As a Product Management leader, I have pondered ways to measure the effectiveness, maturity, growth and development of a team. Here is what I thought would be a holistic approach for the same.
1 Talent Review – Evaluate the strengths and opportunities for growth for each member of the team based on their grade level. Based on this assessment, craft a training plan by quarter for the fiscal year. Leverage it to build a mentoring program within the team where senior leaders can mentor junior PMs. Perform a SWOT analysis to gauge domain expertise on the team.
2 Leadership Sponsorship – It is a good idea to engage sponsorship from senior management to ensure the success of a Product Management organization. Defined roles and responsibilities also help in ensuring there is accountability and commitment towards achieving results.
3 Processes, Procedures and Documentation – As with any function in an organization, especially as it scales, effective and efficient processes and tools for the product development lifecycle. Use of productivity and collaboration tools to foster team work and sharing.
4 Customer Engagement – Does the team have formal customer engagement forums before, during and after implementation? Do these include cross sections of the customer segment especially the influencers and decision makers?
5 Emerging Technologies Investment – Progressive Product Management organizations allocate time for exploring and prototyping new ideas, and concepts for products. These could include capabilities with growth opportunities in existing products or entirely new product segments. While doing so, sunset products that provide little value to the business.
6 Marketing Processes –Go to Market processes and procedures are well defined and executed. Analysis using sales tools that capture customer interactions during the sales lifecycle. Measurement and reporting of product revenue, pricing effectiveness, and ROI. Marketing mix strategy and plans are in place. Marketing campaigns are governed with ROI calculations.
7 Continuous Learning – A culture of continuous learning from industry peers, organizations, conferences, and competitive research.
8 Operating Rhythms – Well defined and implemented Operating Rhythms that provide the right level of governance for the product’s success. These include Product and Operations Reviews.
9 Metrics for evaluating Effectiveness – Internal and external surveys to collect feedback with areas for improvement.
10 Vibrant environment – One that fosters and encourages collaboration, sharing, growth and having fun. Group events to bring teams together or competitions among team members are ways to build a creative environment.
Use the above list to gauge where you are in the progress and improvement of your team.
Anita Rao's Blog 