- Organizations are traditionally organized to deliver initiatives in specific periods of time. This is in contention with product-centric delivery practices. This form of delivery acknowledges the reality that solutions of all shapes and sizes deliver continual and evolving business value over their lifetime.
- Delivering multiple products together creates additional challenges because each product has its own pedigree, history, and goals.
- Product owners struggle to prioritize changes to deliver product value. This creates a gap and conflict between product and enterprise goals.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Delivering products doesn’t mean you will stop delivering projects! Product-centric delivery is intended to address the misalignment between the long-term delivery of value that organizations demand and the nature of traditional project-focused environments.
Impact and Result
- We will help you build a proposal deck to make the case to your stakeholders for product-centric delivery.
- You will build this proposal deck by answering key questions about product-centric delivery so you can identify:
- A common definition of product.
- How this form of delivery differs from traditional project-centric approaches.
- Key challenges and benefits.
- The capabilities needed to effectively own products and deliver value.
- What you are asking of stakeholders.
- A roadmap of how to get started.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.5/10
Overall Impact
$44,147
Average $ Saved
13
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Lindt & Sprungli (north America) Inc.
Guided Implementation
9/10
$2,742
2
Lamb Weston
Workshop
9/10
$34,250
20
Doug was a great facilitator and with his help we were able to get alignment on our future plans to enable product centricity. Unfortunately, work... Read More
University of Texas - Arlington
Guided Implementation
10/10
$2,599
10
Suneel was very knowledgeable. He was able to understand the issues that we are facing and help us develop a plan for incrementally moving the need... Read More
Advanced Technology Services
Guided Implementation
10/10
$137K
20
The process improvements derived from this effort will avoid time spent developing lower-priority items.
Make the Case for Product Delivery
Align your organization on the practices to deliver what matters most.
Table of Contents
Understand the role of product ownership
Make the case to your stakeholders
Appendix: Product delivery strategy communication
Executive Summary
Your Challenge
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Common Obstacles
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Info-Tech’s Approach
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Info-Tech Insight
Delivering products doesn’t mean you will stop delivering projects! Product-centric delivery is intended to address the misalignment between the long-term delivery of value that organizations demand and the nature of traditional project-focused environments.
Many executives perceive IT as being poorly aligned with business objectives
Info-Tech’s CIO Business Vision Survey data highlights the importance of IT initiatives in supporting the business in achieving its strategic goals.
However, Info-Tech’s CEO-CIO Alignment Survey (2021; N=58) data indicates that CEOs perceive IT to be poorly aligned to business’ strategic goals.
Info-Tech CEO-CIO Alignment Diagnostics, 2021 (N=58)
40% Of CEOs believe that business goals are going unsupported by IT.
34% Of business stakeholders are supporters of their IT departments (n=334).
40% Of CIOs/CEOs are misaligned on the target role for IT.
Info-Tech Insight
Great technical solutions are not the primary driver of IT success. Focusing on delivery of digital products that align with organizational goals will produce improved outcomes and will foster an improved relationship between business and IT.
Increase product success by involving IT, business, and customers in your product roadmaps, planning, and delivery
Product management and delivery seek to promote improved relationships among IT, business, and customers, a critical driver for business satisfaction.
IT |
1 |
Collaboration
IT, business, and customers work together through all stages of the product lifecycle, from market research through the roadmapping and delivery processes and into maintenance and retirement. The goal is to ensure the risks and dependencies are realized before work is committed. |
Stakeholders, Customers, and Business |
2 |
Communication
Prioritize high-value modes of communication to break down existing silos and create common understanding and alignment across functions. This approach increases transparency and visibility across the entire product lifecycle. |
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3 |
Integration
Explore methods to integrate the workflows, decision making, and toolsets among the business, IT, and customers. The goal is to become more reactive to changes in business and customer expectations and more proactive about market trends. |
Product does not mean the same thing to everyone
Do not expect a universal definition of products.
Every organization and industry has a different definition of what a product is. Organizations structure their people, processes, and technologies according to their definition of the products they manage. Conflicting product definitions between teams increase confusion and misalignment of product roadmaps.
“A product [is] something (physical or not) that is created through a process and that provides benefits to a market.” (Mike Cohn, Founding Member of Agile Alliance and Scrum Alliance) | “A product is something ... that is created and then made available to customers, usually with a distinct name or order number.” (TechTarget) | “A product is the physical object ... , software or service from which customer gets direct utility plus a number of other factors, services, and perceptions that make the product useful, desirable [and] convenient.” (Mark Curphey) |
Organizations need a common understanding of what a product is and how it pertains to the business.
This understanding needs to be accepted across the organization.
“There is not a lot of guidance in the industry on how to define [products]. This is dangerous because what will happen is that product backlogs will be formed in too many areas. All that does is create dependencies and coordination across teams … and backlogs.” (Chad Beier, “How Do You Define a Product?” Scrum.org)
Products enable the long-term and continuous delivery of value
Phase 1
Build the case for product-centric delivery
Phase 1
1.1 Define product
1.2 Define your drivers and goals
1.3 Understand the role of product ownership
1.4 Communicate what comes next
1.5 Make the case to your stakeholders
This phase will walk you through the following activities:
- Define product in your context.
- Define your drivers and goals for moving to product delivery.
- Understand the role of product ownership.
- Communicate what comes next for your transition to product.
- Lay out the case to your stakeholders.
This phase involves the following participants:
- Product owners
- Product managers
- Development team leads
- Portfolio managers
- Business analysts
Step 1.1
Define product
Activities
- 1.1.1 Define “product” in your context
- 1.1.2 Consider examples of what is (and is not) a product in your organization
- 1.1.3 Identify the differences between project and product delivery
This step involves the following participants:
- Product owners
- Product managers
- Development team leads
- Portfolio managers
- Business analysts
Outcomes of this step
- A clear definition of product in your organization’s context.
Make the Case for Product Delivery
Step 1.1 | Step 1.2 | Step 1.3 | Step 1.4 | Step 1.5 |
Exercise 1.1.1 Define “product” in your context
30-60 minutes
Output: Your enterprise/organizational definition of products and services
Participants: Product owners, Product managers, Development team leads, Portfolio managers, Business analysts
- Discuss what “product” means in your organization.
- Create a common, enterprise-wide definition for “product.”
“A product [is] something (physical or not) that is created through a process and that provides benefits to a market.” (Mike Cohn, Founding Member of Agile Alliance and Scrum Alliance) | “A product is something ... that is created and then made available to customers, usually with a distinct name or order number.” (TechTarget) | “A product is the physical object ... , software or service from which customer gets direct utility plus a number of other factors, services, and perceptions that make the product useful, desirable [and] convenient.” (Mark Curphey) |
Record the results in the Make the Case for Product-Centric Delivery Workbook.
Example: What is a product?
Not all organizations will define products in the same way. Take this as a general example:
“A tangible solution, tool, or service (physical or digital) that enables the long-term and evolving delivery of value to customers and stakeholders based on business and user requirements.”Info-Tech InsightA proper definition of product recognizes three key facts:
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How do we know what is a product?
What isn’t a product:
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You have a product if the given item...
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Exercise 1.1.2 Consider examples of what is (and is not) a product in your organization
15 minutesOutput: Examples of what is and isn’t a product in your specific context.
Participants: Product owners, Product managers, Development team leads, Portfolio managers, Business analysts
- Leverage the definition you created in exercise 1.1.1 and the explanation on the slide What is a product?
- Pick examples that effectively show the difference between products and non-products and facilitate a conversation on the ones that seem to be on the line. Specific server instances, or instances of providing a service, are worthwhile examples to consider.
- From the list you come up with, take the top three examples and put them into the Make the Case for Product Delivery Presentation Template.
What isn’t a product?
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What is a product?
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Record the results in the Make the Case for Product Delivery Workbook.
Product delivery practices should consider everything required to support it, not just what users see.
Products and services share the same foundation and best practices
For the purpose of this blueprint, product/service and product owner/service owner are used interchangeably. Product is used for consistency but would apply to services as well. | “Product” and “service” are terms that each organization needs to define to fit its culture and customers (internal and external). The most important aspect is consistent use and understanding of:
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Exercise 1.1.3 Identify the differences between project and product delivery
30-60 minutes
Output: List of differences between project and product delivery
Participants: Product owners, Product managers, Development team leads, Portfolio managers, Business analysts
- Consider project delivery and product delivery.
- Discuss what some differences are between the two.
Note: This exercise is not about identifying the advantages and disadvantages of each style of delivery. This is to identify the variation between the two.
Theme | Project Delivery (Current) | Product Delivery (Future) |
Timing | Defined start and end | Does not end until the product is no longer needed |
Funding | Funding projects | Funding products and teams |
Prioritization | LoB sponsors | Product owner |
Capacity Management | Project management | Managed by product team |
Record the results in the Make the Case for Product Delivery Workbook.
Identify the differences between a project-centric and a product-centric organization
Project | Product | |
Fund projects | — Funding –› | Fund products or teams |
Line of business sponsor | — Prioritization –› | Product owner |
Makes specific changes to a product | —Product management –› | Improves product maturity and support |
Assignment of people to work | — Work allocation –› | Assignment of work to product teams |
Project manager manages | — Capacity management –› | Team manages capacity |
Info-Tech Insights
- Product ownership should be one of your first areas of focus when transitioning from project to product delivery.
- Product delivery requires significant shifts in the way you complete development work and deliver value to your users. Make the changes that support improving end-user value and enterprise alignment.
Projects can be a mechanism for funding product changes and improvements
Projects within products
Regardless of whether you recognize yourself as a product-based or project-based shop, the same basic principles should apply. The purpose of projects is to deliver the scope of a product release. The shift to product delivery leverages a product roadmap and backlog as the mechanism for defining and managing the scope of the release. Eventually, teams progress to continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) where they can release on demand or as scheduled, requiring org change management. |
Step 1.2
Define your drivers and goals
Activities
- 1.2.1 Understand your drivers for product-centric delivery
- 1.2.2 Define the goals for your product-centric organization
This step involves the following participants:
- Product owners
- Product managers
- Development team leads
- Portfolio managers
- Business analysts
Outcomes of this step
- A clear understanding of your motivations and desired outcomes for moving to product delivery.
Make the Case for Product Delivery
Step 1.1 | Step 1.2 | Step 1.3 | Step 1.4 | Step 1.5 |
Exercise 1.2.1 Understand your drivers for product-centric delivery
30-60 minutes
Output: Organizational drivers to move to product-centric delivery.
Participants: Product owners, Product managers, Development team leads, Portfolio managers, Business analysts
- Identify your pain points in the current delivery model.
- What is the root cause of these pain points?
- How will a product-centric delivery model fix the root cause (drivers)?
Pain Points
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Root Causes
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Drivers
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Record the results in the Make the Case for Product Delivery Workbook.