ICSOB2012AMaglyas

Comparison of Software Product Management Practices in SMEs and Large Enterprises

Andrey Maglyas, Uolevi Nikula, Kari Smolander

Motivation

−  The existing software product management (SPM) frameworks present a synthesis of SPM practices from observations and studies of the companies worldwide

−  The operational and organizational practices of the companies differ depending on their characteristics

−  For example, COMPANY SIZE may have an impact to adoption of SPM practices

Research Questions

−  RQ1: Is there any difference in adoption of SPM practices in SMEs and large enterprises (LEs)?

−  RQ2: Which SPM activities are more important for SMEs? For LEs?

Research Process

−  13 international organizations: −  17 interviews lasted −  from 40 to 80 min. −  with an average of 52 min.

−  Grounded theory as a research method −  Open coding: 257 codes in 42 categories −  Four super categories

Sample sets Company

Business domain, type of product Size (people)

Founded

Role of interviewee

Sample set 1: LEs A Business and operational support systems 10,001+ 1982 Product manager

B International developer and supplier of a wide range of software, integrated solutions and hardware technologies

1,001-5000 1990 Deputy managing director for R&D

C Internet applications 1,001-5000 1997 Two product managers D Security solutions 1,001-5000 1997 Product manager E Storage management solutions 501-1,000 2002 Product manager F Developer and provider of telecommunication

solutions, software and hardware 501-1,000 2007 Department manager

Sample set 2: SMEs G Date security and storage management 101-500 1994 Product manager H Integrator and developer of software for SME 101-500 1994 Deputy director of

software development I In-house development of IT solutions 101-500 2000 Senior business analyst J Developer of software tools 101-500 2000 Product marketing

manager K Provider and developer of interactive media

solutions 101-500 2002 Team lead, project

manager L Banking software 101-500 2004 Two product managers M Developer of software products for servers 11-50 2009 Sales director, technical

director

Central categories explaining the differences and similarities in the activities of SMEs and LEs





Finding 1 LEs are customer-oriented while SMEs are technically oriented

“I would like to tell you about our customers, because they are important to us. We have several channels to collaborate with them. First of all, our support is responsible for the rapid feedback to simple ques>ons. The more complex issues they redirect to me. The second channel is an analysis of user ac>ons, i.e. maps of their movements at the website, requests, and ac>ons. A lot of analy>cal informa>on that helps us to understand what is wrong and should be improved.” -‐ Product Manager A, Organiza3on C

“I think it is important to start by describing our product. Our product is a system consis>ng of hardware and soFware. The hardware is a standard server, which is mounted in a rack full of hard drives. This server runs our special soFware that implements algorithms for reliable preserva>on of data. So, let me briefly describe the technical side of our solu>on…” -‐ Sales Director, Organiza3on M

Finding 2 LEs have strong and powerful product managers while in SMEs product managers have a limited authority “Product manager should be a director of a small enterprise within the company. It is a small independent company with its own budget and resources. AFer all, the most efficient scheme is when the responsibility and authority are not shared between people. The worst thing that can happen in a soFware company, in any company, is when the people who use resources and the people who are responsible for product management are different. Moreover, a product manager should have power of decision making. Otherwise, he is not a product manager.” – Product Manager B, Organiza3on C.

“No results of our work are obligatory for implementa>on. We are just doing some research and recommend things, explaining what is wrong and providing solu>ons on how it should be done. The final decisions are made by the top management or an engineering team.” – Product Manager, Company G

Finding 3 LEs rely on strategic planning while SMEs are tactically oriented

“There is a big difference between releasing once and crea>ng a product, which will get 4-‐5 service packs and 10-‐11 patches in the future. Therefore, we cannot rely on the short term cost cuVng ac>ons. We always think strategically, some>mes we skip possibili>es to get easy money now, because we understand that it affects our long term strategy.” – Product Manager, Organiza3on D.

“Roughly speaking, product management is not concerned with planning, but with the feedback from our users, our plans depend on what they want and need… We operate on this basis mee>ng their needs, using a problem-‐oriented approach. In our case, the risks are much greater than if we did planning. I mean that our compe>>ve advantage is to react to the users requests as fast as possible, so planning is useless…” -‐ Project Manager, Organiza3on K

Conclusion

−  Some SPM activities are common for all organizations regardless of their size

−  There are also SPM activities that are specific for SMEs and LEs −  The differences in the activity affect how the companies manage their

products: −  LEs are customer-oriented while SMEs are technically oriented −  LEs have strong and powerful product managers while in SMEs

product managers have a limited authority −  LEs rely on strategic planning while SMEs are tactically oriented

Thank you! Q&A [email protected]