No list of tasks or responsibilities captures the essence of product management. As companies grapple with the challenges with innovation, they have realized that the product manager is really the shepherd of innovation. The essential role of product management, therefore, starts with the generation of ideas, and does not end until customers adopt these ideas, and the company has assessed the assumptions and strategies for every part of the innovation process.

1. Product Management Is Really Innovation Management Product Camp Silicon Valley 2011

2. Product managers (PMs) own the bridge between the business and IT, improving the odds of successful innovation.

3. QUESTION: What is innovation?

4. Innovation creates value VALUE

5. Customers want solutions, not inventions “How important are the following factors when selecting the best vendor for a technology purchase?” The vendor's level of fit with our specific need at a specific time 31% Customers wantto be assuredthat adoptionwill succeed . . . The sales person’s ability to get things done for us 29% The sales person’s ability to understand our business problem 28% The vendor's reputation in the marketplace (e.g., a safe choice) 27% . . . not hear abouthow impressivethe technology is. Prior experience with the vendor 23% Executive-level relationships between the vendor and our company 16% Base: 152 B2B marketing professionals in the US, UK, France, and Germany(multiple responses accepted) Source: North American And European B2B Social Technographics® Online Survey, Q1 2010

6. Innovation is about mutual value CHALLENGE EXAMPLE Who “We don’t understand our customers, or what they value.” What “We have lots of ideas, but we don’t know how to choose among them.” Why “We often lose track of the business objectives behind technology adoption.” When “We never seem to deliver the technology at the right time.” How “We do too much re-engineering.”

7. Innovation isn’t just invention 2001 2005 2006 2010 2008

8. But invention is a key element of success Agile helps teamsmove swiftly andaccurately. Success depends on relationships in the team and between the team and stakeholders. Requirements are the language that describes value in the customer’s terms.

9. Even the best inventors don’t always innovate Focus on invention, not adoption.

10. Academic studies of innovation also have gaps Focus on adoption, not invention. Market share Earlymajority34% Latemajority34% Laggards16% Innovators2.5% Earlyadopters13.5%

11. Combining invention and adoption THE INNOVATION PROCESS Assess Adopt Deliver Build Test Conceive But who owns this process from start to finish?

12. QUESTION: What is a product?

13. This is a product, not a service It does not differ significantly from a SaaS product offering.

14. This is a product 10 million lines of code, plus 100 electronic controllers, each with its own IP address

15. Services might be products By productizing, companies hope to make services easier to reproduce and more predictable in their outcomes.

16. A simple definition of what product managers manage Product (n): A discrete piece of technology designed to make a valuable contribution to one or more larger solutions

17. Products define a quantum of value Compartmentalization Simplification Design Re-usability Maintenance Performance

18. QUESTION: What is product management’s role in innovation?

19. What is a product manager? Responsible for the success of a product over its entire life cycle Manages product within the larger portfolio Collects, analyzes, and prioritizes requirements Translates between languages of engineers and business users Supports teams responsible for the delivery of the technology Rewarded based on the adoption of the technology Builds long-term partnerships between technologists and business users

20. PMs shepherd products through innovation Are we capturing all the potentially good ideas? Are we building the technology in the right way? Are we delivering overall value? Assess Adopt Deliver Build Test Conceive Which ideas are worth pursuing? Is the rest of the organization ready to deliver this technology? Did we achieve the desired business outcomes?

21. And that’s how top-notch PMs see it Source: July 7, 2009, “Best Practices For Product Management And Product Marketing Leaders” report, prepared exclusively for Forrester Leadership Boards

22. QUESTION: What does this mean for job descriptions? Team structure?

23. Questions?

24. Thank you Tom Grant +1.650.581.3846 tgrant@forrester.com www.forrester.com