Roman Pichler

JANUARY 12, 2017

The Strategy Canvas. The Strategy Canvas was developed by Kim and Mauborgne, the authors of Blue Ocean Theory. It was originally intended as a business strategy tool to discover new markets. Luckily, the canvas can also be applied to individual products, as the following example illustrates. [1]. The Strategy Canvas above ranks the first iPhone against its rivals, including the Nokia N95 and the BlackBerry Curve.

Strategy

Roman Pichler

JULY 20, 2016

1 Focus on Goals and Benefits. Whenever you are faced with an agile, dynamic environment—be it that your product is young and is experiencing significant change or that the market is dynamic with new competitors or technologies introducing change, you should work with a goal-oriented product roadmap, sometimes also referred to as theme-based. Goal-oriented roadmaps focus on goals or objectives like acquiring customers, increasing engagement, and removing technical debt.

Roadmap

Roman Pichler

OCTOBER 7, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] You Can’t See Further than the Next Three Months A product roadmap should be a realistic forecast that states the specific value a product is likely to offer in the next 12 months. [1] Creating such a forecast is not always feasible, especially when you work on a new, innovative product. If you can’t see further than the next three months, then do not use a product roadmap.

Roadmap

Roman Pichler

SEPTEMBER 2, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Product Strategy Discovery Explained What is product strategy discovery? In a nutshell, it’s about finding a problem worth solving. More precisely, it is the process of developing a product strategy whose implementation will likely create the desired value and impact. It applies to a brand-new product as well as an existing one whose current strategy is no longer valid, for example, as market conditions change.

Product Research

Roman Pichler

AUGUST 12, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] The Core Product Team Product teams come in different shapes and sizes. But all product teams I have seen consisted of the person in charge of the product—the product manager or Scrum product owner —and development team members. Together, they form the core product team. [1] Depending on the number and size of the development teams, you may want to include all development team members or ask the teams to nominate representatives to join the pro

Weak Development Team

Roman Pichler

JULY 8, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Involve the Right Stakeholders Stakeholders can form a large group, especially in bigger companies. [1] They might include senior management, marketing, sales, service, operations, finance, and HR. Securing everyone’s buy-in would be impractical—it would most likely take too much time. You should therefore focus on the stakeholders whose input and support you really need.

Roadmap

Roman Pichler

JUNE 10, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Traditional vs Outcome-based Roadmaps Before I share the four steps, let me briefly describe the main differences between a traditional, feature- and an outcome-based product roadmap. A traditional roadmap is essentially a list of features, which are mapped onto a timeline. Such a plan might work if there is little uncertainty, change, and innovation present, and you can correctly predict what the product should look like and do.

Roadmap

Roman Pichler

MAY 13, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Product Strategy and Change Strategy means different things to different people, so let me briefly share my definition. A product strategy describes the approach chosen to make a product successful. It achieves this by stating the product’s target users and customers, the value proposition, the business goals it should meet, and its standout features.

Customer Experience

Roman Pichler

APRIL 15, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] What are OKRs? OKRs are a method for setting and tracking goals. The acronym stands for objectives and key results. The objective is the goal, which describes what you want to achieve. The key results state the specific criteria that have to be fulfilled to meet the objective. To make this more concrete, let’s look at an example: Objective : Grow the product management team.

Roadmap

Roman Pichler

MARCH 12, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Introduction My first product management job wasn’t exactly what you call a success story: I was part of a team that was called in to help with a new product development effort, and I ended up working with the lead product manager. While I learnt a lot in the process, the resulting product sadly failed.

Research Software

Roman Pichler

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Introduction To discuss empowerment in product management, I find it helpful to distinguish three main levels of decision-making authority, product delivery, product discovery, and product strategy, as the model in Figure 1 shows. [1] Figure 1: An Empowerment Model for Product People and Teams Level one represents the authority to decide how features are detailed and guide their implementation.

Product Research

Roman Pichler

JANUARY 22, 2024

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] What Is a Product Portfolio Strategy and Why Does It Matter? A product portfolio strategy is a high-level plan that helps you maximise the value a group of products creates. It achieves this by setting overarching goals for the entire portfolio. These guide and align the strategies of the portfolio members , as Figure 1 illustrates.

Weak Development Team

Roman Pichler

DECEMBER 4, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] What is Product Discovery? Product discovery is the process of “figuring out a solution to a problem we’ve been asked to solve,” writes Marty Cagan. [1] It involves understanding and selecting user needs, exploring solutions, and choosing the most appropriate one. Let’s make this more concrete by looking at a popular product discovery tool, Teresa Torres’ Opportunity Solution Tree (OTS). [2] Before I proceed, let me point out that I am neither

Product Research

Roman Pichler

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Leading as the Person in Charge of the Product When you hear the term leadership , you might first and foremost think of a senior manager like the head of product, Director of Product Management, VP of Product, or Chief Product Officer.[ 1 ] In fact, some people argue that product leadership can only be exercised by a management role.

Leadership

Roman Pichler

OCTOBER 10, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Overview The GO Product Roadmap consists of five elements, as the image below shows: Date, name, goal, features, and metrics. The most important element is the goal: It describes the outcome you want to achieve or the benefit you want to provide. Sample goals include “acquiring new users,” “increasing conversion,” and “reducing cost.

Roadmap

Roman Pichler

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Organise the Team around a Product As the name suggests, a product team is focused on a product. This sounds simple enough. But in practice, organising teams around products can be challenging, especially when a company lacks a clear understanding of what a (digital) product is and if it does not embrace a product-led way of working.

Reporting Tools

Roman Pichler

AUGUST 15, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] 1 No Strategy The first and most crucial mistake is to have no product strategy at all. When that’s the case, a product is usually progressed based on the features requested by the users and stakeholders. As there is no strategy, objectively assessing the impact of the requests is virtually impossible.

Product Strategy

Roman Pichler

JULY 4, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Option 1: The Vision Captures Strategic Decisions Your first option is to view the product vision as a statement that captures strategic decisions like the product’s users and customers, its value proposition, and its standout features. A popular template to capture such a vision is the formula developed by Geoffrey Moore in his book Crossing the Chasm : For (target customers …) Who are dissatisfied with (the current market alternative ) Our pr

Vision

Roman Pichler

JUNE 6, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] “No Matter How it Looks at First, it’s Always a People Problem” This quote from Gerald Weinberg nicely summarises a core challenge we face as product people: Our profession is called product management, but the product part can be the easy one compared to the people challenges we sometimes face.

Construction

Roman Pichler

MAY 3, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Make Time to Keep up with Technology Trends As new technologies come and go, it’s important for you—the person in charge of the product—to stay on top of the developments. You should be aware of new trends, be able to make an informed guess if they are likely to impact your market and product, and decide if a technology needs to be further investigated.

Research Software

Roman Pichler

APRIL 4, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] The Head of Product Role in a Nutshell A head of product manages a group of product people —individuals who look after one or more products and who may be called product managers or product owners. Depending on the company size and org structure, the role might also be referred to as Director of Product Management, VP Product, and Chief Product Officer.

Feedback Software

Roman Pichler

MARCH 14, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] What Information Should a Product Strategy Provide? I like to think of the product strategy as a high-level plan that helps you realise your vision and that answers the following four questions: Who is the product for? Who are the users and, if appropriate, who are the customers? Why would people want to use and buy it?

Product Strategy

Roman Pichler

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] 1 Complement Scrum with a Product Discovery and Strategy Process Scrum is a simple framework that helps teams develop successful products. It achieves this by using sprints to create product increments, collecting feedback from users and stakeholders, and adapting the product with the insights gained. [1] As simple as this sounds, there is a catch: To create value with Scrum, you must understand who the users and customers are, why people would

Product Research

Roman Pichler

JANUARY 31, 2023

Overview The checklist below is structured according to the five elements of the product vision board. These are vision, target group, needs, product, and business goals. You can download the list together with the product vision board template by clicking on the image below. Vision Inspiring : Describes the positive change the product should create.

Vision

Roman Pichler

DECEMBER 6, 2022

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link]. The Need for Guidance and the Lack of Transactional Power. Product success is not something you can achieve on your own as a product manager or Scrum product owner. Instead, you rely on the contributions and the support of the key stakeholders , the development team members, and possibly other product people who help you manage a large product.

Leadership

Roman Pichler

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link]. 1 The Product Roadmap is a Feature-based Plan. Traditional product roadmaps are usually output-focussed plans that map a list of features, like registration, search, and reporting, onto a timeline. Such a roadmap essentially states when a piece of functionality will be delivered. This can be reassuring for customers and stakeholders.

Roadmap

Roman Pichler

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 10:10 | Recorded on September 13, 2022. The Model. An effective product strategy is key to successfully create, enhance, and manage a product. There is no point in worrying about the product details and writing user stories if a sound product strategy is missing.

Product Strategy

Roman Pichler

AUGUST 16, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. What is Empathy and What is It Not? Empathy is our capacity to understand other people’s feelings and needs, to take the perspective of another person. Empathy entails a warm-hearted, open, and kind attitude. This does not mean, though, that you must like the other person and that you must be happy and smiley all the time—nor does it mean sugar-coating messages, only telling people what they want to hear, and putting up with issues.

Product Management

Roman Pichler

JULY 5, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. The Head of Product Role. A head of product is someone who manages a group of product people—individuals who look after one or more products and who may be called product manager or product owner. Depending on the size and org structure of your company, the role might also be referred to as Chief Product Officer, VP Product, or Director of Product Management. [1].

Product Research

Roman Pichler

JUNE 7, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. 1 No Product KPIs. Imagine that you have trained hard to run a half-marathon. Shortly after the start of the race, your smart watch stops working, and you discover that you didn’t bring your phone. Consequently, you don’t know for sure how fast you are running and if you are on track to achieve your target finish time.

KPI

Roman Pichler

MAY 4, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. Why the Scrum Team is Not Enough. Scrum is a popular agile framework. Its strength is, at least partly, based on its roles with the Scrum team being the fundamental unit. This team consists of a product owner , a Scrum Master , and several developers, which are also known as development team. Forming such a team connects the person in charge of the product—the product owner—with the people who design, architect, program, test, and document the solution—the develop

Product Research

Roman Pichler

APRIL 5, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. 1 Set an Objective. Be clear on the reason why the meeting is needed. What’s the meeting about? Which outcome do you want to achieve? For example, a product strategy workshop might have the objective to identify the key changes required to achieve product-market fit. Contrast this with a sprint review meeting , which might help you determine if users can easily sign up for the product.

Product Management

Roman Pichler

MARCH 9, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. Inspiring. An inspiring vision creates a meaningful purpose for everyone involved in making the product a success including the stakeholders and development team members. It helps people understand how their work relates to a bigger whole and how their efforts create a positive change. It also allows you, as the person in charge of the product, to understand if dedicating your time and energy to the offering is worthwhile and sustainable.

Vision

Roman Pichler

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. What the Scrum Master Should Do. While the role is discussed in many books and articles, I find that it is still not always correctly understood. What’s more, it’s not uncommon in my experience that product owners have to do their job without the support of a Scrum Master or agile coach. So why is the role important? I view the Scrum Master as someone who takes care of process, collaboration, and organisational change issues.

Reporting Tools

Roman Pichler

JANUARY 11, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. Overview of the Learning Roadmap. Like a modern product roadmap, a learning roadmap states the specific outcomes or benefits you’d like to achieve to become a more competent product person, and it captures them in form of learning goals. These help you direct your learning efforts, track progress, and measure how much you have learnt.

Roadmap

Roman Pichler

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. The Four Factors Explained. To achieve lasting success, a product must fulfil the following four conditions. First, it has to address a specific need that a group of people have. Second, it has to be feasible to develop it. Third, it has to generate sufficient business benefits to justify developing it. Fourth, it must not cause any harm to its users, the wider society, and the planet.

Artificial Inteligence

Roman Pichler

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. What is Bad Performance? Before I discuss how you can help an underachieving team, let’s briefly explore what good performance looks like, assuming that an agile, Scrum-based process is used. A development team does a good job if the following three conditions are fulfilled: First, the group reliably meets the agreed sprint goals and delivers product increments that offer a great user experience and exhibit the desired software quality.

Weak Development Team