Course Outline

Opportunity/Feasibility Analysis

• What is the problem this product solves?
• How is the problem identified (pain)?
• What is the cost of not solving the problem?
• What do they have to do today to survive without a solution?
• Is this an established product category or is it new?
• How big (think $$) is the pain/opportunity?
• Who are the target customers?
• How well does it fit with your corporate strategy/core competencies?
• What will it cost to develop a solution to solve the problem
• Can a good return on investment be achieved with this product?

Developing the Market Requirements

• The Marketing Requirements Document (MRD)
• Defining what customers want to buy – the “whole product”
• Gathering and validating market requirements
• Developing and validating product positioning
• Establishing a winning pricing strategy
• Defining the product brand strategy
• Developing a realistic revenue forecast
• Defining a distribution strategy that supports the revenue forecast
• Understanding the competitive landscape
• Defining the product value chain – the players and where you fit

Developing the Product Specifications

• The Product Specifications Document
• Cross-functional responsibilities for a successful product launch
• Defining the product roadmap
• Decide what’s needed as the “minimum initial product requirement”?
• Lay out the feature/release schedule to start getting feedback
  

Developing the Product

• The importance of the Cross Functional Team
• Ensuring good communication
• Establishing product ownership from the start
• Creating a readiness plan for each department
• Identifying early adopter customers
• Developing marketing materials that sell

Launching the Product

• Overview of the Launch Phases
• Pre-Launch Phase
• Alpha, beta process – what is it and why is it important?
• General Availability (GA) Checklist
• Cross-functional team signoff
• Release to Manufacturing (RTM)
• Building the Launch Plan
• Launch timing
• Press/analyst briefings
• Sales Training
• Post-Mortem
• Begin requirements analysis for next release