In vigorously competitive markets characterised by compressed product life spans, increased competition, and profit pressure, you need to understand how to assess the performance of your current product or service within the context of established business plans and marketing programs, and how to revise your strategies and tactics to sustain the product. This two- to three-day workshop is intended for product managers, marketing personnel, project managers and other development personnel to address how to monitor the marketplace and competition, plan your product, analyze profitability, launch your product, extend its life and finally, phase-out your product at the end of its life.
1. Product Lifecycle Management Introduction and Objectives
- Common Issues
- Definition and Introduction
- Maintaining the Big Picture
- The Eleven Steps in Managing the Product Lifecycle
2. Capture Ideas for New Products and Product Enhancements
- Sources of Ideas for New Products
- Ideation – Capturing and Evaluating Ideas
- Making the Decision to Investigate a New Product Idea
- Supporting Tools and Ideation Systems
- Exercise – Working with an Idea Management System
3. Analyze Markets and Plan Products
- Market Segment Analysis
- Market Segments – How Broad or Narrow
- Market Definition Exercise
- Define the Target Market
- Identify Characteristics of the Customers in the Target Market Segment
- Position the Product
- Product Positioning Exercise
- Product Planning and Developing the Product Strategy
- Product Roadmaps – Define the Evolution of the Product or Product Line
- Relating Product Roadmaps to Market Segments
- Identify Supporting Technology Development with Roadmaps
- Exercise – Create a Product Roadmap
4. Manage the Project and Product Portfolio
- Portfolio Management Goals
- Portfolio Management Elements
- Goal 1: Methods to Maximize Portfolio Value
- Net Present Value Method
- Development Productivity Index Method
- Scoring Model Method
- Ranking Projects and Determining the Cutoff
- Goal 2: Methods to Achieve Balance Across Projects
- Analyzed Balance with Bubble Diagrams
- Analyze Mix with Pie Charts
- Goal 3: Methods to Link Portfolio to Strategy
- Strategic Allocation Method
- Product Roadmap Method
- An Overall Approach to Portfolio Management
- Linking Portfolio Management and the Gate Review Process
- Integrating the Business Plan with Portfolio Management
- Exercise – Prioritizing and Ranking the Portfolio
5. Initiate the Development Project
- Developing a Preliminary Budget and Schedule
- Considerations in Developing a Realistic Business Case
- Exercise – Building a Business Case
- Developing the Project Plan
- Assessing and Managing Risk and Uncertainty
- Gathering Voice of the Customer (VOC) – the First Step to Developing a Successful Product
- Develop a Plan for Gathering VOC
- What Information is Needed – Using the Appropriate VOC Methods to Gather the Type of Information Needed
- Findings on Best Practices
- Product Development Process Flow
6. Conduct Gate Reviews to Improve Chances of Success
- Gate Review Definition and Objectives
- Gate Review Package – Essential Information
- Gate Reviews – Two-Part Decision
- Gate Review Decisions and Outputs
- Exercise to Develop Gate Review Criteria
- The Project Scorecard
- Gate Review Ground Rules
- Hard vs. Soft Gates
- Lean Gate Review Process and Best Practices
7. Manage the Product Development Pipeline
- Elements of Pipeline Management
- Effects of Overloading Personnel and Task Switching
- Defining Capacity and Resources Available
- Defining Project Resource Requirements
- Planning Overall Resource Requirements
- Actions to Address Resource Overload
- Addressing Bottlenecks
- Insuring a Smooth Flow Through the Product Pipeline
- Lean Product Development Practices to Improve Pipeline Flow
- Release Work or Initiate Projects Only When Capacity is Available (Pull Scheduling)
- Schedule vs. Utilization Trade-Off
- Minimize Projects (Work-in-Process) in the Pipeline to Minimize Queue Time & Concentrate Resources
- Exercise with Software Tool to Perform Resource Planning
- Pipeline Management Performance Measurement
8. Manage Product Data over Its Lifecycle
- Product and Project Data and Data Relationships
- Defining the Product Data Release and Change Workflow
- Collaboration Capabilities and View and Mark-up Capabilities
- Managing Changes to Product Data
- Managing the Digital Product Model and Digital Documents with a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) System
- Best Practices for Managing Product Data, Configuration Management and Version Control
- Changing to a Paperless Paradigm
9. Launch Products
- Developing a Product Launch Plan
- Managing Product Launch as a Project
- Establish Realistic Sales Forecasts
- Timing the Launch to Maximize Results
- Planning and Managing Product Promotion
- Planning and Managing the Production Ramp-Up
- Conducting a Production Readiness Review and Product Launch Review
- Set Launch Goals and Measure Results
- The Product Launch Checklist
10. Support Products During Their Life
- Provide a Total Solution Rather than Sell a Product
- Planning and Managing Customer Support
- Customer Support – a Cost Center or a Profit Center?
- How Effective Customer Support Can Increase Sales
- Establish a Customer Support Strategy and Plan
- Establish Maintenance and Repair Strategy
- Create Listening Posts to Capture Ideas for Improvements
- Intuit Video
11. Monitor and Extend Product Life
- Monitor Product Performance
- Performance to Business Case
- Performance to Forecast
- Assess Product Profitability
- Exercise – Analyze Product Performance
- Determining Causes of Under-Performance
- Competitive Actions
- Emerging Product Alternatives
- Shifts in the Market and Demand
- Determine Needed Actions – Updating the Product Strategy
- Upgrading or Enhancing a Product
- Cost Reducing a Product
- Re-Positioning a Product
- Re-Launch Products to Extend their Lifecycle
12. Phase out Products at the End of Their Life
- Determining When a Product Should Be Phased-Out
- Developing a Plan for Phasing Out Products
- Communicating Product Phase-Outs to Customers
- Provide Customers with Alternatives and Migration Paths
- Managing the Phase-Out Activities
13. Product Lifecycle Management Process and Summary
- Where Does Product Management Fit in the Organization
- Alternatives for the Product Management Function
- The Product Committee
- The Product Manager
- Roles and Responsibilities for Managing the Product Lifecycle
- Summary of Key Points
- Final Questions and Discussion