Trends Report

Improving Your Product Management Tools

Innovators Show How And Why To Do It

June 16th, 2008
Tom Grant, Ph.D., null
Tom Grant, Ph.D.
With contributors:
Eric G. Brown , Christina Lee

Summary

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? Tools specifically designed to handle product requirements exist, but most technology companies do not embrace them. The vendors that have already embraced requirements tools — smaller, younger, and often software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based — represent the future of the industry; every technology company should seriously consider the competitive advantages that a requirements tool might provide. Whether or not they decide to implement a specialized requirements tool, product managers need to re-evaluate their tool kits in light of the complex challenges they face in handling requirements.

Want to read the full report?

Contact us to become a client

This report is available for individual purchase ($1495).

Forrester helps business and technology leaders use customer obsession to accelerate growth. That means empowering you to put the customer at the center of everything you do: your leadership strategy, and operations. Becoming a customer-obsessed organization requires change — it requires being bold. We give business and technology leaders the confidence to put bold into action, shaping and guiding how to navigate today's unprecedented change in order to succeed.