Where will BRM find themselves in Product Centric Organizations in the Near Future

1
Where Will BRMs Find Themselves in
Product-Centered Organizations in the Near
Future

3IT Chapter All Rights Reserved 2020
Presenter: Svetlana Sidenko, CBRM®
• Business Relationship Manager
• BRM Leadership Coach and Trainer
• Certifications: CBRM®, BRMP®, ITIL® 4 MP, ITIL® Expert,
CGEIT®, VeriSM™, PMP®, CobiT®5, TIPA Lead Assessor,
CPDE®, PRINCE2® Practitioner, Change Management
Registered Practitioner.
• Expertise: BRM, ITSM, Governance of IT
• Trainer Accreditations: BRMP® and CBRM®, ITIL® 3,
CobiT2019, ISO 20000, PMP®, Certified Process Design
Engineer®
• Experience: 25 years of experience in Management of IT
• Education: BComm in MIS (Concordia University), MSc
(Admin) in MIS JMSB Currently PhD in Business Technology,
UQO
• Founder and President of IT Chapter since 2003

Summary
• Information and Technology Operating Models are rapidly changing from previously
centered on projects and project management to models centered on product and
product management
• Software / Digital Products become number one value drivers
Changing of the Information and Technology Operating Models
• When the Product Management matures to the enterprise level, the Business
Relationship Management Role evolves
BRM Role evolves
• The shift to a “product” mindset is impacting Business Relationship Management as
a role and discipline, leaving no place for the tactical BRMs
Need for tactical BRM Role in product-centered organizations
diminishes
• Strategic BRMs who represent IT to Business will play an important role in the
transition to a product-centered model, to ensure that the business value is realised
The Strategic BRM role stays important

The Rise Of Product-Centric Application Delivery
Model
Most organizations already have or are
transitioning to product-driven delivery
Project
48%
Transition 18%
Product
34%
Source: Info-Tech, 2019
Forty percent of organizations have adopted, or plan to adopt, a product-centric
application delivery model, according to a survey* by Gartner, Inc. Gartner
predicts that this figure will reach 80 percent by 2022.
*Gartner, “Survey Analysis: IT Is Moving Quickly From Projects to Products”
Information and Technology
Operating Models are rapidly
changing from previously centered
on projects and project
management to models centered
on product and product
management. Agile methods and
lean principles are being widely
adopted to support these models.

What Are The Differences Between A Project-
Centered And A Product-Centered Organization?
Project Product
FundingFund Projects Fund Teams
Prioritization
Business Manages
Prioritization
Business Manages Prioritization
With IT Consultation
Accountability
Change Leader and Project
Owner
Product Owner and Manager
Product Management
Manage Specific Changes to
a Product
Manage the Maturity and
Support of Product
Work Allocation
Assignment of People to
Work
Assignment of Work to Teams
Capacity Management
Project Manager Manages
Capacity
Team Manages Capacity
Product delivery requires significant shifts in the way organizations complete development work
and deliver value to their stakeholders
PvP

Why Do Organizations Shift From Projects To
Products?
For corporate IT organizations it became apparent that they need to manage their applications explicitly as crucial assets
with a life cycle perspective, i.e. as software/digital products
A ”product" mindset is more suitable than a "project" mindset for prioritizing delivery of the valuable capabilities at
the time of a constant change and uncertainty
A "Product” mindset contributes to removing functional silos, increasing collaboration between cross-functional
teams towards common goals and loyalty primarily to the success of the product, rather than to a specific group
New ideas can be funded incrementally and, because of this change to the funding model, teams need different
metrics that focus on business outcomes such as customer satisfaction, and product business success
Product teams often not only develop but also operate and maintain product and its related services, enabling
cohesive and balanced end-to-end approach to the product's life cycle
The realization that companies from non-IT industries are suddenly becoming “standard software suppliers” by providing
apps to their internal customers have contributed to development of the “product” mindset

From Product Vendors To External
Consumers To Corporate IT Organizations
Corporate business demand always exceeds supply and IT organization does not have anywhere
near enough funding to satisfy it, product-centered approaches allow faster delivery of the most
important capabilities needed and force the business to prioritize the work
The willingness to understand and manage the offerings of Corporate IT Organizations as
products and services has increased
This product orientation has made these IT organizations similar to software/digital products
vendors, with the result that product management is accepted as a useful concept by the
corporate IT organizations as well
The core elements of Product Management are the same for software/digital vendors and
corporate IT organizations. The priorities may differ

What Drives Product-Centered Delivery Usage?
Source: Gartner, “Survey Analysis: IT Is Moving Quickly From Projects to Products”
https://blogs.gartner.com/deacon-wan/2018/10/24/survey-analysis-it-is-moving-quickly-from-projects-to-products

What Is a Software / Digital Product?
Product is a configuration of an organization’s resources designed
to offer value for a consumer. The product is provided to the
consumer by means of services that enable the co-creation of value
by both parties.
A product is digital when digital technology plays a significant role
in its goods, resources, or associated service interactions.
Source : ITIL ® 4
ITIL® is a registered trademark of AXELOS Limited

What Are Software / Digital Product Common
Characteristics?
Software / Digital Product is defined by business capabilities that are valuable to a
specific consumer segment. Historically, software/digital products are offered to
external consumers, however product model is also applied to any collection of
business capabilities delivered to internal consumers
Software / Digital Product can be a repeatable service to external consumer (i.e.
by subscription), marketplace products/services, business capability, value
streams, software, internal IT services, platform and technical services
Software / Digital Product is managed continuously throughout its lifecycle
Software / Digital Product has competition in the market

The History of Product Management
"Brand Man"
P&G memo
Hewlett-Packard
Founded
Toyota
Production
System
developed
Scrum and
Extreme
Programming
(XP) developed
Agile Manifesto
Product
Management
evolution in
Corporate IT
Organizations
driven by digital
transformations
1931
Product Comes to Tech
1943 1948
1975
1990s 2001 2010+

Definition Of Software/Digital Product
Management
Software product management (sometimes also referred to
as digital product management or, in the right context just product
management) is the discipline of building, implementing and
managing software or digital products , taking into account
life-cycle considerations and an audience. It is the discipline and
business process which governs a product from its inception to the
market or customer delivery and service in order to maximize
revenue. This is in contrast to software that is delivered in an ad
hoc manner, typically to a limited clientele...
Source : Wikipedia

xxxTHE ROLE OF PRODUCT
MANAGER

There Is No General Definition Of The
Product Manager Role
•Has a deep understanding of relevant Market and Customers (external or internal)
•Ensures an integrated approach across the product family, focusing on costing, budgets, and business cases
•Dealing with partnering, contracting, and SLA
•Manages full Product Lifecycle
The Product Manager is involved in Portfolio Management and provides strategic
direction
•Builds core Product and Product Assets roadmaps
•Plans releases, controls changes, ensures validation and testing, and launches releases
The Product Manager is responsible for Product Road mapping and Release Planning
•Elicits, defines, and structures Product requirements
The Product Manager manages Product requirements
•The role depends on the type of product involved, the culture, history, industry, nature of the customer (internal or
external), and many other aspects within the context of organization
•In Corporate IT organizations, the Product Manager might be involved in the steady-state operations governed by
the ITSM practices, and be directly involved in escalations and Major Incidents
The Product Manager role has many variations and covers a very wide spectrum of
responsibilities

Product managers collaborate with internal &
external stakeholders and orchestrate cross-
functional teams to align product strategies and
plans, coordinate research and innovation
initiatives, and manage resources.
Product Managers Orchestrate Many
Stakeholders
Product
Manager
Business
Partners Product
Delivery
Team
Project
Managers
Architects
ITSM Roles
Customer
Service
Legal &
Compliance
InfoSec
Marketing
Sales
Finance
Strategy

Challenges of Product Managers
The cross-functional product team is versatile and often virtual, with members from
different geographic locations or cultural backgrounds. Product Managers are
challenged to achieve “influence without authority, accountability without control”
Expectation for a Product Manager to be a “Jack of All Trades”
The role is often misused as a caretaker for any problem that comes up and, as
a result, Product Manager deals with urgent tactical problems instead of most
important strategic ones
In some organizations executives are not clear on the Product Manager’s mandate

xxxEVOLVING ROLE OF BUSINESS
RELATIONSHIP MANAGER

What is Business Relationship Management
and Who Is a BRM?
BRM embodies a set
of competencies
(knowledge, skills, and
behaviors) that foster a
productive, value-producing
relationship between a
Provider organization and
their Business
Partners. These
competencies can be
leveraged through
organizational roles, a
discipline and an
organizational capability
As an organizational role,
the BRM is a connector,
orchestrator, and
navigator between a
Provider organization and
one or more business units
Most BRMs have the role as
a full-time position
Source: Business Relationship Management Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Strategic vs Tactical Business Relationship
Manager
Strategic BRM Tactical BRM
Operates in the context of business strategy
and Provider initiatives intended to enact
business strategy.
The focus for a Strategic BRM is Demand
Shaping and business value realization,
which entails the following:
• Stimulating, surfacing, and shaping
business demand for the Provider's
products and services and ensuring
that the potential business value is
captured, optimized, and
recognized
• Emphasizing initiatives (e.g.
projects, programs, investments,
etc.) that are intended to build
business strategy
• Tends to operate in the context of Service
Management and is primarily concerned with
steady state services
• Tends to only be involved in analysis, planning
and delivery of the projects and initiatives, but not
in the decision-making and budgeting

Successful Strategic BRM…
Exhibits strategic behavior which
yield strategic opportunities and
value
Being curious and
inquisitive,
constantly and
actively listening
and observing
Possess and
display a deep
knowledge and
understanding of
the Business Model
and Operating
Model
Is first and
foremost a
business person,
and should show
an unshakable
commitment to the
pursuit of business
success and value
realization

xxx
BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
MANAGER VENUES IN PRODUCT-
CENTERED ORGANIZATION

Future Of Tactical BRM In Product-Centered
Organization
Tactical BRMs
do often
compensate for
the inefficiency of
internal IT
Service
Management
practices
Evolution of the
“Product”
mindset
diminishes the
role of BRM role
as an order taker
With the development
of Product Management
at the Enterprise level,
the tactical BRM role
will no longer be
needed

Future Of Strategic BRM In Product-Centered
Organization
Where the Product Managers are part of
the IT Organization and positioned
strategically the Strategic BRM continues
shaping demand for IT shared services
Where the Product Management model
evolves and becomes part of the
enterprise, sooner or later Strategic BRMs
will find themselves with a significant
overlap in activities and responsibilities,
even thought the roles of BRM and
Product Managers are different

BRM Venues In The Enterprise Product
Management Model Evolution
One venue for the evolution of these two
roles is to establish a powerful front
office where BRMs and Product
Managers team up to enable the delivery
of value software / digital products and
the evolution of IT services, to drive the
change and transformation business
need to go through
Another venue for Strategic BRM in
the product mode is to follow the
Enterprise Product Management
Evolution and assume the Product
Portfolio Manager role for a family of
related products, coordinating
strategy and providing strategic
guidance for requirements
prioritization

Roles Clarity Is Key
• The need for dedicated BAs diminishes, the business and system analysis due to
colocation of product owners and development staff
• There is no need for Project Managers in Product Teams
• Application Development Manager role is changing, because of self-organized
Product teams guided by the scrum master, agile coach and community of practice
managers
• Role of Product Owner is also evolving and becoming more entrepreneurial and
business-oriented
• Governance of IT and decision-making structure become more adaptive
Other roles in Product-Centric organizations are also changing,
for example
Competency model for the new and changed roles need to be
established
• Provider Organizations shall establish clarity in both roles via implementing RACI
Roles of Product Manager and Strategic Business Relationship
Manager are rapidly evolving and may ultimately overlap

References
• Software Product Management, The ISPMA-Compliant Study Guide and Handbook Hans-
Bernd Kittlaus · Samuel A. Fricker , 2017
• 3 Practices to Create Business Demand for Enhanced IT Value Beyond ‘Run the Business’ ,
2019, Gartner, By Analysts Donna Scott
• Survey Analysis: IT Is Moving Quickly From Projects to Products , 2020, Gartner, By Analysts
Bill Swanton, Matthew Hotle, Deacon D.K Wan
• Leveraging the BRM Role Is All About Business Value , 2018, Gartner, By Analysts Cassio
Dreyfuss
• Predicts 2020: Application and Product Portfolio Governance , 2019 . Gartner, By Analysts
Stefan Van Der Zijden, Matthew Hotle, Mike West, Bill Blosen, Deacon D.K Wan
• How Moving From “Project” to “Product” Affects IT Governance , 2019, Gartner, By Analysts
Remi Gulzar
• Reinventing How Teams Deliver Software as Products for the Digital World, 2017, Gartner,
By Analysis Mike Gilpin, Richard Marshall
• The Impact of the Product Model on Key Roles , 2020, Gartner, By Analysts Simon Mingay,
Donna Scott
• 2020 Strategic Roadmap to the Service-Optimizing I&T Operating Model , 2020, Gartner, By
Analysts Deb Curtis, Simon Mingay
• Mastering the Role of Products in the Digital Era, 2018, Gartner, By Analysts Donna Scott,
Mike West, Mike Gilpin
• Build a better product owner research, Info-Tech, 2019

Where will BRM find themselves in Product Centric Organizations in the Near Future

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Where will BRM find themselves in Product Centric Organizations in the Near Future

Similar to Where will BRM find themselves in Product Centric Organizations in the Near Future (20)

More from Svetlana Sidenko

More from Svetlana Sidenko (11)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Where will BRM find themselves in Product Centric Organizations in the Near Future