Product managers at SolarWinds determine product features and strategy, position products in the market, support marketing and sales, analyze competition, and represent the product internally and externally. They work closely with engineering, UX, and business teams. Product managers collect requirements through customer interviews, feedback tools, sales calls, and other sources. They guide products through the entire lifecycle from planning to development to launch.

1. Product Management in SolarWinds
By SolarWinds Product Management
© 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

2. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Welcome!
» Today’s Presenters & Agenda
 Michal Hrncirik, Product Manager
 Feel free to speak up and ask your questions
» General Role of Product Management – why we need product management?
» What PMs do at SolarWinds?
» Product Management interaction at SolarWinds

3. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
What Product Managers do?
 Determine Product Features
 Product Strategy
 Product Positioning (with PMM)
 Marketing Support
 Pricing (with PMM, Finance)
 Work with Business Development (i.e., partners)
 Sales Support
 Analyze Competition

4. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
What is the scope of every PM?

5. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Why do we need Product Managers?
Why not let engineers (or whoever) figure out what goes in the product?
A Commoditized Product Succeeds by Being Customer-Driven
 We are not our target users
 It takes time to understand the target user(1-5 calls + 102 sent @/D)
 Customer-driven but constrained by strategy
 Engineers could do it, but then they’re not doing engineering
Someone has to represent the product inside and outside of SW
 PMs represent the product to everyone else within the company
 PMs represent the product to customers

6. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
How do we collect requirements in SolarWinds?
 Structured interviews with customers
 Thwack
 Product311
 Sales calls
 Feature requests via Support
 Maintenance 311
 Competition
 Internal feature suggestions

7. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PM interaction at SolarWinds
Engineering
BusinessUX
PM

8. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Product Lifecycle in SolarWinds
» Create 1-pager – typically 2 months before GA of current version
» Online-Demo requirements
» Review 1-pager – one pager exec group – GA time
» Engage UI Design team – GA time
» Enter detailed requirements into Confluence/FogBugz
» Dev sizings with PGM/Engineering rep.
» Review PMM Launch Strategy
» Iteration Reviews – UX and business
» PM is responsible for running Beta and RCs
» PM drives bug jury
» Sales, SE, and Support Training
» Pre-launch marketing activities
» RC, RTM, GA
» During the current implementation phase PM should prepare the strategy and content for upcoming
version.

9. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Ask PM
Q & A

10. © 2013 SOLARWINDS WORLDWIDE, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Thank You!
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