Part of a product manager’s job is to create a business case for the product development roadmap or the activities they want the team to carry out to create a successful product or service.
Product managers may have a range of feature and function ideas they want to develop that have come about through internal meetings, customer feedback or team discussions. They may have started to put the wheels in motion off the back of this. But is this enough to underpin an entire development strategy?
A product manager’s business case may stretch months into the future despite them only having a clear sight of the work the company needs to do over the next 2-3 months. Clear sight is subjective too. Does the business have clear evidence to support their ongoing development roadmap decisions?
Most product managers don’t. That’s generally down to limited research and too many presumptions. Presumptions help ideas come to life fast, but if they’re wrong, as they commonly are, it can be a case of back to the drawing board in an instant. This results in significantly increased costs. Getting it right first time matters when it comes to launching a new product or service. And that only happens through acquiring real-world insight.
Research should be the clear priority at this stage. It will provide evidence on customer priorities and what solutions will have the biggest impact. Removing barriers to adoption and increasing engagement and retention are critical components of a successful product or service.
Knowledge is always power
When you base your activity on customer-centric facts rather than assumptions, developing a winning product or service becomes a much more achievable conquest. It’s important to understand what customers in each individual market need and demand. Why develop a new product or service or change an existing one unless you know it will have an impact on your success?
What customers want in your core market may be completely different to customers in an international market. is critical. This is the only way to prepare a proper, evidence-based business case for you to execute against.
At UX24/7, we can help. We have research teams in place internationally and they’re ready to get you the insight that you need to make the right product development decisions and set you up for success.
These are just some of the ways UX24/7 can assist you. We work with Product Owners and Research Managers to help them reduce product development costs, deliver product-led growth and benefit from global best-practice User Experience.
But don’t take our word for it. Read what our customers have to say!
Each time we work with UX24/7 we are impressed at how well they understand our requirements and so I’m happy to recommend them.
Mark Gutteridge, Director of Insurance, GoCompare
Case studies
If you would like to know more about the work we have done, check out the following case studies.
