Prioritizing Feature Requests by Fritz Mueller at SVPMA Monthly Event February 2001

1. Prioritizing Features
Fritz Mueller
Director of Product Management

2. Prioritizing
What gets done
Gather Requirements
Prioritize
Write the Plan
How it gets done
Defending and selling the plan
If you cannot defend the plan, the priorities will
get changed.
Fritz Mueller

3. Prioritizing
The Ideal – Do all positive Net Present
Value (NPV) projects.
Reality – What rules do you use to decide
on the tradeoffs
Fritz Mueller

4. Sources of Input
Customers
Long Term New
Fixes Technology
Embattled Competitors
Support
Prod. Mngr.
Cool Engineering
Features Sales
Fritz Mueller

5. Rule #1 – Identify the
Customer
Identify the customer or else:
You will only listen to the vocal customers
You will define too broad a group of customers
You will not solve anyone's problems or needs
Fritz Mueller

6. Rule #2 - Categorize
Big Payoff Little Payoff
Easy 1 2
Generates
Momentum
Difficult 3 X
High
Risk
Fritz Mueller

7. Rule #3 - Balance
Frequent Customer Requests
Press
Competitive Response
Engineering Ideas
Long Term Architecture Issues
New Technologies
Support
Development Costs
Fritz Mueller

8. Optimal Balance
You have to balance so what is the optimal
balance?
Most common requests
Press Demo Features
Competitive Response
Lifecycle of Product
Target Market
Fritz Mueller

9. Rule #4 – Disruptive Change
While you are refining the product some
else is redefining the space.
Be the first to sound the alarm and state a
response plan with a reasonable first step.
Fritz Mueller

10. Customer Input Risks
What customers ask for and buy are
different
Understand why do customers stay with
you
Technical vocal minority vs. silent majority
Fritz Mueller

11. Causes of Confusion
If you cannot decide on a plan then.
Too diverse a customer set or not sure who
the customer is.
Not confident about defending the plan
Market is changing
You saturated the market
Fritz Mueller

12. Handling Confusion
If you cannot decide on a plan then.
Too diverse a customer set. – split the line and
segment the market or focus.
Not confident about defending the plan – talk
to more customers
Market is changing – new product line needed
or company must change
You saturated the market – expand the
definition of the market you are in.
If you still cannot decide then the company
may be in trouble and have no safe
direction
Fritz Mueller

13. Rule #5 –Don’t Forget the
Basics
Who is the customer?
What do they value?
Is the product consistent with the
marketing plan?
Is the product consistent with the
corporate strategy?
Don’t go into a market half way. Do go in
one step at a time. (Honda)
Fritz Mueller

14. Implementing the Plan
The biggest problem is defending your
plan because any plan you come up with
will be questioned.
Fritz Mueller

15. Rule #6 – Sell the Plan
You will never make everyone happy.
Since not everyone is happy you need to
convince everyone that you have the best
possible plan and any other plan would be
worse.
Fritz Mueller

16. Interested Parties
Sales,
Customers
Senior
Mngmt. Eng.
Prod. Mngr.
Fritz Mueller

17. Selling the Plan
Senior Management
Q: Why are we doing …?
A: Strategic answer
Sales
Q: When do we get…?
A: The most requested features are … and we are
working on them.
Engineering
Statement: I am going to build…
Response: Customers don’t want it or they won’t pay for it
or it will take too long to build.
Customer
Q: Why should I care about…?
A: It will solve a huge problem for you.
Fritz Mueller

18. Senior Management
This is our customer…
This is why they buy…
This is where the market is going…
This is why we will win…
Therefore the product plan has these
features…
Fritz Mueller

19. From PM to CEO
Successful corporate strategy Corporate Strategy
is built from the bottom up.
Product Strategy
Customer Requests
Fritz Mueller

20. Summary
#1 - Identify the Customer
#2 - Categorize
#3 - Balance
#4 - Watch Disruptive Change
#5 - Basics
#6 - Sell the Plan
Fritz Mueller