This document introduces three tools that can help make a product management team world-class: 1) A Product Management Maturity Model that defines levels of maturity across key areas like vision/strategy and processes. 2) A Product Management Audit Framework that assesses products and enablers against a lifecycle. 3) A Product Management Activity Framework that maps activities against strategic/tactical and operational/commercial dimensions. These tools help identify issues, clarify roles, decide on improvements, and make teams world-class by providing a balanced and leading perspective that drives product performance. Product Focus offers related training, reviews, and assessments.

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Cambridge Product Management Network
3 tools to make your product
management world class
Ian Lunn
Thanks to our sponsors

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Product Focus – who are we?
Europe’s leading product management & product marketing
training business with a focus on Telecoms, IT and software
Ian Lunn
Founding Director

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Product Management Journals
Sign up for free at www.productfocus.com/journal.php

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Our experience …
 Product Management reviews and assessments
run by product Focus
 Around a dozen over the last 3 years
 Reviews with the Head of Product Management
prior to training
 In-depth assessments of the whole product
function

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Key learnings …
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The product management role is not
clearly understood
 Roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined
 Interfaces with other departments are fuzzy
 No-one really knows what to expect from product
managers
 Senior management often don’t have a lot of
experience
 The way it’s done is different from business to
business (and even within the same business)

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Three tools we use …
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Product Management
Maturity Model
Product Management
Activity Framework
Product Management
Audit Framework

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Product Management
Maturity Model
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The value of maturity models
 Maturity models help us know what ‘good’ looks
like
 Provide guidance
 Areas of product management to consider
 Typical behaviours to look out for and how these
change as companies mature
 Provide a start point
 One model doesn’t fit all businesses
 Performance will vary over time and across the
company

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Product Management
Maturity Model

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Vision, strategy and leadership
Level 1 : ad-hoc
PM lacks leadership
Senior management
have little PM
experience
Weak vision from
above and regularly
changing priorities
Tactical focus and a
lack of product
strategy
Level 2 : managed
Head of PM in place
Insights from PM are
regularly sought by
senior management
PM team
understands
company vision
Product strategies
based on market
insights
Level 3 : Leading
PM on the Board
PM leading within
the business
Full alignment of
vision & strategy
down the business
PM seen as the
'voice of the market'

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Structure, organisation & governance
Level 1 : ad-hoc
Lack of structure -
confusion on who
does what
Not all products are
managed
Work overloads and
unmet commitments
Little governance
Level 2 : managed
Roles and
responsibilities clear
PM in place for all
products.
Things get done
Governance
approach is 'one
size fits all‘
Level 3 : Leading
Well established
roles &
responsibilities
agreed with all
interfacing
departments
PM driving product
performance
improvement
Decision making
process is clear &
appropriate to size
and risk

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People
Level 1 : ad-hoc
Reactive and
tactical. Lots of fire-
fighting by "heroes"
PMs not valued by
rest of the business.
Lacking influence
and authority to say
'no'
No PM training
Level 2 : managed
Strategic focus as
well as tactical work
PMs accepted
across the business
Some PMs trained in
some areas e.g.
marketing, Scrum
Product Owner
Level 3 : Leading
High-performing,
benchmarked and
well-balanced team -
measured &
rewarded on KPIs
PMs well respected -
everyone wants to
work here!
All PMs trained on
Product
Management.
Ongoing learning
and development

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Systems, templates, tools and checklists
Level 1 : ad-hoc
Few tools, templates
& systems to support
activities
Market insight and
product knowledge
held in individuals'
heads
Level 2 : managed
Templates, tools &
checklists in place
for all key activities
Systems to store
information on
market insights,
projects and
products
Level 3 : Leading
Tools evaluated
against best practice
and revised to keep
optimal
Market insights,
project and product
information
systematically
collated and actively
disseminated

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Processes
Level 1 : ad-hoc
Few standard
processes - often
sacrificed under
pressure
Few (or no) reports
Level 2 : managed
Processes defined
and used for key PM
activities
Product reporting in
place
Level 3 : Leading
Processes well
established,
monitored and
continually improved
Reporting
systematically used
to track performance
and inform decision
making

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Product Management
Maturity Model

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Product Management
Audit Framework
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Product Management Audit Framework
 Is based on the
 Product life-cycle
 Product management enablers
 A structured framework to help businesses
 Recognise the things they should be doing
 Decide what could be done better
 Communicate findings
 Target their efforts

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Product Management Audit Framework

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Product Management
Activity Framework
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Product Management Activity Framework

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Product Management Activity Framework

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Product Management Activity Framework

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The 3 fundamentals for world
class product management
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World class product management
1. Providing a balanced view for the business
2. Leading rather than responding
3. Driving product performance
Operational
Commercial
Technical
TacticalStrategic

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Wrap-up
 I’ve shown 3 tools you can use to understand, explain
and improve product management in your business
 They will help you to …
 Identify issues
 Clarify roles
 Decide what you can do better
 Make your product management team world class
 If you’d like some support or an independent view we can
help

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What we offer…
Product Management and Product Marketing for
Telecoms, IT and Software
 3 day course – runs regularly in London
 A thorough grounding in all aspects of the roles
 Tools, templates and checklists and best practice
 Certification
Reviews and Assessments
 Looking at the whole product function
 Helping to make sure that things are
set up for success

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Q&A
ian.lunn@productfocus.com
www.productfocus.com
+44 (0) 207 099 567