Software Product Management: Finding the Right Balance for YourProduct Inc.

494 Pages·2019·12.814 MB·English

by  Timo Wagenblatt

Management for Professionals
Timo Wagenblatt
Software Product
Management
Finding the Right Balance
for YourProduct Inc.
Management for Professionals
The Springer series Management for Professionals comprises high-level business
and management books for executives. The authors are experienced business
professionals and renowned professors who combine scientific background, best
practice, and entrepreneurial vision to provide powerful insights into how to
achieve business excellence.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10101
Timo Wagenblatt
Software Product
Management
Finding the Right Balance
for YourProduct Inc.
123
Timo Wagenblatt
Bornheim, Germany
ISSN 2192-8096 ISSN 2192-810X (electronic)
Managementfor Professionals
ISBN978-3-030-19870-1 ISBN978-3-030-19871-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19871-8
©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2019
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard
tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
For Yvonne, Lena, and Leo
Preface
I’m a stranger in a strange land …
I started in Software Product Management right after I graduated from univer-
sity, which is unusual because most people begin their careers in “respectable”
professions such as software development, sales, or consulting.
Since then, I have worked for more than 20 years in Software Product Man-
agement,andIhaveneverbeenanythingelseotherthanaproductmanager.Yes,I
have had all kinds of titles, such as System Analyst, Business Analyst, Solution
Manager, Director of Solution Management, Director of Product Management,
Senior Development Manager, Product Manager, Product Owner, Chief Product
Owner,HeadofProduct,HeadofProductArea,VPProductManagement,andthat
is likely not the complete list, but I have always been a product manager.
Throughouttheyears,Ireadcountlessbooks,articles,andblogsandparticipated
in many training sessions. I have always thought that something is missing in all
theselearningactivities.Don’tgetmewrong,therearemanybrilliantbooks,blogs,
andpodcastsavailableoutthere.Therearefantasticvirtualandclassroomtrainings.
I gained a lot from all of these and many were brilliant and inspirational. I got
educated in different frameworks that mostly seemed sound and reasonable.
I learned about tools and methods to improve my personal bag of tricks. I learned
about the different interpretations and biases in Software Product Management.
Still, I did not feel fully truly equipped for the day-to-day challenges, as the
focus of all the above was on introducing individual tools, or on one dedicated
product management aspect, but nothing on the most critical, yet foundational
challenges. I was lacking guidance on what is most important for my products in
my context. Where should we focus our time and work efforts? How can I engage
the team and the entire organization? How can I find the right balance?
I found little to no guidance to equip me properly for my day-to-day job as a
product manager. Therefore, I invented the Product Yield Potential Radar frame-
work early on in my career. Since then, I constantly think about and experiment
how to master the job and strengthen the essential focus, alignment, and engage-
ment for product teams and entire organizations.
vii
viii Preface
ItappedintoaSoftwareProductManagementcareerbyafortunatecoincidence.
Ijoinedalocal1start-upcompanywhereIdirectlyreportedtotheco-founderofthe
company.AstheCTO,hewasresponsibleforproductengineeringwhilehisbrother
tookcareofthefinance,sales,andservicesdepartmentsofthecompany.Atfirst,I
didn’trecognizethat IwaslearningfirsthandaboutSoftware Product Management
because in those days the term Software Product Management was not well estab-
lished far in the woods of Southwest Germany and it had not been a topic at
university either.
Inhindsight,Iexperiencedafantasticopportunitybybeginningmycareerinthis
start-up. It allowed me to gain insights in all aspects of a software company, but
more importantly into all diverse activities of successfully managing software
products.WhenIjoinedCAS,therewereonlyabout40employeesandagilityand
can-do attitude was the only way to survive (and get the next paycheck). Those
were the days where I began organizing learning lessons about Software Product
Management, first for myself, then for my team that I established in the start-up.
Duetooursuccess,IwashiredbySAPwhereIlearnedaboutthegood,thebad,
and the ugly working in a multi-billion, global enterprise. However, my Software
Product Management philosophy remained the foundation of my work. The main
thing is the product, everything else is secondary.
Ibasicallystartedthesamecareerpathandlearningcycleoveragain—justona
slightly bigger scale. Again, I started as an individual contributor responsible for
one product and became responsible for a product management team over time.
With my experiences from working in a 40 people start-up to a 90,000 people
globalenterprise,IcouldhoneandimprovetheProductYieldPotentialRadaruntil
it became today’s framework.
WhyamIwritingthis?Itisnottotellyouhowwellmycareerprogressed;itis
about context as context is important in Software Product Management. Different
products and different companies need different types of Software Product Man-
agementorganizations,processes,andgovernancemodels.However,Ilearnedthat
any software product company regardless of size, location, or maturity needs to
master focus, alignment, and finding the right balance for everything that matters
forasuccessfulproductnomatterthecontext.Somepeoplewouldcallthis:product
mindset.Iwillnotgetintoanydefinitionsordetailshereaboutproductmindset,as
theentirebookandmyframeworkareatitscoreaboutinstillingaproductmindset
to any product organization.
Asamanagerofproductmanagers,Iwaslikelymoreacoachthanatraditional
manager.I’maproductmanagerbyheartandSoftwareProductManagementismy
passion.IwantedtosharewhatIlearnedaboutSoftwareProductManagementand
with that help “my product managers” to be successful. My experiences and my
viewofSoftwareProductManagementmanifestedthemselvesintheProductYield
Potential Radar framework.
1Localbeingthekeyattributehere.
Preface ix
Ever since my early days at university, I have always wanted to write a book.
I always had this thought, I just never started. Triggered by many questions from
others about the Product Yield Potential Radar, and inspired by Toni Morrison’s2
quote:“Ifthere’sabookyoureallywanttoreadbutithasn’tbeenwrittenyet,then
youmust write it,”Itook ToniMorrison’squote as mynorth starandIdecidedto
write this book as a New Year’s resolution in 2018.
Over the last few months, I have put my heart and soul into this book with the
hope and motivation that everyone can benefit and improve in this strange land of
SoftwareProductManagement.Myhopeandmotivationinwritingthisbookisthat
it will help you to become an excellent product manager, working with a great
product team in a product-led organization. It has been a long and rollercoaster
journey, but writing this book helped me to become a better product manager.
I have been reflecting and thinking about everything I know on Software Product
Management.IthoughtabouteverythingIbelievein,everythingItookforgranted
in my day-to-day dealings, and the best way to structure and explain the Product
Yield Potential framework to people.
ItookToniMorrison’squoteasmynorthstarforwritingthisbook.Mygoalin
writing this book about Software Product Management is to provide practicable,
usable information and recommendations with all one needs to be successful in
“product.” I was looking for a practical framework that could be applied in all
day-to-day business activities, which would help me find the right balance for my
product and my context.
In this book, you’ll learn how to
(cid:129) plan, coordinate, and execute activities required for software products
– consider all product dimensions along the product life cycle and
– align all product stakeholders inside and outside the organization
(cid:129) bearolemodelofproductmindsetandanambassadorofholisticproductfocus
(cid:129) findtherightbalancefordeliveringcustomervalueandlong-termproductsuccess.
Adopting the Product Yield Potential Radar (short: PYPR) is like going to the
gym. You start with PYPR because you want to improve yourself as a product
manager, Software Product Management as function and the product mindset in
yourorganization.Yougotothegymfor30minutes,comebackhome,lookinthe
mirror and you see … nothing. The next day you do the same thing again. Still
nothing. You do this for a week and you might think, I should stop, there is no
effect and there will be no effect.
Or you continue and after a few months, maybe a year, you will recognize that
you are in good shape, and others likely will have recognized it already.
2ToniMorrisonisaNobelPrize-winningAmericanauthor.
x Preface
Who Should Read This Book
The bookfocuses ontheunique challenges of working in “product” orany related
roles, whether you are a founder of a small to midsized software company or
working in the complex ecosystems of large software enterprises or corporate IT
departments.
This book is for product managers, product owners, product marketing man-
agers, VPs of Product, CEOs, and start-up founders and anyone interested per-
sonallyorprofessionallyinSoftwareProductManagement.Itrulybelievethatyou,
your product team, your product, and with that your customers and your organi-
zation can benefit from this book.
Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner, new to Software Product Management,
orjustwanttolearnmoreaboutthebest-of-alldisciplinesandadvanceyourskills,
this book offers a comprehensive overview for beginners as well as proven prac-
tices, a novel, holistic methodology, and in-depth tools for experienced product
managers.
How This Book Is Organized
Myadviceisthatyoureadthebookfromstarttotheend.Youwillgetsomeuseful
nuggets out of every chapter that you can put to work immediately.
Thebookiscomposedofthreeparts.Thefirstpartprovidestherequiredcontext
andintroducesanovelSoftwareProductManagementframework.Thesecondpart
details every aspect of leveraging the Product Yield Potential framework, and the
third part provides case studies about how product managers and product teams
have successfully adopted the Product Yield Potential Radar framework.
Part I will set the scene and provides a robust foundation.
Chapter1leadsyouthroughadefinitionofSoftwareProductManagementinthe
context of this book, the role of software product managers and product teams,
rounded off with data-driven insights and a broad view about “the State of the
Software Product Management nation” supported by recent survey results.
Chapter 2 introduces a novel and “business” tested way to structure the vital
dimensions of Software Product Management. You will learn how to create focus
and alignment on the things that matter for product success. You will learn about
the Product Yield Potential Radar and how this framework can drive an ongoing
discipline that helps the whole product team and product organization to
(cid:129) understand all the required ingredients for product success in your context
(cid:129) consistently assess the weak and strong parts when holistically assessing your
product
(cid:129) decide, based on a common understanding where focus and time investments
are required
(cid:129) find the right balance for product longevity and continuous improvement.