Product development at the smallest scale requires clear, consistent communication to ensure everyone involved in building the product is on the same page. The more complex a product gets, the more opportunities there are for communication to break down. Manufacturers of complex products will turn to scaled agile frameworks to keep their teams aligned and working efficiently on big projects.
Product portfolio management is far more involved than managing a specific product model. It involves monitoring, analyzing, and strategically assessing multiple product lines to ensure all models are meeting the needs of the target customer. To successfully manage a product portfolio, companies need to take into account their current and potential offerings while maintaining profitability.
Have you ever bought a product and wondered why it had so many features or ones that seemed unnecessary? Many products hit the market every year, but only a selection of those are successful. The ones that succeed do so because they meet the needs and wants of the target customer, which, in most cases, is the result of regular testing, iterations, and practical product critique sessions.
It takes many people to design and develop an amazing product. Many companies with large complex hardware, software, or cyber physical products can have numerous teams working simultaneously and in tandem with each other to ensure the best model makes it to the market. Successful products happen when great minds and teams work together. While it’s easy to imagine that this collaboration happens organically, the reality is that teamwork needs to be fostered.
Your company has created a product your customers love, and your sales team and distributors can hardly keep up with the demand. While your team is basking in the launch's success, you also know that it's only a matter of time before the competition launches something new. Unless you also introduce a new feature, you may lose some of your customers. Your team needs to focus on idea generation and prioritization to stay competitive.
Product development teams are always eager to improve their products. This passion for the product and quest to make improvements leads to a flood of ideas pouring in on a regular basis. Naturally, everyone who submits an idea believes their suggestion is great and should be implemented. While their idea may be good, that doesn’t guarantee it’s the right idea to focus on next. Product development decisions need support from data and research.
The world of product management encounters an array of technical terms, phrases, and acronyms that can confuse even seasoned professionals in the product management realm. To aid both aspiring product managers and those who want to master their field, we’ve created this comprehensive glossary of fifty essential product management terms and their definitions to help you collaborate better with your colleagues and boost your knowledge.
One of the most novel product development trends is the integration of AI technologies in the development process; product managers are among the top ten user groups of artificial intelligence systems in organizations today, with a recent study by IBM highlighting that 21% of product managers use this technology on a daily basis. The benefits of AI and machine learning are that product managers and development teams can use them to fuel growth and gain a competitive advantage.
In 2019, the movie Ford vs. Ferarri (starring Matt Damon, Christian Bale, and Catriona Balfe) relaunched the tale of the iconic win by Ford over Ferrari on the Le Man racetrack in 1966 back into the minds of racing fans. The equally impressive feat is how Ford came back to defeat Ferrari yet again in 2016, fifty years after the original win. How did they do it, and why does it matter? Here's a rundown of the significance of the Le Mans race to the automotive industry and the tenacity of the Ford development teams to pull off stunning wins against the odds.
What comes first, the product or the platform? Asking the question of what should come first, the product or the platform, is similar to asking whether the egg came before the chicken. There is no cut-and-dry answer as to which order is better; companies have tried both to varying results. While the answer to the chicken and egg question is more philosophical, the question about products and platforms is best answered based on a company's structure, goals, and resources.
