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Product Portfolio Management

How Does Your Company Measure Up?—Make Your Voice Heard

Published By Maureen Carlson

Participate in the 2nd Annual Product Portfolio Management Benchmark Study

Take the Survey Now and receive the full complimentary report.

It’s time for the 2nd Annual Product Portfolio Management Benchmark Survey!

You are invited to participate and in appreciation for your time and input, you’ll receive a complimentary copy of the full report in November, 2010, as well as the 2009 report. You’ll also be entered to win a 32GB Apple iPad.

We are excited to be involved again in this research, designed to reveal the state of today’s product portfolio management opportunities and challenges. Appleseed Partners, in partnership with OpenSky Research, conducted the first annual benchmark survey in June, 2009, for Planview. There was a tremendous amount of interest in the research throughout the year. Product development pros want to know how their peers manage the innovation to commercialization process, what their greatest pains are, and what tools they use to deliver and manage successful products.

A year has passed since we last surveyed the market, and we’re eager to learn what changes these 12 months have brought.

We’ve already done some initial research, so I can share some preliminary findings with you. In the past two months, we’ve spoken with VPs, directors, and managers of product management at multiple, large product-driven companies. Our key takeaway: they are all keen to come out of the recession with a better focus on prioritization and better resource management of their product portfolios.

In the words of one participant of a global materials company: “We’re trying to have a better focus on prioritization. We need to drive hard, deliver faster and experience a better ROI. In other words, [deliver] new products faster to market and better manage them.”

While most companies said they do a reasonable job of aligning product investments with the business strategy, many gave themselves a low score on their ability to accurately forecast resource capacity. In both cases, there seems to be a lot of room for improvement.

“Our biggest challenge is seeing all resources in one place and the demands on those resources,” said one global life sciences manufacturer.

From what we’re hearing thus far, while many companies continue to use manual processes, spreadsheets and other project tools, there is an increased desire to automate and centralize product portfolio management across several disciplines, from ideation to resource capacity management to the gating process.

With this research, we will benchmark to see what has changed since last year and delve into some new questions. If you are involved in the product development process in your company, please take 10-12 minutes to share your experience and opinion. All results are confidential and are shared in aggregate.

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Written by Maureen Carlson

Maureen Carlson a Partner at Appleseed Partners, has been providing strategic marketing services for 20 years including market research, product marketing, positioning, and how to develop effective demand generation programs. Maureen’s B2B technology experience spans from emerging companies to larger established brands. Maureen has conducted three research studies sponsored by Planview for product development as well as for other markets, is an active guest blogger, and participates in the development of new market strategies with the company.