- Global Product Management Talk is a weekly virtual twitter chat Mondays
4-5 PM PST Co-hosts @cindyfsolomon w/Adrienne Tan @brainmates w/Product
Management evangelist discussing topic & Q&A with transcript
& blogging follow-up. Global Product Management Talk on twitter
weekly twitter chat Mondays 3-4 PM PST with Product Management focus. Each week a Product Management thought leader answers questions & leads discussion on pre-posted subject during the hour, while everyone chimes in on the tweet stream.- Our speaker, Nick Coster, is a co-founder of brainmates who is passionate about the benefits of putting the customer before the technology and building products and services that delight the buyer and the user. Nick has been developing and managing products for over 13 years.
In the process of this journey he has developed a deep understanding of the way the different technologies fit together and is always amazed at the new and exciting ways that people use them.
Nick is also the brainmates in-house Product Management training facilitator. He enjoys bringing together product managers from different industries and working with them to help them deliver “market-driven” product innovation.
Nick considers himself an athlete having completed 2 full marathons (Sydney Marathon in 2003 and 2004), however in recent times it is fair to say that he is not at his athletic peak. nick coster [[email protected]] | LinkedIn
View nick coster [[email protected]]'s professional profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like nick coster [[email protected]] discover inside connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts, and business partners.
brainmates – product management people » Blog Archive » What is a Business Case?The Business Case is a document that facilitates a decision to start or continue, a new project, major product development or feature enhancement. . It should contain the information necessary for the business to make a decision. The Business Case is the one place where all relevant facts are documented and linked together into a cohesive story that has to convince the decision maker. This story tells people about the what, why, how, when, where, and how much. A word of caution, the Business...Background reading:
How to Understand and Use Net Present Value in a Business Case http://bit.ly/guzNHZ
NPV (Net Present Value) is the forecast financial outcome of a new product initiative. Calculating it will firstly tell the business if the
product initiative will return a benefit to the business relative to
the cost of financing the investment, and secondly the NPV provides a standard yardstick by which to measure one initiative against another.brainmates – product management people » Blog Archive » “How To….” Understand and Use NPV in a Business Case
This article explains how to and when to use NPV. It describes that NPV is a good measure of whether a business should embark on product development- The product manager's field guide: practical tools, exercises, and resources ... By Linda Gorchels
passage on Net Present Value and product management
http://bit.ly/lgfbrH The product manager's field guide
The ideal companion to the author's bestselling The Product Manager's Handbook, The Product Manager's Field Guide expands upon the overview and the responsibilities of product managers and delves into specific skills, abilities, and competencies to help them improve their performance. It provides readers with tools and exercises for functions such as marketing, planning, forecasting, and new product development and offers step-by-step instructions for activities designed to monitor and asses...Talk focus: the purpose of a Business Case, the process of crafting a Business Case and the role of Product Management to sell the concepts within the Business.
May 2: Crafting the Business Case | FacebookFacebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, post links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.Questions to be discussed:
Q1 What is the main purpose of the Business Case?
Q2 Are there any other outcomes that the Business Case addresses?
Q3 What is Product Managements role in the development of the the Business Case?
Q4 What information is contained in a Business Case?
Q5 What is the best way to get started writing the Business Case?
Q6 What challenges have you experienced in writing a Business Case?
Q7 What is the best way of delivering the Business Case to stakeholders?
Q8 What financial measures are used in a Business Case?
Q9 What do you do if the Business Case is not attractive?
Q10 What is the Business Case used for after it has been completed?
This week's transcript: Crafting the business case w/Nick Coster @nickcoster @brainmates bit.ly/kSPIHc #prodmgmttalk #prodmgmt #pcamp- Acronymns mentioned during talk:BC = Business CasePLC = Product Life CycleGTM = Go to MarketPLC = Product Life CycleMRD = Marketing Requirements DocumentLOI = Letter of IntentVOC = Voice of CustomerVOM = Voice of MarketNPV = Net Present ValueIRR = Internal Rate of Returndb = data baseOTW = Off the Wall or odd, bizarre, weird
Q1 What is the main purpose of the Business Case?
Macmyday A1 Outlining the background, drivers, path to achievement, revenue & cost expectations
KirstenLester A1: For justification, prioritization, visibility = reasons for biz casegander2112 A1: A BC is a document that identifies an opportunity, and a plan for attack.bdoctor A1. to prioritize the investmentsnickcoster A1) The purpose of the business case is to faciliate decision makinggander2112 A1: It should be the "What" the "How", the "Why", and also include the risks. Often the first step in a 7step PLCnickcoster A1) It does this by communicating the minimum required information to make that decision to the decision makersnickcoster A1) as @bdoctor says, it is used to determine what resources to spend and when.thefairdesmondo Damian Fawkner A1.2 provide th decision makers wth info 2 make a 'go' or 'no-go' decision 2 either develop or worthy of more investigationgander2112 @wapolanco At first the BC isn't wide, but later in the project, it will be seen by many, and must speak to them 2rcauvin #leanstartup folks use a "business model canvas" to convey hypotheses & assumptions in a business case. http://bit.ly/iudhOk
How I Document my Business Model HypothesesThe validated learning loop is the fundamental feedback loop that drives a lean startup: I do find some of Osterwalder’s blocks a bit too general for a lean startup and specifically my type of business – web apps. For instance,Q2 Are there any other outcomes that the Business Case addresses?
- KirstenLester A2: Bizcase preps depts that rqmts phase is imminent, so start thinking about what we r to accomplishjidoctor: a2: biz case could "subtly" point out weaknesses/ strengths w/i org, to help w/investment decisionnickcoster A2) Readers should know the "story" behind the Business Opportunity. Including the target market and the problem to be solved.gander2112 A2: Biz Case should highlight upside, downside, opportunity cost, impact to org, "Why we win" and what the comp. is up toVFigatelix Q2: A BC is an equivalent to a lab and helps us decide if the idea is really an opportunitynickcoster A2) It must be clear how both the market will benefit (and exchange value) and how the business plans to extract that value.jidoctor yes, @nickcoster, story shld be known, but might not be - biz case should stand on its own w/o having to tell whole backstorygander2112 A2: A BC should have a summary of the VoC efforts, and how the opportunity fits into your core competencyrcauvin W/ a business model canvas, business case is concise & is eleborated w/ explicit assumptions to be tested incrementallywapolanco This is key. BC needs to be a concise exploratory kickoff RT @bdoctor: Biz case is NOT a complete biz plan for the productKirstenLester @nickcoster well said... clear how both the market will benefit (and exchange value) & how the biz plans 2 extract that valuenickcoster A2) As the BC evolves it will also include the anticipated costs of addressing the opportunity.VFigatelix Q2: BC can also be one of the check points in a go/ no go decision
Q3 What is Product Managements role in the development of the the Business Case?
- KirstenLester A3: In lieu of exec sponsor willing to write, PM to write, but still need exec sponsor to push to exec levelsnickcoster A3) Product Management needs to own the outcome of the business case, since they will be measured against it on implementationVFigatelix Q3: PM's are and Prod Mktg are fundamental in BC input - aren't we the market and customer experts? (or wannabe)gander2112 A3: #prodmgmt is the principal architect of the Biz Case, but needs much collaboration to get the message/story/data in placercauvin @nickcoster Dangerous to look at business case as fixed. It should be assumed to be wrong and require incremental revision.gander2112 A3: As PM, I get some flimsy BC's tossed my way to flesh out. We are a first smell testnickcoster A3) The PM should always be involved in the BC development but the inputs will come from all over the business.nickcoster @rcauvin Ahh the Agile business case!! Thanks Roger.gander2112 @nickcoster re: wide inputs needed - I call this "breathing our own exhaust" A bad practicercauvin @nickcoster Need to identify & test the assumptions of the business case early & revise accordingly.VFigatelix @nickcoster can you please tell us about the agile BC?gander2112 My problem with changing/evolving BC is that selective amnesia seems to be common, and #prodmgmt gets blamed for deviationsnickcoster @gander2112 "breathing our own exhaust" - this should not be the key driver of the BC, but should still be consideredgander2112 @nickcoster It is why I live the "validate" everything life. re: Breathing our own exhaustrcauvin @VFigatelix #lean uses "agile business cases". It's about testing business hypotheses iteratively much as devs test software.Macmyday Just the way I see it @nickcoster RT A3) PM should always be involved in BC dev but inputs will come from all over the bizKirstenLester A3: In lieu of exec sponsor willing to write, PM to write, but still need exec sponsor to push to exec levels
- @nickcoster giving us the 4 Business Case stages
Stage 1 - Business Opportunity - Very high level Opportunity assessment . Who is the target Mkt, what prblm, what value? #prodmgmttalk
cindyfsolomon
~Cindy+F+Solomon~
Founder/co-host Global Product Management Talk @prodmgmttalk Host: Product Camp Radio http://bit.ly/nbw9Yr
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