Product Management
A Comprehensive Approach

Written By
Kelly Jones

Content Created By
David Hennessey
Kelly Jones
Andy Lomasky

Contents
Introduction

3

Value Identification

4

Praxis Solution

5

Summary

9

Introduction
Are you stuck in the weeds of product management, looking to get fresh perspective on the big picture? Do you work outside product management and want to know more about how it works? This paper breaks product management into phases and offers a methodology that’s proven to lead to greater product management success.
Value Identification
There is not a single fix that will eliminate all pitfalls and pain points associated with product management within an enterprise.
But if you understand where your organization feels pain – where those problems are affecting people and outcomes
– you can target those problem areas and resolve them efficiently and effectively.
Praxis Solution
The phases of this product management methodology encompass the entire product management spectrum: strategic and tactical capabilities, plus “stractical” ones that bring the two ends of the spectrum together.
Product Strategy
Gain Insight, Set Direction
How to Get Stractical
Plan
Product Execution
Do (Deliver), Operate
Summary
This holistic approach to product management minimizes the pain that is felt when gaps exist along the product management spectrum.

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Introduction
Are you stuck in the weeds of product management, looking to get fresh perspective on the big picture? Do you find that it’s increasingly challenging to know how you can better hit the mark with your customers while meeting business objectives and building products as efficiently and effectively as possible? This paper offers a methodology that’s proven to lead to smoother execution and greater product management success.
To understand the scope of this paper, it is important to understand the definition of product. A product can be a consumer good, method, idea, information, object, service, or piece of software. The traits of a product are:




It has value, though not necessarily financial value, that can be realized by a customer.
It is the end result of a process and serves a need or want of a market.
It can include a set of tangible and/or intangible attributes (benefits, features, functions, uses).

Products are the representation of an exchange of value between companies and customers. When defining a product, it also important to understand that products are sometimes part of a product portfolio, like a beverage line (see Figure 1). Within the product portfolio are product families, like soft drinks. Within the product families are product lines, such as
Coca-Cola. And within product lines are products, like Diet Coke, that have product features, such as carbonation and artificial sweetener.
Figure 1 – Jabian’s View of the Product Hierarchy

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To understand product management, we’ll look at the organizational capabilities that are needed to determine everything from the direction of a product portfolio to the requirements of the product features.
Value Identification
Why consider a new product management methodology? If an enterprise is experiencing pain because of problems in the product management organization, that pain can be alleviated. While there is not a single product management fix that will eliminate all pain points in a company, understanding where your organization feels pain – where those problems are affecting people and outcomes – enables you to target those problem areas and resolve them efficiently and effectively.
Organizational pain is felt when a gap, or poor execution, exists in either the activities that create a product strategy or the activities that are required to execute on a product strategy. You can determine which of these activities to target by analyzing the symptoms of the pain (see Figure 2).