Product Strategy Statement Template and Strategies Across the Product Lifecycle

What’s Included in this deck Definition of Strategy Why create a strategy statement? Elements to consider in crafting a strategy Strategy statement template Example strategy statement See the NOTES view in PPT for additional information 2 ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC.

Strategy: A guiding theme for decisions How will we get from here, to there? Do we say yes or no to this opportunity? Is this tactic a higher priority than others? 3 ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC.

A Sample of Strategic Business Drivers First to market Market leader (most market share) Best in class - quality (broad market, or specific segment/industry) Lowest cost/best “value” Best in class - innovative 4 Strategy’s ultimate expression is in how we decide to spend money. © 2013 Pivotal Product Management, LLC

Product Strategy Statement Establishes a framework for the product roadmap: how we will get from “A” to “B” Explains why the company should invest in the product Gives Product Team a clear sense of what the product means to the company and to them: effort and reward Expresses key criteria for prioritization  Makes a great “elevator pitch” to use internally 5 ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC.

Elements of Product Strategy Statement for Internal Applications Primary business objectiveKey business strategy for achieving the objectiveKey IT application objectivesKey IT application strategy for meeting IT objectivesTarget competitorsPositioningRequired resources and functional programs 6 © 2013 Pivotal Product Management, LLC

Elements of a Product Strategy Statement for Commercial Software Primary objectiveKey strategy for achieving the objectiveTarget segmentsTarget competitorsPositioningMarketing mix (4Ps)Required resources and functional programs 7 ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC.

Example Strategy Statement Format 8 ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC. Delivery approach and decision drivers, for example: Address key market segments first Solve particular problems first Fast iterations vs. longer and fewer cycles Target price, margin, cost Why it will be successful Competitive target and positioning How the company will make money (business model, pricing strategy) Marketing and channel strategies Why this product is being developed How it fits with company mission & strengths Target market and size of opportunity

Strategy Statement Example Product X is targeted at the estimated 8,500 organizations in the US who have software development teams of 100 or more. In addition to contributing $4.5MM to top-line revenues in the next 24 months, Product X is the first in a line of products that will help us transition to a product-focused company. Product X is the means by which we and our clients will measure the impact of adopting Agile methods. No such product currently exists in the market. We will deploy the product during consulting engagements and clients will want to continue using it to measure their progress after the engagement ends. Product revenues will be based on an annual subscription fee based on the size of the development teams being tracked. We have an opportunity to be first to market, so we will use an MVP strategy organized around our Agile transformation engagement model. We anticipate releasing core baselining functionality first, followed by diagnostic capability and then management and financial reporting. We need to demo at least diagnostic capability by Agile ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC.

PLC Stages & Strategies for Internal Applications 10 PhaseIntroductionGrowthMaturityDecline Customer Goal Validate planned benefits Maximize benefitMinimize TCOReplace it ProductBasic/MVPBuild toward “complete” Reduce issues, steady state Dated, unstable, un-supported platforms Investment Enough to prove value Maximize valueMaximize ROIDon’t spend any more! PrioritizationHighest business value in least time Next level business value Stability, supportabilityCritical bugs only Launch Strategy Pilot: educate, validate Full roll-out, fast adoption, frequent updates Update only as needed to meet customer goal None! IntroductionGrowthMaturityDecline Time PLC Stage Sales Profit ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC. 10

PLC Stages & Strategies for Commerical Products 11 CustomersInnovatorsEarly AdoptersMiddle MajorityLaggards Customer Goal Competitive edge via risk Safety, pain avoidance Safety, pain avoidance and a good price Don’t want it, regardless Marketing Objective Awareness/ trial Market shareMaximize profitRetire/replace ProductBasicExtensionsFull lineBest sellers Price Intro/skimming PenetrationCompetitiveMaintain profit DistributionSelectiveBroadenExtendedProfitable only PromotionTargeted; educate Broader; differentiate Sustaining; loyaltyMinimize IntroductionGrowthMaturityDecline Time PLC Stage Sales Profit From Kotler, Marketing Management ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC.

For More Strategy Help 12 Pivotal Product Management provides award-winning product management training, consulting, coaching, and skills assessment. Please contact us if you have questions about using this tool. Visit our website for more Product Management best practices, free tools, and templates. Pivotal Product Management ©2006 Pivotal Product Management, LLC.