For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

From Tech Product Management To Social Product Management

Social Media Compel Qualitative Changes In Tech Product Management

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., October 20, 2009

As tools change, so does the work that people do. In many technology companies, the traditional role of product manager and product marketer may not sufficiently accommodate the full implications of social media tools in product decision-making. Even . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Tech Product Management/Marketing Job And Department Profiler  (427 KB XLS)

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., October 1, 2009

This tool helps product management/product marketing (PM) leaders define the job description for a particular PM in their departments. The output of this tool compares the individual PM to industry baselines for different PM job categories, such as product . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

In Hard Economic Times, Technology Companies Must Make Implementation The Priority

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., September 15, 2009

As the current recession continues, and technology buyers keep a keen eye on total costs, missing or poorly defined implementation capabilities can stop new purchases short. Technology vendors must put implementation program design and execution high . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

War Games Help Top Leaders Build Better Strategies

Booz Allen Hamilton Organizes War Games For Business And Government

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., September 15, 2009

Booz Allen Hamilton's war-gaming practice uses highly structured, well-researched simulations to give business and government leaders more insight into strategies and their consequences. War games began as a tool for militaries to suggest and test new . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

When Looking For Product Insights, Not All Social Media Are Created Equal

The Choice Of Social Media Depends On The B2B Question Asked

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., July 10, 2009

"Location" — the "L" in Forrester's PLOT method for applying social media to product management decision-making — deserves special attention. The landscape of social media is now so broad, the tools so varied, and the creation costs so (relatively) low . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

PLOT: A Social Media Strategy To Make Better Development Decisions

Social Media Compel Product Managers To Learn A New Requirements Discipline

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., July 8, 2009

Social media provide a wealth of information that might help technology vendors make better decisions about products and services. To maximize the value of the answers, and the speed with which product managers can find them, Forrester recommends an approach . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Social Media Lower The Risks Of Bad Requirements

Product Managers Must Master The Inbound Side Of The Groundswell

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., June 8, 2009

To date, technology vendors have based product decisions on meager, skewed, and unreliable information, with predictable results. Schedule slips, user rejection, and other expensive problems are directly attributable to this highly flawed customer and . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

From Agile Development To Agile Engagement

Agile Might Start In Development, But It Can't Stop There

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., May 6, 2009

Agile development practices continue to spread across development functions in technology companies. When technology companies adopt Agile practices in the development organization, these changes have ripple effects on other departments whose work is . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Company Agility Evaluator  (145 KB XLS)

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., February 24, 2009

This tool helps measure agility on two levels: 1) the speed with which a development team that employs Agile methods can adapt and deliver; 2) the ability of other groups within the company to work effectively with the development team. The tool also . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

The ROI Of Improved Requirements  (112 KB XLS)

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., February 4, 2009

Calculate the likely benefit, measured in revenue from product sales, for implementing a requirements tool. In the process, identify the product issues that may need greater attention.

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Offshore Product Development Requires Onshore Product Management

The Arguments For Greater Scrutiny Increase

by Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D., Tom Grant, Ph.D., January 29, 2009

Recent developments in the IT services industry illustrate broader risks associated with outsourcing technology product development. While outsourcing is and should remain an arrow in the quiver of development options, product management must play a major . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Emerging Energy Technologies Open Opportunities For The Technology Industry

And No, We're Not Talking Just About Green IT

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., January 20, 2009

The global drive to research and deploy new energy technologies creates major opportunities for technology companies. Information technology — from collaboration tools to custom-built research applications, from asset management tools to customer relationship . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Serious Games Uncover Serious Requirements

by TJ Keitt, Tom Grant, Ph.D., November 19, 2008

Serious gaming provides an alternate way to collect and analyze product requirements. An increasing number of companies are using serious games to inform product decisions. At the same time, a small number of serious gaming vendors have emerged, providing . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

SaaS Dictates Different Product Management Priorities

SaaS Imperatives Shape The Product Manager Role

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., November 3, 2008

Being a product manager for a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product is not exactly the same job for an on-premise product. To a great degree, a product manager's responsibilities and deliverables depend on the degree of ambition the company has in leveraging . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Agile Product Management Makes Agile Technology Companies

Product Managers Needed To Take Full Advantage Of Agile

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., October 7, 2008

Getting the most out of Agile development practices inside technology companies depends, in part, on the role that product managers play. At the minimum, Agile makes product managers responsible for helping the development team make smart product decisions . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Inquiry Insights: Agile Development

The Demand Exists, But People Need Help To Get Started

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., October 6, 2008

Inquiries from Forrester clients clearly indicate that Agile adoption is in an early stage. Questions from our clients point to challenges crafting a concrete understanding of the specific benefits and costs Agile would bring to their organizations. The . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Inquiry Insights: CRM Customers Focus On Business Processes, Not Technologies

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., August 21, 2008

In the past 18 months, the questions we've received about customer relationship management (CRM) software show that people implementing these applications are more focused on business processes than technology. These results have important implications . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Beyond Innovation: Adding Adoption To Your Business Objectives

Unchecked Innovation And Competition Can Leave Your Customers Behind

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., July 25, 2008

Vendor strategists compete in an industry of constant change and innovation, and they have to build and sell new features and capabilities to an increasingly business-minded buyer. The dynamics of the tech sector leads vendors to focus too much on the . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Product Managers Are Working On The Wrong Things

Inbound Tasks Must Take Priority

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., July 18, 2008

In the technology industry, product management has a unique, strategic responsibility that is not shared with anyone else in the company: matching product and market requirements to decisions about products and services. Unfortunately, product managers . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Improving Your Product Management Tools

Innovators Show How And Why To Do It

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., June 16, 2008

Most product managers rely on tools — predominantly, Microsoft Office — that do not adequately support them. The information in question is critical to any technology company: What do customers really need, and, by extension, what should we be providing? . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

The End Of Product Development

Tech Vendors Will Focus On Building Value For Clients, Not Just Products

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., April 15, 2008

Technology companies labor for months or years on new products, only to find that customers are disappointed with the results. The culprit behind these mistakes is the product development cycle itself, as well as the unchallenged assumptions behind it. . . .