PIP: a product planning strategy for the whole family or... how we became the brady bunch

• Authors: Joseph A. Blotner
• Venue: OOPSLA '04 Companion to the 19th annual ACM SIGPLAN conference on Object-oriented programming systems, languages, and applications
• Year: 2004

As a small start-up company with a heavyweight client list, Sabrix found itself at a critical crossroads in its growth in the Spring of 2003. We were consuming all product development resources satisfying commitments made to existing customers, which seriously limited our ability to react to new requirements and improve our competitive edge in the market. In the face of this resource strain, we needed to add a series of smaller, plug-in type products to our existing offering. Of course, this environment required 100% focus on day-to-day tasks and tactical issues, leaving no time or energy for looking ahead. Compounding these problems were the same issues that every company faces. A lack of trust between functional groups, with Product Development on one side and Sales and Support on the other; and, very few people in the company knew what work was being done in Product Development. When stepping back from the situation, we realized that all of the problems could be grouped into three general categories - prioritization, collaboration and visibility. To improve each of these areas, we developed the Product Input and Planning (PIP) process. PIP is a cross-functional, cross-product way of building a roadmap by prioritizing work, balancing competitiveness and customer-driven requirements, and improving product-related communication in all directions within the company. The PIP Team is responsible for prioritizing and building an 18-month roadmap, focusing on the future direction of the company, while Product Management and Product Development focus on delivering the current releases. This paper is not what one would call a success story, though it unquestionably has a moral. The PIP process as described herein exists no longer. Several factors contributed to its morphing into a different kind of family. The lessons learned over the course of the lifetime of PIP, however, are applicable to almost any large-scale, cross-functional endeavor.