Main takeaways: -Developing a strong relationship with sales -Experimentation for enterprise products -Roadmap development - Crafting your product vision

1. www.productschool.com
PM for Enterprise Software
by Google Product Leader

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5. Product Management for Enterprise Software
Ritwik Grover
Product Manager, Google

6. Ritwik Grover
ABOUT ME

7. ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
Market Research Cloud Computing Customer Service
Payments CRM Platform Communication
Productivity Project Management
Advertising

8. Execution
Enterprise vs Consumer PM - Unique flavors of the same discipline
Operational
Fundamental
User Personas
Business Models
Decision Making
Stakeholder Mgmt
Build Velocity
Problem Discovery
Roadmap Strategy
Problem Discovery
Prioritization

9. Collaborating with sales
● The most challenging yet critical relationship for enterprise PMs
● Stronger ties with Sales ⇒ Better products !
Experimentation for enterprise products
● Product changes are often considered disruptive
● Assessing qualitative data + moving beyond A/B testing
Creating a product vision and roadmap
● Reactive tasks vs proactive strategy
● Using customer timelines as an anchor for roadmaps
Product Management for Enterprise Software
Three areas with distinct challenges for Product Managers

10. Commercializes product offering while assimilating feedback
● 360o
perspective regarding the product - primary channel for problem discovery
● Excellent avenue to vet feature concepts prior to research / experimentation
● Deep insight regarding prevailing trends and market strategy
Often a contentious relationship, but that’s a good thing !
Collaborating with Sales
Sales is the core connective tissue between you and your customers
Sales
PM Customer

11. Prioritization
Significant disconnect between
PM and Sales priorities
Fundamental differences
concerning vision for product
Requests may be driven by the
largest customer and/or
qualitative data, not core metrics
Collaborating with Sales
The PM x Sales dynamic is fraught with several challenges
Misaligned Incentives
While somewhat dependent on
one another, product and sales
focus on a distinct set of metrics
Performance-based comp is a
large component of the sales
incentive structure
Communication
Lack of clarity regarding product
roadmaps, and reasoning for
prioritization is a point of friction
Obfuscated internal processes
make it challenging to ensure
alignment of key objectives

12. Build Empathy
Recognize the challenges Sales
faces while pitching the product
value proposition to customers
Sit in on, and lead, sales calls -
participate in pipeline reviews.
Proactively seek their perspective.
Simplify internal tools &
processes
Collaborating with Sales
Proactive communication and EQ are critical for a healthy dynamic
Stress on the ‘ Why ’
Narrow the field while reviewing
incoming feature requests and
bugs from Sales
Additional focus is critical to to
tease apart the importance of
each issue, and the true impact
Infuse Transparency
Ensure clarity regarding product
vision, and engage Sales early in
quarterly/annual roadmapping
Share reasons for deprioritizing
Sales asks, ideally supported with
core metrics/advertiser feedback

13. Customer research and experiments highlight the true impact of proposed changes
● ‘Experimentation’ covers a broad scope of initiatives - expand your toolbox
● Especially important for enterprise products, given complexity & interdependencies
● Avenue to extract learnings while mitigating risk
Experimentation for Enterprise Products
Thorough research & experimentation are critical for enterprise products
A/B Tests
Surveys Multivariate
Interviews Funnel

14. Data Quality
Fewer data points during testing
make it challenging to attain
statistical significance
Qualitative data may be easier to
come by - difficult to utilize
translate this for decision making
Experimentation for Enterprise Products
Enterprise software provides a unique set of challenges for experimentation
Validating Hypotheses
Obtaining market validation
requires time, complicates testing
Regular changes for testing are
often disruptive for customers
Challenge is especially severe for
products that are yet to scale
Testing Culture
Absence of an ingrained culture
of research and testing hinders a
more strategic process
Results in the lack of a portfolio
approach to testing, and
experiments with vaguely defined
objectives

15. Staggered Experimentation
Identify key points to include
research & experimentation
across a project lifecycle
Ensure a steady stream of both
qualitative and quantitative data
to inform decision-making
Experimentation for Enterprise Products
Strong experimentation strategy requires broadening our approach
Use a Portfolio Approach
More than just A/B + multivariate
tests - create a portfolio
approach for experimentation
Engage customers early with user
research - including surveys and
interviews - to iteratively validate
hypotheses prior to large scale
quantitative testing
Develop Testing Efficacy
Ensure experiments are designed
to inform the holistic product
strategy, not just metrics
Codify a framework for proposing
and designing experiments to
ensure quality control + output

16. Roadmapping for enterprise products is often a long-winded process
● Feature backlogs generally tend to be massive, and constantly expanding
● There may be a steady stream of last-minute requests to address
● While the core plan should be settled on a proactive basis, ~25% remains reactive
Developing a Roadmap & Vision
Crafting your vision is a balance between a proactive & reactive strategy

17. Seeing the Future
Recognizing industry trends is
especially important though a
complex undertaking
Propensity to operate in a bubble
- your roadmap is intricately tied
with that of your Customers
Planning at least 2-3 quarters
ahead is critical, but challenging
Developing a Roadmap & Vision
Beating the inflection point should be the North Star metric
Determining Timelines
Limited window for major releases
Product changes are likely
considered disruptive - requires
intricate planning to execute
Synchronizing updates with key
industry events/milestones may
complicate product development
Product Prioritization
How does one prioritize ad hoc
requests from head Customers vs
the planned roadmap?
Ideal balance between proactive
approach and a reactive strategy
is difficult to achieve

18. Manage Time & Resources
Periodic plans should be mapped
out two quarters in advance
Ensure reasonable slack in
engineering resource planning
Provides leeway for critical
requests - balances a proactive +
reactive strategy
Developing a Roadmap & Vision
A structured, collaborative approach is critical
Leverage Sales & Marketing
Engage Sales early and often
Window to understand industry
trends, Customer priorities, and
collate product feedback
Warms communication channels
prior to key launches, ensures
traction for allowlists for testing
Say ‘ No ’ Often
Recognize reasons for key feature
requests, and why they may / may
not achieve intended metrics
Ensure reasons for deprioritizing
requests are communicated, keep
the larger picture in mind

19. Product management for enterprise software requires a fundamentally different
approach than that for a consumer product.
● Sales wants to help you succeed, PMs must strive to return the favor
○ Understand their incentives, especially any compensation-based facet
● Experimentation is more than just A/B testing, use a portfolio approach
○ Qualitative data from customer research is vital, if used correctly
● Your roadmap should cater to both proactive and reactive requests
○ Disciplined approach to the former makes the latter easier
The key takeaways...

20. Thank you & good luck!
Ask questions and connect with me
ritwik-grover

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