of high-
performance product management.
The purpose of my talk is to share what I have learned in this project, so that you
can be better prepared for product management careers.
Agenda
What is product management?

– Definition of product management
– Differences in product management across business contexts
What do product managers do?
– Roles and responsibilities of product managers
– Product management activities across the product life cycle
– Deliverables for product managers
– Important interfaces for product managers
What makes a good product manager?
– Knowledge domains for product managers
– Key skills and personality traits
What do high-performance product management organizations look like?
– Determinants of high performance product management organizations
– Most admired companies in product management
Defining product management
As a product manager, I have a responsibility to my

customers (current and future) to release a product
that meets and exceeds their needs – even if they
are not fully aware of their needs. I also have a
financial responsibility to my company that the
product will meet revenue and margin goals. Finally,
I have a responsibility to my development team to
define a feature set that, if they can deliver it, will
meet the first two objectives.
- John Miniati (Kellogg ’96)
Defining product management
A product manager is a middle manager, usually within the marketing
organization, responsible for successfully bringing new products (or
services/brands) to market and ensuring the ongoing success of existing
products over their lifecycle by orchestrating all functional areas that
impact the development, manufacturing, sales, and support of products.
Key points
– Responsible for orchestrating all product-related activities
– Should act as “general mangers” for their products
– Success requires art of influence without authority
– Roles and responsibilities are often ambiguous
– Need to be able to think across functional boundaries
– Business context and organizational culture impacts role definition,
responsibilities and authority
Perspectives on the role of the
product manager
The Product Manager needs to know the customers, the market, and competitive features
better than anyone else in the company. Individual developers may know specific areas better,
but the Product Manager is the “go-to” person for the product.
- HP
Above all, the Product Manager must understand the customer and the product. They, more
than anyone, must know the range of functionality for a particular product and be true experts.
For example, how it works, what it does, how to do X or Y. They must continually ask questions
such as, Is it “drop dead simple”? Intuitive? Easy to use? How are customers using it today?
What are the issues or problems from the customer’s perspective?
- Intuit
In technology companies, developers are like oarsman in Viking longships – you don’t get very
far without them. Moreover, they tend to be very creative, hard-working, and strong-willed.
They WILL build a product without a product manager. My job is to make sure that the product
they build is the right product for the customers, because – more than money – developers
want to be part of the ‘next Palm’ or the ‘next Cisco router’. - Startup firm
Related titles and job roles
Business Context Product Manager Role
Company markets relatively complex and high-ticket price Product Manager
products in technology or industrial markets. The products
require focused attention to be successful, and technology is
a key driver of product success. Dow, Cisco, 3M, Medtronic
Company markets a broad range of consumer packaged Brand Manager
goods products under a few key brand names. Brands are Category Manager
leveraged across several product categories, and there may
be multiple brands within a category. P&G, Marriott, Pfizer, Toyota
Company sells a diverse array of products to a relatively Market manager
small number of customer segments. Segments overlap Segment manager
significantly across products. Products need to be combined
into customer solutions for each segment. Fidelity, Thomson Financial, IBM
Company’s customer base is characterized by a few large Key Account Manager
customers, each with relatively specific customization,
service and support needs, as well as a customized selling
approach. All enterprise marketers
New-product efforts are time-consuming and critical for the Product Development Manager
company, to the point where a special position is created New Products Manager
exclusively to handle new products.
HP, 3M
Agenda

Two faces of product management
Convert the value proposition

into a market offering
Inbound
Product Development
Capabilities of Voice of
the Company The Customer
Outbound
Product Marketing
Take the offering and the

value message to market
Responsibilities of product managers
Inbound Responsibilities
– Understand customer needs and requirements
– Understand the market and competition for the product
– Research feature enhancements and upgrades for future releases
– Create Marketing Requirements Document (MRD)
– Create the product release plan
– Help to develop product roadmap and competitive positioning
– Work with development, testing, and QA to ensure that product meets requirements and
stays within schedule
Outbound Responsibilities
– Manage product launch
– Support marketing with outbound marketing communication and PR
– Support sales with product training, demos, customer presentations, data sheets, competitive
positioning
– Support sales on key customer deals and accompany sales personnel on key customer visits
– Monitor and improve customer satisfaction
Responsibilities vary by context
Maturity of product-market
LARGE
“Outbound/Tactical”
• Outbound-heavy role
• Understanding of product
• Understanding of vertical markets
Company Size
• Less authority and direct influence

• Ability to manage interfaces
• Ability to communicate internally
“Inbound/Strategic”
• Inbound-heavy role
• Close interaction with engineering
• Defining target markets
• Generating customer wins
• Broad authority and influence
SMALL • Ability to think strategically
EMERGING Market Maturity MATURE
Spheres of influence for product
managers
Corporate branding
Corporate advertising
R&D
Feature prioritization
Actual pricing and margins
Product packaging
Market requirements
Positioning framework
Product launches
List pricing/SKUs
Channel promotions
Consumer promotions
Customer support
Partner marketing
Field sales
What decisions do product
managers influence?
Decision Product Manager Influence
(1-None, 10- Complete)
Defining Product Specifications 7.23
Managing Product Releases 6.96
Product Positioning 6.93
Product Upgrade Decisions 6.28
Managing Launch Events 6.44
Product Pricing 6.28
Product Packaging/SKU Decisions 6.31
Customer Segmentation 5.62
Consumer Promotions 5.48
Channel and Partner Promotions 5.15
Product Advertising 5.26
Channel Selection 4.78
Corporate Branding & Advertising 4.46
Deliverables for Product Managers
Product Product Product Product

Conception Development Launch Sustaining
Responsibilities: Responsibilities: Responsibilities: Responsibilities:

• Market research • Refine market requirements • Product introduction plan • Sales training
• Target market definition • Customer research • Customer demos • Customer promotions
• Competitive analysis • Trade-off schedule vs. • Refined forecasts • Trade promotions
• Positioning features • Sales training • Product updates
• Market Requirements • Press kits • Next version planning
• Forecasts • Trade shows
• Events collateral
• Promotion/Advertising
• BOM/Inventory
Interfaces:
Interfaces: • Engineering Interfaces: Interfaces:
• Customers • Customers • Customers • Customers
• Research firms • Partners • Sales • Engineering
• Engineering • Analysts • Tech support
• Finance • Press • Sales
• Sales • Engineering • Partners
• Finance
• Tech support
Sample MBO for product managers
Business Goals
Customer Human capital/

Product Revenue & Sales support
satisfaction Team goals
goals Share goals goals
goals
• Meet ship dates • Customer satisfaction score goals • Recruitment goals

• Demo data and scripts • Satisfaction goals by segment • Product training goals
• Quality documentation • Bridge perceived functionality gaps • Training & certification
• Bug prioritization • Action plans for “at-risk” customers • Employee satisfaction goals
• MRDs for next release • Link bonus comp. to satisfaction • Performance feedback
• Satisfaction relative to competition
• Market share goals • Support sales in deals

• Revenue goals • Customer presentations
• Margin goals • Demo materials
• Reference customers • Training courses for sales
• Customer data sheets
• Train sales force on product
Evaluation criteria for product managers
• Achieving product release milestones

• Meeting volume, share, and revenue goals
• Accuracy of sales forecasts
• Level of customer satisfaction
• Evaluation of cross-functional partners (internal)
• Speed of resolution of escalations
• Creativity and initiative
How are product managers
evaluated?
Evaluation Metric Yes No

Product Revenues 62.2% 37.8%
Product Profitability 61.5% 38.5%
Market Share 46.9% 53.1%
Customer Satisfaction 19.7% 80.3%
Agenda

Knowledge domains for product
managers • Company values
• Company vision/strategy
Business • Company image/brand
Knowledge • Vision of the business
• Goals of the business
Product Customer Market Process

Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge
• “What it does” • Who - Customer segments • Key demand trends (by segment)
• “What it needs to do” • Why - Customer needs • Key technology trends • Customer insight process
• Product functionality • Where – End-use scenarios • Key alliances/partnerships • MRD development process
• Product roadmap • How often – Usage levels • Competitive products • Product planning process
• Product architecture • Why not – Usage barriers • Competitors’ motivations • Budgeting process
• Core technology • Who else – Customer DMU • Potential competitors • Product development process
• Product bugs/gaps • How – Customer DMP • Strengths/weaknesses (company) • Product testing process
• Product usability • Purchase drivers • Strengths/weaknesses (product) • Product launch process
• Complementary products • Upgrade drivers • Strengths/weaknesses (partners) • Partner management process
• Competing products • Installation experience • Strengths/weaknesses (brand)
• Usage experience
• Customization experience
• Support experience
• Upgrade experience
• Partner/VAR experience
• Unmet needs
• Known product problems
• Known service problems
• Brand/company image
• Customer satisfaction Page 19
www.powerpoint4u.blogspot.com
What product managers need to
know – importance ratings
Knowledge Domain Importance

(10 point scale)
Customer knowledge 8.81
Product knowledge 8.65
Competitor knowledge 8.21
Company business knowledge 8.00
Macro environmental knowledge 7.61
Competencies for product managers
• Ability to think strategically about the product by understanding how the product fits into the company’s
business
• Ability to clearly define and communicate the vision, goals, and value proposition of the product from the
customer perspective
• Ability to understand customer requirements, and to map customer requirements into product
specifications and features
• Ability to understand technology broadly (architectural knowledge) as well as deeply (inner workings) to
dialog effectively with developers
• Ability to evaluate cost/quality/time-to-market trade-offs and to make appropriate trade-off decisions under
uncertainty
• Ability to effectively communicate with, tactfully collaborate with, and forcefully convince people in diverse
functional areas
• Ability to analyze data and trends to produce effective plans and accurate forecasts
• Ability to juggle competing demands on time and to prioritize activities
Personal skills for product managers
• Passion for the product

• Intellectual curiosity
• Communication skills
• Listening skills
• Negotiation skills
• Analytical skills
• Selling skills
Agenda

Factors driving product management
performance
HR Practices
– Influence over development budget
– Degree of empowerment
– Clear career paths
– Clear evaluation metrics
Authority and Knowledge
– Extent of early involvement in product development
– Ownership over product specifications
– Level of Technical knowledge
– Accountability for product quality
– Accountability for financial performance
– Viewed as General Managers
Organization Design
– Presence of organizational silos
– Poor cross-functional coordination
– Short-term orientation
– Decentralized and autonomous SBUs
– Unclear role definition
Customer orientation
– Level of customer contact
– Quality of coordination with sales
– Knowledge of customer needs
Dependent variable – product
management performance
Dimensions of product management performance
– Ability to understand and anticipate customer needs

– Innovative products and technologies
– Quality of product marketing activities
– Overall quality of product management
Regression model for product
management performance
Variable Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t|
HR Practices 0.2339 0.0732 3.20 0.002
Authority/Knowledge 0.1282 0.0629 2.04 0.043
Organization Structure Barriers -0.1285 0.0665 -1.93 0.055
Customer Orientation 0.1960 0.0683 2.87 0.005
Close Interface with Engg. 0.0739 0.0351 2.11 0.036
Quality of Planning Processes 0.1292 0.0495 2.61 0.010
Quality of Execution Processes 0.2757 0.0701 3.93 0.000
Clarity of Job Ladders 0.0996 0.0922 1.08 0.282
Number of Obs = 193

F( 8, 184) = 25.43
Prob > F = 0.0000
R-squared = 0.5251
Adj R-squared = 0.5044
Root MSE = 1.1694
The most admired companies in PM
Company Good at Has the Most Does the best job Best Overall at
Understanding Innovative Products at Product Product
Customer Needs Marketing Management
3M 8 6 3 5
Apple 3 8 9 2
Coca Cola 6 8 5
Dell - #5 8 6 10 7
GE - #4 14 8 7 5
General Motors 4 1 3 4
IBM 5 2 2 3
Microsoft – #1 20 18 15 12
Nike 1 3 5 4
Nokia 1 6 1 1
P&G - #2 10 2 13 18
Pepsi 4 7 6
Sony – #3 7 22 10 11
Toyota 4 2 3
www.powerpoint4u.blogspot.com Source: Kellogg PM study Page 27
Summary
• Product managers should be the company’s voice to customers

and the customers’ voice to the company
• Product managers need to master the “art of influence” as they
orchestrate all activities related to the product
• A good product manager should be the “go-to” person for her
product.
• A good product manager should be able to communicate the
product’s value proposition persuasively to internal and external
customers
• Effective product management requires clear definition of roles,
empowerment, and solid execution processes.
• Kellogg MBAs are ideally positioned to become product managers,
because of their team skills and their general management
orientation.
Mohanbir Sawhney
McCormick Tribune Professor of Technology
Kellogg School of Management
Presentation to TMP High-Tech Club

April 16, 2007
THANK YOU
www.powerpoint4u.blogspot.com
www.bookfiesta4u.blogspot.com

Everything You Wanted To Know-Product Management

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Everything You Wanted To Know-Product Management

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Everything You Wanted to Know about Product Management

(but were afraid to ask!)

– There is a lot of ambiguity about the roles and responsibilities of product

– We have conducted depth interviews with 25 product managers in a wide

What is product management?

As a product manager, I have a responsibility to my

What is product management?

Convert the value proposition

Take the offering and the

• Less authority and direct influence

EMERGING Market Maturity MATURE

Product Product Product Product

Responsibilities: Responsibilities: Responsibilities: Responsibilities:

Customer Human capital/

• Meet ship dates • Customer satisfaction score goals • Recruitment goals

• Market share goals • Support sales in deals

• Achieving product release milestones

Evaluation Metric Yes No

Product Profitability 61.5% 38.5%

Market Share 46.9% 53.1%

Customer Satisfaction 19.7% 80.3%

What is product management?

Product Customer Market Process

Knowledge Domain Importance

Product knowledge 8.65

Competitor knowledge 8.21

Company business knowledge 8.00

Macro environmental knowledge 7.61

• Ability to juggle competing demands on time and to prioritize activities

• Passion for the product

What is product management?

Dimensions of product management performance

– Ability to understand and anticipate customer needs

Number of Obs = 193

• Product managers should be the company’s voice to customers

Presentation to TMP High-Tech Club

You might also like