Launch Clinic

Product Launch in an Agile World

I was preparing to deliver a webinar on Product Launch in an Agile Worldrent a car bulgaria and it brought up memories of my days as a developer (fond mostly).  While I’m very familiar with Agile at a conceptual level I wouldn’t claim to be a practitioner. That’s for the Agile experts.  However, I’m passionate about launching software products and I find it fascinating how Agile has become such a concern for Product Management, Marketing and Sales.

For years Product Management, Marketing and Sales have complained that Development can’t deliver products on time with the right mix of capabilities.  I’ve lived on every side of that problem and it’s never enjoyable to be on the Development side of the discussion when promised features are missing.   Now Development steps up to the plate and embraces a way to get things done faster, with more completeness and higher quality, and the triumvirate has heartburn.

I’ve been talking with people in Product Management, Marketing, and Sales whose Development teams have embraced Agile (with varying degrees) and many are freaking out.  The more I dig into it the less I see where there’s a problem.  Let me explain further.

Product Management is responsible for identifying Market Problems and developing Market Requirements.  We’ve been teaching that for 15 years at Pragmatic Marketing - nothing new here. Development translates the Market Requirements into a product.  Check. Product Marketing drives the launch process, develops sales tools, trains the Sales team and coordinates with Marketing Communications to develop marketing programs to support Launch goals.  Check.  The Launch comes and the Sales Team does their thing.  Check.

Where everyone outside of Development is getting all hung up is with predictability. But they’ve grown accustomed to what I believe to be a false sense of predictability.  That big, monolithic, waterfall documentation that defines all the features that will be in the next release becomes obsolete just about as fast as you hit “save”.  Assumptions about what is possible will change.  Whether you like it or not there’s never enough time to go back and change the original product requirement docs because there’s a date that needs to be hit.

With Agile development methods, Development focuses on short iterations.  Each iteration produces 100% of something (coded, tested and ready to go).  If you’ve decided that the best time to launch the next release is October, work backwards through the iteration schedule and choose an iteration that will be completed prior to the Launch planning window.  This will be the iteration you can trust to be completed.  But realize that you may not know the exact release content until the iteration is complete.  Even better though, you will see evidence that the release content is done.  Here’s where I’m going to ask the folks in Marketing to be a little flexible.

During the Launch planning and readiness window Development will continue to plow ahead and work on more iterations.  As each iteration completes, you need to ask yourself if there are features in those iterations that justify inclusion in the Launch without negatively impacting the Launch date.

Here’s the deal.  If you’re a Product Manager, make sure you’re doing your job and keep feeding Development with what needs to be done next. If you don’t they’ll just start creating what they think is cool, whether it has any marketability or not. Development, you don’t get to decide when a release is ready to Launch.  That’s a decision for Product Management. Acknowledge that Marketing and Sales need a longer window to plan and ready the rest of the organization than a few weeks.  They have a limited capacity to absorb rapid releases.  All those great features you’re building will just get buried.    Marketing continue what you’re doing.  Your world is one of dates and timing.  Release dates still matter.  A product launch is about generating sales velocity and you need enough time to plan for an effective Launch.

Here’s a link to the webinar for more on this topic.

Launch is not part of the development process

I recently posted a question on Linkedin Answers as a way to get perceptions on whether launch was planned (formally or informally) or a second thought. There were a number of interesting responses that ultimately proved my hypothesis that many (if not most) software companies completely blow it when it comes to product launch planning and execution.

There are a couple of reasons I believe this to be true. First, and particularly for early stage companies, the experience of planning and managing an effective product launch does not exist. This results in guesswork and the outcome is often disappointment. Second, companies don’t make someone accountable for the success of a product launch. Or worse, they make someone accountable that has absolutely no business being involved with the launch. Third, a standardized, practical approach to launch has not been available.

The takeaway from this exercise is a belief I’ve held for many years - Product Launch is not part of the development process. You can develop a product without a launch but you can’t launch without a product. PDMA by example refers to launch as part of the new product development lifecycle. That’s not the whole picture though. Existing products are re-launched everyday. Product Launch planning and management is a distinct discipline from development that incorporates a blend of strategic planning with tactical execution.

The Perfection Trap

In the past few years I’ve been amazed at how many software startups get caught up in the Perfection Trap.  It’s a condition that occurs when a startup that is engineering focused has engineering leadership that has a fear of releasing a product that is less than perfect.  The reasons for this fear aren’t always apparent.  But for whatever the reasons, the Perfection Trap stops the organization from getting what could be a very vibrant solution into the market.  If the product can’t reach a shippable state, it can’t be launched.  No launch, no revenue. 

The first step is to recognize and acknowledge that the Perfection Trap is afflicting the organization.  This is easy to identify:

• Ship dates are constantly slipping
• New features creep into the first release
• Engineering hides side projects that aren’t relevant to the product
• It is the consuming issue in the organization

Fixing the Perfection Trap can be challenging.  This isn’t a condition that afflicts large companies.  We’ve seen it happen in very early stage startups with just a handful of employees.  What can you do?  If you are the CEO, either you are enabling this condition by allowing it to continue or you are the cause of it.  You have to acknowledge that no product will be perfect.  Ever.  And, adding features only increases complexity and the likelihood of problems.  Finally, you’ll get more kudos from investors for shipping a product that is less than perfect than potentially killing your company waiting for the illusive, perfect product.

To fix the Perfection Trap you need to look at some of the root causes:

1.  Inexperienced engineering leadership.  Engineering leaders that are new to the role may not have the experience of developing and shipping a viable commercial product.  Their egos may be preventing them from asking for help and they’re making it up as they go. 

2.  Previous failure.  This form of leader has experienced a significant failure, whether her own doing or due to other factors.  The need to “make it right” this time is overshadowing her good judgement.

3.  No sense of urgency.  An absense of sense of urgency is a very serious but common root cause.  If there isn’t a consequence of not shipping, what’s the big deal?

4.  Wrong skill set.  Make sure you have the right people, at the right time, for the right reasons in the organization.

5.  Target market is unclear.  If your target market is not easily identifiable you run the risk have layering feature on top of feature.

6.  Feature Assumption.  Assuming you know what features are needed in the product without validating those assumptions in the market can result in building features that have zero value to your buyers.

It may be wise to bring in someone from outside your organization to help in identifying if the Perfection Trap is affecting your organization and what steps may be required to get it back on track.

Product Launch for the Engineering Entrepreneur

If you are an entrepreneur from an engineering discipline this post is for you.  Having started from a technical discipline (software engineering) I can relate to you at a fundamental level.

Unfortunately a great product alone won’t sell itself.  A good friend and mentor once asked what the “Best” software product was in a particular category.  He let me ramble on about the technical pros and cons of each competitor (I was very familiar with each one) for a short while and then stopped me.  The right answer was “The one that’s selling the best”.  It was a defining moment.

You’ve raised the money, you’ve built a solid offering and you’re ready to start selling.  Now begins what may be the most difficult part of growing your company - getting people to buy your product.  If you’re reading this post you’re probably considering a product launch.

Let me give you 10 tips on how to stretch your budget and generate sales momentum.

Tip 1:  If you  haven’t launched a product before don’t assume it’s easy.  Every product and market have nuances that aren’t always apparent.  Find someone with experience that you trust to help you.

Tip 2:  Don’t issue a press release if you don’t have reference customers.  A reporter will want to talk with a customer to get feedback on your product.  Without a reference customer to talk to, you may not get any coverage.  Press releases should not be used as a form of advertising.

Tip 3:  Pay attention to how your company and your product appears.  What kind of vibe is your web site and other marketing materials giving off?  Do you look established?

Tip 4:  Don’t go it alone.  Build a partner program.  If you have a channel friendly product, start building a channel.  The more people you can get talking up your product the better.

Tip 5:  Establish what you believe to be the flow of the sales process - with a flowchart.  With that understanding it will be much easier to figure out what sales tools are needed, when they’re needed in the sales process, validate assumptions and how to measure progress.

Tip 6:  Don’t try to be all things to all people.  It’s a formula for failure.

Tip 7:  It’s better to own a large piece of a small market segment than it is to own a small piece of a huge market segment.  It shows your team can execute and it attracts partners like bees to honey.

Tip 8:  A product launch is a process, not an event.  Product launches usually occur over a period of months. 

Tip 9:  Leverage professional and trade organizations.  There’s a group for just about everything.  Professional and trade organizations often have a national structure with regional chapters.  They have annual conventions, regional meetings, newsletters, and other marketing opportunities.

Tip 10:  Don’t wait until the product is perfect.  I have launched products that are less than perfect and have generated significant sales.  It just has to be good enough so that the benefits of the product are realized by your customers.  Revenue gets you cash flow.  Cash flow gets you the ability to fund continued development.