FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR

CREATING AN EFFECTIVE
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
OPTIMIZATION PLAN
CRITICAL ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER IN ORDER TO
SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFORM YOUR ORGANIZATION.

WHITE PAPER
INTRODUCTION
Having established the massive potential ROI and upside of optimizing Product Management in your
organization in our last white paper, The ROI of Optimizing Product Management, we will now consider
what optimization consists of and how you can approach it.

Most organizations make the mistake of not taking a holistic approach when attempting to improve
Product Management at their companies. Oftentimes they only send Product Managers to a one-time
generic training course, where they learn a few fundamental skills. Sometimes a company will create a
few templates for key documents to try to standardize how the
Product Managers work. Additionally, the company may look at Five Factors to Consider when
their process, roles and responsibilities and other areas to try to Creating a Product Management
make piecemeal changes. Optimization Plan

All of this makes an impact, though it is not as effective as 1. Well-defined and well-
it could be. Consider the impact that can be made by a understood product process
comprehensive 1-2 year program that covers all aspects in 2. Clear roles and responsibilities
parallel. Think of it like tuning up an old automobile. You can with corresponding skills training
replace the spark plugs and get a little better performance. 3. Executives who are educated
Or change the oil a few months later. Then get new tires in about the benefits of great
another year. However, imagine the increase in performance Product Management
if you identified all of the issues with the automobile upfront
4. Achieving excellence in all parts
and made all of these improvements in parallel.
of the product lifecycle
These are the key elements that the 280 Group looks at when 5. Standardized planning and
helping a company build an optimization plan: strategy documents

1. Your Overall Process

Are there multiple processes being used at your company? The 280 Group Challenges in Product
Management Survey showed that having multiple processes caused significantly more challenges that
make Product Management far less effective in organizations.i Are your Product Managers and other
groups clear about what the process is and how to follow it? Is your process simply too heavyweight
and cumbersome? Does your process integrate with all of the development methodologies adopted
at your company? Putting a crisp, clear and well-understood process in place is key to making your Product
Management organization as effective as possible.

2. The Roles, Responsibilities and Skills of Your Product Managers, Product Marketers
and Those They Interact With
Without clarity on what they are responsible for, and being taught the corresponding skills no
employee can be very effective. Less than 2% of Product Managers have ever gone through formal
training.ii Product Managers come from widely varying backgrounds and are expected, for the
most par t, to learn their profession on the job. As a result many Product Managers and Product

i  “Challenges in Product Management Survey”, 280 Group LLC. 2015.

ii  “Five Critical Strategies to Succeed in Your Product Management Career”, 280 Group LLC. 2014.

280 GROUP: FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN 2 OF 10
Marketers do not have the foundational skill sets to work effectively together. Clarifying what the core
responsibilities are for your Product Managers and giving them customized training to ensure they have the
right skill set is key to increasing their effectiveness.

3. Buy-in and Understanding of the Importance of Product Management from Your Executive Team
A 2014 survey showed that 75% of Product Managers do not believe that their executives understand
their role in the company.iii If executives do not understand the role of Product Management and the
benefits they will get from optimizing it, making changes in your organization will be an uphill battle.
If you do not have suppor t from your executive team and stakeholders, then running an educational
evangelism campaign around this can help build suppor t for your assets. Educating your executives so
that they understand why great Product Management will help them is key to the success of your Product
Management optimization program.

Note: See our white paper Five Techniques to Get Your Executives to Suppor t Product Management for
more tips on getting this executive buy-in.

4. A
 nalysis of All Parts of the Product Lifecycle to Understand Where Your Company Is Strong
and Where It Needs Improvement
Most companies are good at two or three of the phases in the overall product lifecycle, such as
conceiving products and planning or launching. Yet they lack skills and focus on other critical areas such
as retiring products correctly, influencing engineering or maximizing revenues once the products are
released. It is very impor tant that your Product Managers and Product Marketers understand and have
the right skill set for each phase of the product lifecycle. Making sure that you achieve excellence in all
phases of the product lifecycle is critical for maximizing product success.

5. Standardization of Key Documents and Process Elements Based on Best Practices

In many companies various groups do things far differently from each other. One group creates a
business plan in a completely different manner than the others. Another group launches products in
a way that is not consistent and may not apply best practices. While you need to be able to adapt for
different products, markets, customers, etc. having a general set of documents to set a baseline will get
everyone on the same page. A standard set of documents will also allow different groups to leverage
the work of others while seeing their successes and failures. Standardizing your planning and strategy
documents will go a long way towards making Product Management more effective.

To help you create your optimization plan we have included an optimization plan checklist. Using this
will ensure that you are considering the most critical aspects that need to be addressed in your plan as
you create it.

iii  “LinkedIn Group Survey”, 280 Group LLC. 2014.

280 GROUP: FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN 3 OF 10
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN CHECKLIST
The following is a checklist for you to use as you plan out how to fully optimize your Product
Management organization. Feel free to add your own criteria and share this with others and your team
to get buy-in and cooperation for your efforts.

Note: This is a small subset of what the 280 Group provides when performing an assessment and
building out a plan for you as par t of their consulting practice. If you would like a free quote for an
assessment and custom plan please contact us.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
PROCESS ANALYSIS YES/NO DETAILS
Does your company focus only on one or two areas of Yes
the overall product lifecycle process? (See the Optimal
Product Process™ graphic at the end of this document No
to compare your process to best practices).*

Does your company use a consistent process across all Yes

teams at your company?**
No

Are there areas that, if improved, would make your Yes

profits higher and your products significantly more
successful? No

Is it clear who owns each par t of the process? Yes

No

Does your Product Management process integrate well Yes

with all of the development processes being used at
your company? No

For more questions on process improvements see our white paper 10 Questions to Get Your Product Management Process in Order
*
56% of respondents said there is too much focus on development and QA, while other phases of the product lifecycle are ignored.i
**
49.2% of companies do not use a consistent process across all teams at their company and experienced significantly more
challenges as a result.i

280 GROUP: FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN 4 OF 10
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES CLARITY YES/NO DETAILS
Are the Product Management and Product Marketing Yes
roles clear to all par ties in your company?
No

Have you created DACI charts to clarify roles in critical Yes

decision making?
No

Have you created RACI char ts to clarify roles for each Yes
activity?
No

If you are using Agile development methodologies are Yes

your Product Managers also acting as Product Owners*
No

*
69.9% of companies using Agile development methodologies had their Product Managers also acting as Product Owners.i

280 GROUP: FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN 5 OF 10
SKILL LEVEL OF PRODUCT MANAGERS
Do all of your Product Managers have an acceptable skill level in the foundations of Product
Management? These include skills such as:

FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS YES/NO DETAILS

Voice of the customer Yes

No
Creating business cases Yes

No
Competitive analysis Yes

No
Market and customer research Yes

No
Setting the vision and strategy for products Yes

No
Positioning and messaging Yes

No
Writing and executing product launch plans Yes

No
Gathering, prioritizing and communicating customer Yes
needs
No
Effectively retiring products Yes

No

44.7% of survey respondents said the skill level of their Product Managers varies greatly and 56% indicated that the skill level of
their Product Managers was average or below.1

Are there people skills or advanced skills that your Product Managers need to learn? These can include
skills such as:

PEOPLE AND ADVANCED SKILLS YES/NO DETAILS

Influencing without formal authority Yes
No
Negotiation Yes
No
Leadership Yes
No
Working more effectively with Agile development Yes
teams No
Cer tifications Yes
No

280 GROUP: FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN 6 OF 10
What skills are your Product Managers strongest at? What are they weakest at?

STRONGEST WEAKEST

For more information on Product Manager skill sets see our whitepaper Five Skill Sets Every Product Manager Needs

EXECUTIVE AND STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT

EXECUTIVE SUPPORT YES/NO DETAILS
Do you have the suppor t of senior executives at your Yes
company to make changes and optimize the Product
Management function? No

Is there a good understanding of the role of Product Yes

Management and the corresponding benefits in your
company? No

Do you need to do an educational and evangelism Yes

campaign around this?
No

Only 29.3% of respondents indicated that their executive team completely understands what Product Management is and the value
it provides to the company.i

280 GROUP: FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN 7 OF 10
STANDARDIZED DOCUMENTS AND TEMPLATES
Do you have standardized documents for all of the phases in the lifecycle including:

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES CLARITY YES/NO DETAILS

Business Case Yes

No
Market Needs/Requirements Yes

No
Product Description/Requirements Yes

No
Market Strategy Yes

No
Beta Plan Yes

No
Launch Plan Yes

No
Marketing Plan Yes

No
End of Life Plan Yes

No

SWOT ANALYSIS
Based upon your findings from the checklist perform a SWOT analysis on your Product Management
organization.

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

280 GROUP: FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN 8 OF 10
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
What resources, products and services could you bring in to help you optimize rapidly? Some
examples include:

RESOURCES YES/NO DETAILS

Consultants to do an analysis of your Product Yes
Management organization and create a plan for you.
No

Foundational training covering the key skills necessary Yes

throughout the entire product lifecycle.
No

Training covering people skills, influencing without Yes

authority and how to step up and become a product
leader. No

Training focused on working effectively in Agile Yes

development environments.
No

Coaches for teams or individuals to help take them to Yes

the next level.
No

Standardized templates for all of your key documents. Yes

No

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Figure 1: Learn more about the Optimal Product Process.

280 GROUP: FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT OPTIMIZATION PLAN 9 OF 10
OPTIMIZE YOUR TEAM
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