Agile Roadmapping: Plan, Execute & Re-Plan

Transcription

1 Agile Roadmapping: Plan, Execute & Re-Plan Jason Tanner President, Enthiosys Motivated from Within About Jason Tanner President of Enthiosys Product Management Product Marketing Project Management Sales Engineer Network Engineer Marine Infantry Officer CSM and CSP Cinderella s castle Space Mtn 1

2 A Roadmap Should Be A living document designed to answer key strategic questions: Who are my desirable markets / market segments? What do they care about? When / how often should I serve them? What factors must I consider? What technologies can I leverage? How should I adjust my plans and goals relative to these answers? Roadmaps are Scary Forces you to articulate what you are not going to build Makes you commit to an uncertain future 2

3 Benefits of a Roadmap Roadmaps identify and clarify the tactical and strategic intent of your product Internally: Becomes the filter for backlog prioritization Builds consensus around direction Ensures the ship is headed in the right direction Avoids the last/loudest priority problem Externally: Provides customers with access to near-term commitments and long term points of view Binds customers to your company Typical Roadmap Failures No visible logic Created unilaterally Lack of buy-in Poor technical and market inputs No plan for internal or external sharing 3

4 Often See Feature Wish Lists June 09 Sept 09 Dec 09 Mar 10 June 10 Thundercloud Version 3.01 Security Patch Better Scalability Client Access SDK Jayko Version 3.2 New platform support Security Management Scalability enhancements Usability improvements Better Integration* Idaho Version 4.0 SaaS Offering Extra fast install Comprehensive Platforms Multi-site Collaboration Oracle Support 7 Successful Creation of Roadmaps Need Active participation of key constituents Product Management, Engineering (architects), Marketing, Support, next-level product strategists Extended in-person working sessions Time to research issues Quarterly reviews and updates Clear (written) distribution plan Easy to say, hard to do 4

5 What Kinds of Questions? How big is my market? How are we perceived relative to competitors? Which packaging design will increase sales? What do customers want in the next release? Which distribution channel is best for my market? How are customers changing? How can I prepare for this? What features should be in the next release? What kind of products could we add to our product mix? A Simple Template Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Customer Groups Features and Benefits Architecture and Systems Events and Rhythms Scheduling 5

6 Markets & Users Short names and descriptions or segmentation characteristics Can be very simple, can attach common personas found in each segment Focus on the markets this product serves Example: Small Office < 75 employees Limited CapEx budgets Need support and services Buy from trusted referrals 11 Market Segmentation The process of dividing a total market into groups consisting of entities who have similar attributes product needs / problems they re solving demographics / social class / purchase behavior Many uses: market sizing how big? how much money? promotion: how do I reach them? product mgmt: how do I serve them? 6

7 Many Ways To Segment Strong Very Weak Weak Knowledge of Security Very Strong >= 3 yr 2 3 yr <= 1 yr 1 2 yr Experience With Product Motivated Forced Indifferent Perceived Motivation To Use Product Feature / Benefit Map Only the features that move the needle! Q310 Q410 Q111 Q211 Q311 F: Managed Service B: Rapid, easy deployment B: Low initial cost F: Installed onsite B: Privacy, customization F: Fixed benefit plans B: No hard work or cost in designing a new plan Customer Growth F: Installed onsite B: Privacy, customization Describe in business terms where possible Beta Launch Development Beta Launch 7

8 Use a Low-Tech Approach to Start Speeds collaboration Easy to change Can be transcribed into tools for sharing & distribution once the plan settles Roadmapping Best Practices Use legends (colors, shapes, etc.) Use versions & dates Document participants that created each version Document assumptions, facts & decisions that created each version Document possible scenario alternatives Document issues to be researched If using Visio, connect stuff up for easy moving 8

9 Questions? Thank you for your time! (919)