Product Development

What

Product Management is the Process of managing a product from conception through cradle to grave.

Process Diagram

Product Management consists of the following major Procedures:

Conceive and Specify

1. Conceive and Create
   
   
2. Identify the Problem Being Solved
   
   
3. Identify Intended Market
   
   
4. Identify Marketing Requirements
   
   
5. Identify Technical Requirements
   
   
6. Perform SWOT Analysis
   
   
7. Identify Compatibility and Migration Strategy For Existing Customers
   
   
8. Identify Product Stakeholders
   
   
9. Name Product (AKA "Product Branding")
   
   
10. Obtain Field Input to Requirements
    
    
11. Obtain Different Location Input to Requirements
    
    
12. Position Product
    
    
13. Decide Make Versus Buy
    
    
14. Define Product Strategy
    
    
15. Analyse Competition

Develop

1. Design
   
   
2. Prototype
   
   
3. Test
   
   
4. Build
   
   
5. Decide Product Branding
   
   
6. Create Packaging
   
   
7. Convert Engineering Design to Production Design
   
   
8. Create Bill Of Materials (BOM)
   
   
9. Create Training Material
   
   
10. Create Documentation
    
    
11. Decide Sources For All Components
    
    
12. Plan Product Features and Availability Schedule

Market

1. Define Sales Policies and Procedures
   
   
2. Define Pricing (By Location, By Market, By Customer Type)
   
   
3. Define Support Policies and Procedures
   
   
4. Define and Prepare Distribution Channels
   
   
5. Create Point of Sale Material
   
   
6. Create Brochures
   
   
7. Promote Product
   
   
8. Create and Advertise Product
   
   
9. Create and Execute Media Campaign
   
   
10. Issue Press Release
    
    
11. Plan and Attend Product Launch
    
    
12. Run Product Seminars
    
    
13. Obtain Client References/Reference Accounts

Enhance and Maintain

1. Create Mid-Life Kicker
   
   
2. Issue Engineering Change Order
   
   
3. Hold Product Focus Group Sessions

Withdraw

1. Nominate Twilight Period
   
   
2. Nominate Product Withdrawal Date
   
   
3. Nominate Product Parts Availability Date

Miscellaneous Issues

1. What is the business problem the product is trying to solve?
   
   
2. Add-on products
   
   
3. Quality
   
   
4. Aesthetic
   
   
5. Ergonomic
   
   
6. Speed of development
   
   
7. Innovative
   
   
8. Creative
   
   
9. Versatile
   
   
10. Benefit to Client
    
    
11. Materials
    
    
12. Production
    
    
13. Appearance
    
    
14. Industrial good looks
    
    
15. Social Impact
    
    
16. Technological sophistication
    
    
17. Performance
    
    
18. Inexpensive
    
    
19. Flexible
    
    
20. Market leader
    
    
21. Simple to use
    
    
22. Easy to install
    
    
23. Elegant
    
    
24. Safe
    
    
25. Boring
    
    
26. Mid-life kicker
    
    
27. High margin
    
    
28. Fault free
    
    
29. Prioritising development of features
    
    
30. Schedules
    
    
31. Release matrix
    
    
32. Configuration Management
    
    
33. Migrating Client-specific features to product-generic features
    
    
34. Planning process
    
    
35. Security of intellectual property asset
    
    
36. Degree to which product is "shrink wrapped"
    
    
37. Quality of User Documentation
    
    
38. Quality of Technical Documentation
    
    
39. Managing the same product development on different hardware platforms
    
    
40. Managing the same product development on different system software platforms
    
    
41. Management of work in process
    
    
42. Meeting statutory requirements
    
    
43. Funding of new features by Clients
    
    
44. Where do ideas for new products come from?
    
    
45. Where do ideas for new features come from?
    
    
46. Technical problems?

Why

When and Where

How

Scaling

Also See

Configuration Management

Pre-Sales

Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)

Product Sales and Marketing Plan

Project Lifecycles

Requirements Management

Sales and Marketing Skills