1. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Concept
Market
assessment
Product
strategy
Product
building
Marketing Sales Aftersales
Concept
development
Internet & lit
search
Feasibility
study
Product
mockup
Draft income
& cost model
Success
metrics
Market size
Customer
analysis
Value chain
design
Competitor
analysis (product
features & pricing)
EPE
competitive
advantage
Discovery calls
Pilot partners
Business case
Pricing model
Cash flow
projection
Operational
requirements
Risk
assessment
Business unit
strategy
meeting
Marketing
strategy brief
Product design
Pilot/testing
workflow
Production
team
Reporting
template
Marketing
planning
Build product
page online,
and landing
page for leads
Marketing
collateral &
sales script
Set up
campaign on
Salesforce
Sales rep
training
Call campaign
Account
management
Planning for
scale
Upselling/
Renewal
Analytics
monitoring
Client reporting
Survey
Product design
improvement
NPD TEMPLATE
Go or No Go
Leadership Approval

2. Product Roadmap Best Practices
8-Step Process
1. Define product concept
2. Feasibility study
3. Market assessment
4. Rank products
5. Define timeline: from leadership approval to official launch
6. Write internal strategy brief
7. Resource planning
8. Get buy-in from team(s)

3. Defining product concept
• Monitor market & technology trends, as well as competitors’ moves
• Understand clients’ core needs and wants and define problem statement
• Consider disruption models in the education market and beyond
• Define product features and scope
• Keep it simple and focused
• Align the most important customer needs/wants with the corresponding
products/features and client benefits (value chain for clients and audience)
• Define success metrics and set KPI goals
ØIf the product is a combination of existing products that is packaged to become a
new product, collect analytics for those existing products.
ØFor existing products combo’s, create a clear value chain. Products must be position
strategically and the impact of a combination must be the sum of the existing
products’ impact, or more.
• Success metrics come first, features second

4. Feasibility study
Define the project and alternative scenarios
• Market feasibility
Access to market outlets
• Identify the potential buyers of the product/service and the associated marketing channels
• Investigate the product/service distribution/implementation system and the costs involved
• Technology requirements
• Technical processes
• Technology partners and applications
• Organizational requirements
• Editorial involvement
• Web and IT team involvement
• Existing and additional production staffing
• Capital requirements
• Partnership requirements
• Potential joint venture partners or alliances

5. Market assessment
• Market size
• Growth projection
• Competitor analysis
• EPE competitive advantage
• Value chain design
• Technical assessment: technology currently being used to address
problems
• Discovery calls
• Identify existing clients that are open to new ideas and being charter advisors
during the development of new products
• Confirming product concept: understanding clients’ core needs and wants

6. Ranking products
• Leverage the wisdom of crowds (from discovery calls)
• Alignment with organization’s vision
• Consider revenue potential and financial investment for infrastructure
and product development

7. Defining Timeline
Realistic and adapt when necessary
Leadership
approval
Proposal Pitch Pilot Launch

8. Internal Strategy Brief
• Target market’s needs
• Market size and segmentation
• Competitive landscape
• Industry trends
• Organizational goals and vision
• Historical information
• How long did it take to complete similar tasks in the past?
• What roles were needed in past projects?
• What kind of roadblocks or technical debt hindered the completion of past projects?
• Business case
• The problem statement
• Product concept & features description
• Recommendations & next steps
• Solicit feedback from internal stakeholders

9. Resource planning
• Identify required skills and experience
• Create resource profiles
• Consult with managers across EPE on existing staff members’ expertise and
bandwidth
• Identify leaders for long-term product implementation
• Quantify shortage
• Identify non-labor assets
• Technology
• Equipment
• Institutional knowledge
• Risk assessment
Risk of additional staff and investment

10. Getting teams buy-in
• Open communication
• Communicate individual product roadmap and goals/KPI’s
• Delegate actionable steps
• Listen and refine continuously
• Listen to skepticism as much as optimism
• Tell a convincing and realistic story
• Solicit team feedback as early as possible, starting from Feasibility
Study
• Build emotional connection – new product success helps teams’
success
• Don’t rush!

11. Group Project Planning Tool: ASANA