Product management grew out of a realization that customer focus and product knowledge was critical to building suсessful products. However, not all organizations have embraced the revectored responsibilities brought by this change. Many organizations still run as “feature factories” focused on “more” delivery and not “what” or “why”. In this model Product Managers function as development handlers, meant to increase speed and hit dates. The importance of focusing on outcomes and not how many tickets are delivered is paramount to success in today’s competitive landscape. Resource waste on the wrong features can be all it takes for a competitor to displace the cash cow. In this PRODUCTIZED talk, Michael Rutledge, Senior Product Manager at OLX Group, dives deep on what defines customer value delivery, a Product Manager’s role in the cycle, the attributes of a high functioning delivery organization, and the challenges of migrating between models.

1. HELLO!
I’m Mike Rutledge
© 2018 Michael Rutledge

2. © 2018 Michael Rutledge 2
Move from a Feature Factory to
Value Creation Organization
© 2018 Michael Rutledge

3. WHAT IS A FEATURE FACTORY?
Sitting in the factory, cranking out features, and sending them down the line
J O N C U T L E R
Lack of product strategy,
understanding of
customer experience.
Large batches,
shiny objects.
Success is binary
feature deliveries,
lack of failure.
No connection from
delivery to value.
© 2018 Michael Rutledge

4. ExecutionStrategy
VALUE OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Responsible to digest diverse data sets to develop a
single strategic vision, and then lead the execution.
© 2018 Michael Rutledge

5. ExecutionStrategy comes from
internal and siloed
sources. No one
manages product
strategy.
Product Managers are
used as development
coordinators or project
managers.
MOST COMMON PROBLEM
Businesses with immature product
management functions
© 2018 Michael Rutledge

6. Market research
User research
A/B Testing
Silo’ed organizationalobjectives
Sales, customer
service, etc.
Revenue & marketteams
HIPPO
UNBALANCED TEAM FOCUS
© 2018 Michael Rutledge
External Internal

7. SHUTTING DOWN THE FACTORY
© 2018 Michael Rutledge
Customer focus
Data democratization
Balance short & long term
thinking

8. PM
UXD
Bus
Tech
• Product vision
• Long term strategy
• Big hypotheses
Executive ideas & insights
Customer service & sales
Competitor analysis
User research
User analytics
Market research
UX vision
© 2018 Michael Rutledge
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAM BALANCE

9. ExecutionStrategy
Executive ideas & insights
Customer service & sales
Competitor analysis
User research
User analytics
Market research
UX vision
© 2018 Michael Rutledge
ENHANCED STRATEGIC FUNCTION

10. © 2018 Michael Rutledge
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Thank You!
© 2018 Michael Rutledge