PCT2010 - Lean Communications - Aligning diverse teams and accelerating revenue in high tech companies

Lean Communications
Accelerating Revenue by Aligning diverse Teams in High Tech Companies
Saeed Khan
http://www.onproductmanagement.net
@saeedwkhan, @onpm (Twitter)

What is the biggest barrier companies face in effectively executing their plans?
Copyright © Saeed Khan 2010

Marketing
Strategy
Budgets
Resources
Communication
Pricing
Partnerships
Technology
Planning
Awareness
Economics

Communication

Poor communication leads to:
misaligned teams
poor or delayed decisions
reduced revenue

And what happens when communication isn’t always timely, complete or accurate?

http://www.ahajokes.com/cartoon/teamw.jpg

http://murali.weblogs.us/images/software_development1.jpg

Hidden
Communication and Decisions must be:
Timely
Complete
Accurate

Creating Successful Products
Let’s analyze the communication that occurs during the product development process

Product Strategy
ProductManagement
Inter-Team Communication
Start with product and business discussions

Product Strategy
ProductManagement
Engineering
ProductMarketing
Include Engineering and Product Marketing

Product Strategy
ProductManagement
Engineering
ProductMarketing
Marketing
Sales & Alliances
Professional Services
Technical Support
Technical Presales
Other internal groups join in

Product Strategy
Industry Analysts
Customers
ProductManagement
Engineering
ProductMarketing
Marketing
Sales & Alliances
Technical Support
Technical Presales
Technology Partners
Offshore Developers
System Integrators
OEM Partners
PR Agencies
VARs Distributors
External groups also participate

Product Strategy
Industry Analysts
Customers
ProductManagement
Engineering
ProductMarketing
Marketing
Sales & Alliances
Technical Support
Technical Presales
Technology Partners
Offshore Developers
System Integrators
OEM Partners
PR Agencies
VARs Distributors
It’s actually rather complex

Each “Team” includes many people and interactions
PR Agencies
Industry Analysts
Product Strategy
Marketing
VARs Distributors
OEM Partners
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Technology Partners
Technical Presales
System Integrators
Engineering
Technical Support
Offshore Developers
Customers

And those people are likely spread across the globe

This happens for everyreleaseof everyproductyour company sells

Is this communication model timely, complete and accurate?
Possibly.

Is this communication model efficient, adaptiveandscalable?
Absolutely not!

Is this the most efficient way to manage complex communication across diverse groups?

What can we learn from Lean Manufacturing?

Lean Production
Lean is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination.
Source: Wikipedia

Lean Production
Working from the perspective of the customer who consumes a product or service, "value" is defined as any action or process that a customer would be willing to pay for.
Basically, lean is centered on preserving value with less work.
Source: Wikipedia

Goals of Lean
Improve quality
Eliminate waste
Reduce time
Reduce total costs

Let’s look at the product development process

Complex and risky process

Delays or reduced functionality are common, if not the norm

Requires coordination of many teams

Decisions often delayed due to incomplete or untimely information

How do people “manage” this today?
Tracking Software
Status meetings
Emails, Spreadsheets
Shared Folders, Portals
Dashboards, Webinars
Conference calls
“It’s up on the Wiki”

Who does what and when?

Who does what and when?
Heavily Involved
Moderately Involved
Loosely Involved
Not Involved
3
2
1

Flow of Information and Communication
Heavily Involved
Moderately Involved
Loosely Involved
Not Involved
3
2
1

Map out key cross-team activities and define necessary deliverables at each stage for each team

Who needs information? What do they need?When do they need it?Who must provide it? How is it optimally delivered?

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
PR Agencies
Industry Analysts
Marketing
VARs Distributors
OEM Partners
Technology Partners
Technical Presales
System Integrators
Engineering
Technical Support
Offshore Developers
One Information Chain

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Information Needs along the Chain

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Start with the end “customer”
Does the product meet my needs?
Will it work in my environment?
What are the costs?
What are the benefits?

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
I need a data sheet and technical collateral
I need SKUs and pricing information
I need an ROI calculator
Who are the reference accounts I can provide?
What are the costs?

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
What does the product do?
Who can benefit from it?
What are those benefits?
How is it licensed?
How is it positioned versus the alternatives?
What are the costs?

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
How is it licensed?
What are the costs?
What market problems do we address?
How can we outflank our competitors?
What product changes do we make to maximize revenue?
What are the objectives of the release?

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Do the product goals support overall business objectives?
How can we grow our existing customer base?
What market changes will we have to react to?
What go-to-market strategy do we need?
How is it licensed?
What are the costs?

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Deliverables Created In the Chain
Market Assessment
Product Strategy
Technology Strategy
Competitive Landscape
How is it licensed?
What are the costs?

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Market Analysis
Product Strategy
Technology Strategy
How is it licensed?
What are the costs?
Market Requirements
Problem Statements
Competitive Analysis
Product Roadmap
Release Overview

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Market Analysis
Product Strategy
Technology Strategy
Product Positioning
Data Sheets
White Papers
Price booksSuccess Stories
Sales Tools
What are the costs?
Market Requirements
Problem Statements
Product Roadmap
Release Overview

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Market Analysis
Product Strategy
Technology Strategy
Product Positioning
Data Sheets
White Papers
Sales Tools
Product Presentations
ROI Analysis
Customer Business Case
Proof of Concept
What are the costs?
Market Requirements
Problem Statements
Product Roadmap
Release Overview

Product Strategy
Customers
ProductManagement
ProductMarketing
Sales & Alliances
Market Analysis
Product Strategy
Technology Strategy
Product Positioning
Data Sheets
White Papers
Sales Tools
Product Presentations
ROI Analysis
Customer Business Case
Proof of Concept
RFI/RFP
Business Justification
Implementation Plan
Market Requirements
Problem Statements
Product Roadmap
Release Overview

Implementing the Lean Communication Model

Implementing Lean Communications
Start with the Product Management and Product Marketing teams
These two teams have the most downstream impact on other teams
Analyze what you are producing and for whom?
Understand the information gaps
Is information needed by others? When? Why?
How can other teams reuse content and information you create?

Implementing Lean Communications
Map out deliverables for each stage of development process
Introduce changes to other teams during the product development and release cycle
Track the flow of documents, if possible

Product Management Deliverables
Heavily Involved
Moderately Involved
Loosely Involved
Not Involved
3
2
1

Product Management Deliverables

Define each Deliverable
Release Overview
A Release Overview is a cross-functional document aimed to provide necessary release information to downstream groups. The Overview should include the following information:
Key dates including Beta, FCS and GA
PAM changes for the given release
High level description of the release, major themes and key features
Major issues to be aware of WRT the release, including licensing changes, product repackaging etc.
Within reason, detail on each of the features that are in the release, along with key benefits of those features
Listing of any physical materials that will be created/updated for the release. This applies primarily to CDs and printed documentation, but could include other packaging items such as boxes etc.
This document is the primary resource for release information for groups such as Product Marketing, Sales Consulting, Education Services, Support, and Alliances.

Characteristics of Deliverables “Grids”
Deliverables “Grids” define a set of standard, necessary cross-team deliverables (and sometimes activities) for each group across all stages of the product development cycle

Deliverables “Grids” are product and release neutral. i.e. they can be used to standardize communication processes across teams regardless of product or release

They inform others of what must be delivered by them and what will be produced for them in any given stage of the product development cycle.

Benefits of Lean Communication
Bring teams into better alignment through out Product Development and Release process
Ensure all parties have timely information to make optimal go forward decisions that are within their area of responsibility
Enable better training and communication for those customer facing teams in a timely manner
Minimize time to revenue

Lean Communications
Accelerating Revenue by Aligning diverse Teams in High Tech Companies
Saeed Khan
http://www.onproductmanagement.net
@saeedwkhan, @onpm (Twitter)

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PCT2010 - Lean Communications - Aligning diverse teams and accelerating revenue in high tech companies

by ProductCamp Toronto on Jun 02, 2010

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