TEI 232: Using product roadmaps correctly, Part 3 (Portfolio Management) – with Bruce McCarthy

How product managers can extend product roadmaps to portfolio management.

Got to Part 1 of Product Roadmaps.

Got to Part 2 of Product Roadmaps.

Part 3…

Product roadmaps are one of the best-known tools and also the most misused by product managers. We have talked twice before with Bruce McCarthy, co-author of the book, Product Roadmaps Relaunched: How to Set Direction while Embracing Uncertainty, to learn how to make roadmaps work for us instead of against us. The first time was in episode 169, which was right after he wrote the book. Then we talked a year later, to see what he had learned since writing the book, which was episode 226 . This time we talk about the role of roadmaps in portfolio management. In the process, we discuss what a portfolio is, how portfolios can be created and managed, and how to construct a roadmap for a portfolio.

Also, I want to share some stories of how listeners are putting this podcast to good use. I’ll start with a friend who was considering moving from her marketing role in a non-profit organization to a larger product role in a for-profit organization. That was a really big shift in her mind — non-profit to for-profit, and a marketing role to product role. After I read the job description she was applying for, I gave her about a dozen specific episodes to listen to. After listening to them, she realized the work she was doing at the non-profit was very similar to the new product role. She just needed to switch her terminology from managing programs to managing products and put her experience in the right context for the new company. Long story short, this was an extremely competitive position with a lengthy multi-interview process, and she got the job. In the process, she about doubled her salary. Awesome! And she credits the discussions from this podcast that helped her do well in the interviews.

Wow, isn’t that a great use of this podcast! I’m am so excited the topics we discuss are really helping people and I’m working to make it even better.

If you have a story of how listening to The Everyday Innovator™ has helped you, I want to hear it. Please email directly at [email protected].

Keep reading for insights on properly applying product roadmaps and extending them to portfolio management.

Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers:

[4:28] What is a product portfolio and how does it differ from a program?

It is a set of products, also called a product line, that a company builds and sells. Hopefully, the products and the portfolio are complementary to each other. Each one should add to profitability and the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts. From a product point of view, I think of how to create a go-to-market package that’s complete. A portfolio should also include products at various points in the lifecycle.

[8:25] How should a portfolio be structured?

You can think of it from an internal or investment point of view and apply McKinsey’s Three Horizons framework. Horizon 1 is the products that are cash cows and delivering right now. Horizon 2 products are in the growth stage and will eventually become major revenue generators. Horizon 3 products are the experiments and the things that might be next. The other way to organize a portfolio is market-based. Retailers want to know that you have a broad array of products you can sell and that you have all the bases covered f...