• SiriusDecisions has identified six assumptions that product management leaders should incorporate into their planning for 2019
  • The rise of SaaS, agile and lean concepts has increased pressure to adapt quickly to meet customer needs, and drive customer retention and recurring revenue growth
  • Learn more about these trends by downloading the SiriusDecisions Product Management Planning Assumptions for 2019

Product management is in the midst of a major and fundamental shift in B2B organizations. In the past decade, it has evolved from an often misunderstood and understaffed function with nebulous responsibilities to one that is commonly regarded as crucial to the strategy and ongoing growth of an organization. Major changes in market dynamics – everything from the rise of the subscription economy and software as a service (SaaS) to established leaders being threatened by disruptive innovators – have put the function of product management in the spotlight in many organizations.

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Despite the increased recognition of product management as a key function, and growth in the discipline, there are still challenges, and there is certainly room for improvement. It is with this in mind that SiriusDecisions has compiled its “Product Management: Planning Assumptions 2019” research brief, which covers six key areas product management leaders should focus on to enable improvements in the product management function – and the growth and success of the company – during the coming year. To learn the details of the full report, please download a copy or sign up for our August 27 webcast, during which Lisa Singer and I will be discussing these trends in more detail.

Here’s a summary of five of the key trends we believe product management leaders should be focusing on in 2019:

  • Customer understanding: formalizing the process for leveraging sales input. As product teams seek to become “more strategic,” rather than simply being order takers for sales, best-in-class product management functions put formal processes, venues and technologies in place to proactively collect, evaluate and respond to sales requests.
  • Product portfolio investment decisions: quick approaches for evaluating innovation ideas. More product leaders want to “cast the net wide” to collect product ideas, and want to quickly collect and act on feedback. However, a clear process and criteria are needed to ensure that ideas are properly vetted and refined when they’re submitted to enable the organization to focus limited resources on the best opportunities.
  • Pricing and packaging strategy: value propositions – more than just messaging. Many product management leaders are driving the adoption of value-based pricing to maximize the value of their offerings through their pricing and packaging approaches. As part of this development and vetting, a value proposition needs to become much more than a messaging exercise, and must expand to include a focus on the economic benefits of the offering as a precursor for product development.
  • Product innovation and lifecycle process: recognizing the value of standard processes. The increased popularity of agile and lean methods has caused some organizations to see “process” as a dirty word, over-rotating toward quick and frequent delivery of product updates above all else. However, data available through the SiriusDecisions Command Center® shows that the most successful organizations are more likely to have standardized innovation and go-to-market processes in place.
  • Agile enablement: finding the connections between the development process and business decisions. Product management leaders need to ensure that the focus on rapid development and delivery that comes with agile doesn’t cause product managers to be overly focused on day-to-day, sprint-to-sprint tactical activities and ignore how these connect to elements of product strategy that are pivotal in driving growth.

Product management leaders need to make sure they stay current with trends and changes in the market and set up their teams for success. Download a copy of the SiriusDecisions’ Product Management: Planning Assumptions 2019 to learn more about these five trends  – and one more  –  to stay ahead of the curve, or listen to this on-demand webcast to hear Lisa Singer and I discuss these trends in more detail.