The AIPMM Product Management Framework (PMF)

Abstract The AIPMM Product Management Framework is the foundation of the product management body of work compiled by the Association of International Product Marketing & Management.

content Introduction The AIPMM Product Management Framework® An Overview of the Product Management Profession Product Management vs. Project Management Project Management’s Impact on Product Management Comparison of Existing Frameworks: The AIPMM Gap Analysis What Exactly Is the Product Management Framework (PMF)? Framework Parameters Knowledge Area (KA) Parameter Details PMF Features and Benefits Framework Uses Conclusion

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Introduction Product management is the cross-functional discipline within a product development organization responsible for managing a product (a tangible good or intangible service) throughout all phases of its lifecycle. These phases consist of conception, planning, development, qualification, launch, delivery and retirement. Product Management requires a comprehensive understanding of the key organizational, business, customer and market aspects of the product gained primarily through on-thejob experience supplemented by formal training. Product management is a profession just like medicine, law, architecture, accounting, civil engineering, and most recently project management. However, unlike these recognized and respected professions, product management remains somewhat misunderstood. As a direct result of the lack of standards and common practices, each individual, company and industry has created their own unique definitions of the product manager role and product management discipline. This lack of standardization has led to much confusion and has prevented the profession from growing the way the project management profession has in the past 40+ years as a result of PMI’s efforts to introduce project management standards. This white paper describes a standard Product Management Framework (PMF) to be applied by product managers across all industries and companies to bring products to market. Its purpose is to bring clarity, accountability and credibility to this profession. Developed by the AIPMM, the trade association of product managers and product marketing managers around the world, this framework is a result of years of research and addresses the lack of standardization.

This white paper has three main audiences: • Executives responsible for the development and marketing of a company’s products who could benefit from a comprehensive proven framework for managing their products • Product managers embarking on new product development efforts looking for a comprehensive map of the key knowledge, activities and deliverables required to bring new products to market • Product managers tasked with managing existing products already under development who need a way to identify the key knowledge, activities and deliverables required to bring products to market

The AIPMM Product Management Framework® The AIPMM Product Management Framework provides a comprehensive map of the core knowledge, activities and deliverables required to bring new products to market. It: • Contains elements that apply across all industries and all companies and can also be adapted to create customized frameworks to address unique needs of specific industries and companies • Defines a standard set of inputs, processes and outputs that can be applied to commercial as well as non-commercial product development efforts • Provides a solid foundation for both implementing and evaluating a product management organization in a company. It also provides an assessment of an individual product manager’s command of the profession through an industry-wide certification process

An Overview of the Product Management Profession As mentioned earlier, product management is a professional discipline responsible for the planning, realization and marketing of products throughout their entire lifecycles. Products can be tangible goods or intangible services producing a measurable benefit to a customer.

One might say that some of our earliest ancestors were in fact product managers. They determined how to create tools (goods) to build shelters, hunt food, and grow crops (services) to survive and prosper. Trade and distribution methods began to take shape, and creation of additional products to satisfy demand was a natural progression. There is often some question as to how brand management compares to product management in the organization. Brand management is the process of maintaining, improving and upholding a brand so that the name is associated with positive results. Product and brand management are complementary processes important for delivering products to the market—product management is the execution and brand management is the strategy. For example, an early hybrid process of brand and product management was first practiced in the early 1930s by Procter and Gamble to revive its Camay soap product line by differentiating it from its own Ivory brand. Of course, the early product managers lacked P&L statements, spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, marketing mix strategies and marketing literature to help “manage” their products.

Nevertheless, like all disciplines, it is critical to standardize important activities and best practices so future generations will not have to “reinvent the wheel.”

Product Management vs. Project Management Because projects are undertaken to produce products, they are very closely related, but separate, disciplines. Product management creates new profitable businesses by delivering products to market that require organization, business customer, product and market expertise. Project management plans and executes projects that require organization and execution expertise. Product and project management overlap in the management of projects in an organization to produce products. Product management differs from Project management in two key respects: • Product management is an ongoing endeavor potentially spanning multiple product lifecycles. Project management is a temporary endeavor with a finite beginning and end defined by its project lifecycle. • Product management has five major knowledge areas addressing organization, business, customer, product and market expertise. Project management addresses one component of organization expertise. Various professions throughout history have set out to record, standardize and impart the best practices of important disciplines contributing to the continued advancement of the human race. They include doctors, lawyers, clergymen, dentists, civil engineers, architects and accountants. The rise of technology and occupational specialization continues to expand the list to include pharmacists, veterinarians, nurses and teachers and more recently project management. Projects do not exist in a vacuum. Every project, in every country, industry and company, by necessity, is reliant on some form of business and marketing expertise to ultimately be successful. Because product management is an overlooked discipline and profession, individuals with explicit product

management titles may not always exist. However, expertise in managing the business and communications elements of products produced by projects is essential to the success of any endeavor, whether it is commercial or non-commercial. Despite its enormous impact on the success or failure of an enterprise, product management has not received the same level of recognition enjoyed by project management or other equally important occupations founded on business processes. This is principally because each industry, company and even individual defines product management differently. One person’s product manager is another’s program manager, product marketing manager or project manager. In addition, the profession does not benefit from standard definitions of activities, deliverables or milestones. Product management training is unique to the individual trainer, so the principles they teach vary drastically in content, scope and quality. No training or standards have existed to ensure consistent, measurable results. That is, until now.

Project Management’s Impact on Product Management Mankind has undertaken projects to build products for thousands of years: • Egyptian civil engineering project managers built the pyramids • Chemical engineering project managers built oil refineries • Construction industry project managers built skyscrapers and office parks • NASA project managers landed men on the moon and built the space station • High-tech project managers build iPhones, Google apps, and all sorts of complex products Until recently, project managers used techniques developed over time that evolved from their own “stove-piped” engineering disciplines. However, since 1969, the Project Management Institute (PMI)

has created and promoted a knowledge area-time framework for managing projects to standardize the discipline across all industries and companies, and in the process elevated project management to a much more recognized and desired profession. AIPMM has used PMI’s success with its knowledge area-time model as a basis for the development of the Product Management Framework (PMF). AIPMM intends to use PMI’s success as a benchmark in order to advance the product management profession.

Comparison of Existing Frameworks: The AIPMM Gap Analysis A recent AIPMM survey of existing lifecycles examined five major frameworks recognizable by product professionals and one corporate proprietary framework. There are dozens more frameworks by commercial entities. Figure 1 shows the frameworks which best represented the field of diverse works.

After performing a gap analysis, the results in Figures 2 and 3 showed the major areas in which the various existing framework models were missing key elements.

Gap: Inconsistent Language The first problem area uncovered in the gap analysis of these popular frameworks was the inconsistent

language used in describing the process or phase. For instance, the PDMA Life Cycle framework uses the term “discovery” to describe the entire New Product Development process, and the Stage-Gate® process uses the term “discovery” to describe the early conception period of the new product development process.

Gap: Incomplete Lifecycle Coverage The second major problem area uncovered in the gap analysis was the incomplete coverage of many of these frameworks. A majority of these frameworks ignored the entire product management process, except the Product Life Cycle Framework originally used by AIPMM in the body of knowledge for the certification program and the framework used by Digital Equipment called the Digital Phase Review Process.

What Exactly Is the Product Management Framework (PMF)? At its most basic level, the PMF is an X-Y matrix, as depicted below, with the X-axis being time, and the Y-axis being a set of parameters key to the development of goods and services. Each X-Y coordinate cell in the matrix can contain inputs, processes, activities, outputs, deliverables and milestones that are attributes of that specific moment in time for that specific parameter. One key parameter on the Y-axis is the knowledge area concept first advocated by PMI. The specific knowledge areas applicable to product management differ substantially from project management knowledge areas. However, the general concept of knowledge areas has the distinct advantage of being applicable across all industries, companies and disciplines.

Other key parameters in the PMF provide the foundation for members of the product management value chain to build unique solutions to meet company specific needs using an industry standard framework. The Y-axis key parameters will be described later in this white paper. But first it will be useful to understand the product life cycle that is the basis of the X-axis of the PMF. X-Axis: Time = Product Life Cycle The X-axis of the PMF is best represented by the entire “Cradle-to-Grave” product lifecycle which was created to describe the entire lifespan of a product from conception through retirement. As depicted below, once the product has been developed or acquired, it then moves into commercialization, manufacturing and operations phases where the product is introduced, grows over time to reach maturity, and then declines, eventually leading to product withdrawal from the market.

A new product goes through a number of common, standard, predictable phases during its lifecycle. The standard phases are labeled as simple, universal verbs describing the major activity of each phase. They are:

The conclusion of each phase is defined by decision points, or gates (indicated by triangles above) defining next steps in the produce lifecycle. Thus, the X-axis of the PMF represents the entire lifecycle of a product organized by phase. The entire AIPMM Product Management Framework® contains both the process descriptions as well as the phases as illustrated below:

As you can see, the PMF incorporates both the broad time activities of the Product Life Cycle as well as the Phase Gate process. Y-Axis: Key Parameters The challenge for frameworks is to graphically represent the process as well as provide flexibility of delivery variances. The Y-Axis section of the PMF delivers the powerful ability to customize the framework based on customer requirements. Therefore, the key parameters for the framework can vary depending on the particular interest and focus of the product manager. Major parameters are: • Knowledge Areas (KA)—Key information required for all product development efforts • Responsibility—Accountability based on specific company and/or industry role definitions • Deliverables—Outputs required from key stakeholders • Common Practices (CP)—Major activities commonly used by successful companies

Framework Parameters Y-Axis: KA Parameter The Knowledge Area parameter consists of the five major knowledge areas depicted below on the Y-Axis that can be used to describe all products, regardless of industry or company affiliation.

These Knowledge Areas are unique to product management: • Every product is produced by some organization • Every product must have business attributes • Every product must have a customer • Every product must have product attributesz • Every product must have market attributes Y- Axis: Program Team Responsibility Parameter The Program Team Responsibility parameter helps product managers assign specific activities, deliverables and milestones to specific team members. The major requirement for this parameter is a well-defined set of responsibilities of WHO on the team owns WHAT deliverable and milestone which can be company- or industry-specific.

Y- Axis: Deliverable Parameter The Deliverable parameter helps product managers identify WHAT deliverables and milestones are required WHEN throughout the product lifecycle. It avoids the issue of WHO owns the deliverable, instead focusing on the product lifecycle timeline.

Y-Axis: Common Practices (CP) Parameter The CP parameter helps product managers align common de facto standard activities and practices that have been adopted by a particular company or industry with the X-axis phases of the product lifecycle. It focuses on WHAT commonly accepted activities need to get done and WHEN, thus avoiding many, but not all, of the issues of WHO owns the activities that varies by industry and company.

Knowledge Area (KA) Parameter Details As mentioned previously, the KA parameter is universal; it can be used to describe all products, regardless of industry or company affiliation. Thus, the KA concept is the major focus of the AIPMM standardization effort. This section contains more details of the KA parameter, which also provides the basis for the PMF textbook and Course Curriculum that has been developed. As part of our curriculum program, AIPMM has developed a tool, written in Microsoft Excel, which will assist any product professional in the use of the Product Management Framework (PMF). Table 1 depicts the KA PMF tool. This tool can be used to manage the entire lifecycle of a product, regardless of industry or company affiliation. KA PMF Tool Table 1 depicts the KA PMF Excel spreadsheet tool that facilitates description of the PMF details. The subcategories in the left column (i.e., Summary, Strategy, and Plans for the Organization KA) can represent the outlines for the major deliverables related to each KA (i.e., Product Business Plan for the Business KA).

The KA PMF tool can be customized to address industry-specific or company-specific product management organizational issues. It can be used to track activities, deliverables, milestones and owners of items related to the KAs, as depicted In Table 2. Note the blank Owner column (highlighted in blue) that can be customized to identify ownership of KA, activities and deliverables by company or industry specific roles.

Organization Subcategory KA details The subcategories, related activities and deliverables for the Organization KA are detailed in Table 3. This KA focuses on what the organization requires in order to bring products to market.

Business KA Subcategory details The subcategories, related activities and deliverables for the Business KA are detailed in Table 4. This KA focuses on what is necessary to produce profitable products

.

Customer KA Subcategory Details The subcategories, related activities and deliverables for the Customer KA are detailed in Table 5. This KA focuses on understanding the target customer‘s needs and defining requirements that would exceed their expectations.

Customer KA Subcategory Details The subcategories, related activities and deliverables for the Customer KA are detailed in Table 5. This KA focuses on understanding the target customer‘s needs and defining requirements that would exceed their expectations.

Market KA Subcategory Details The subcategories, related activities and deliverables for the Market KA are detailed in Table 7. This KA focuses on the market aspects of the project required to successfully launch and deliver the product to market.

KA PMF Tool Summary The KA PMF tool is a very flexible spreadsheet that can be easily customized to meet a wide variety of company and industry Product Management uses. It is available at no charge as a download here to AIPMM members

PMF Features and Benefits The standardization of the product management discipline through adoption of the PMF should result in improved profitability for all industries and companies in a fashion comparable to the increased effectiveness PMI has achieved through standardization of the project management discipline. Core Features The PMF establishes a common lexicon describing information, activities, practices, deliverables and milestones required to bring products to market, including: • What activities are required to bring products to market • When these activities should be executed • Worldwide, standard process and methodology for bringing goods and services products to market across all industries and companies • Platform for development of a common set of tools for planning, measurement, implementation and customization to help product teams deliver quality products to market Core Benefits • Provides a universal, standardized guideline for managing products throughout their entire lifecycles • Enables product teams to develop and communicate mutual commitments to product plans • Enables product teams to execute those plans in accordance with agreed-upon objectives and schedules • Enables product management to be recognized as a profession on par with doctors, lawyers and most relevantly project managers by defining a common language that facilitates improved outcomes Benefits for Different Business Roles Company Management/Executives • Decrease cost, increase profitability of new product and service development efforts • Increase competency and effectiveness of product management professionals • Increase quality and predictability of product development efforts Product Management Professionals • Provide continuing education opportunities • Enable industry standard, recognized certification • Expand opportunities across industries

Product Team Members • Provide common set of planning, measurement and implementation tools to support product teams delivering quality products to market Academics/Training Vendors • Provide standardized undergraduate/graduate/professional training course material across all industries • Provide practical “how to” process education to increase student’s hiring chances • Provide practical subset of MBA knowledge areas to Product Management professionals

Framework Uses Individual Certification • The PMF is the basis for the Certified Product Manager (CPM) and Certified Product Marketing Manager (CPMM) assessments offered by AIPMM, the certifying body of product professionals. The PMF is a useful outline of the body of knowledge required by product managers to successfully perform their jobs Organizational Evaluation • The PMF provides a useful diagnostic tool to analyze the health of product management organizations Product Management Organization • The PMF provides a useful guideline identifying the inputs, processes and outputs required to successfully manage a product through its entire lifecycle

Conclusion The AIPMM Product Management Framework is a powerful, universal, standardized tool that supports the management and marketing of products throughout their entire lifecycles. It was developed based on decades of product management observation and experience and it contains both the theoretical foundation and practical application components that ensure its success: • • • •

Use it—don’t reinvent the wheel Customize it for your own use Promote it to others—help improve everyone’s PMF IQ Rally around the PMF—build a strong consensus that will increase demand for the PMF—and expand business for everyone in the product management universe

• Everyone in the product management value chain can benefit from joining forces behind the PMF. This is a tremendous opportunity to make product management a recognized, standardized profession which will only increase demand for product managers, giving a much needed boost to the profession during these challenging economic times.

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