Portfolio planning is not the same as product management

1. Portfolio Planning a.k.a Product Line Management
From a hardware product perspective
It is not the same as product management
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheeunng
THIS IS A DOCU-SLIDES. NOT PRESENTATION
Oct 2017
www.superzi.com
Based on my old works in Nokia/ Microsoft/ Alcatel,
and many thinking are from the Nokia Portfolio Team

2. Portfolio planning and product management require
different personal character and expertise
Portfolio planning is challenging and requires the person to have the
appetite and courage to propose properly researched, hedged risks/ bets on
big ticket items
ability to influence key decision makers to take in his/ her proposal
Portfolio planning, even though less concrete, usually has bigger impact on a company’s future
compare to product management

3. Portfolio and Product Management thinking and responsibilities
are different
Portfolio/ Product line management Product management
Creating a winning portfolio
(might not consists of winning product)
Creating a winning product
Open end exploration with limitless options Narrow down options for execution
Predict market trend 1-2 years ahead Predict market reality 6-12 months ahead
Driving long term key differentiation development
for category
Drive product differentiation implementation
Define differentiation enhancement for each
product waves in the roadmap
Implement current wave differentiation
Driving long lead time platform development Drive current/ near term technology
implementation
Define product role in portfolio Define product mission and target
Optimise category opportunities (e.g. might sacrifice
certain product to win the war)
Optimise product opportunities (and protect your
baby, i.e. product)
Propose product slots (and cancellation) Propose product features

4. Product line planning
Define product line’s qualities, e.g. mission, ambition, market coverage, differentiation and target consumers
Define product line’s strategy to reach the ambition
Define product line’s logic, such as pricing, products wave timing, product tier (roles and product counts/
distribution), distribution channel etc.
Product line implementation
Concretise differentiation into actionable investment areas, such as key user experiences or features, for R&D
implementation
Concretise and drive the implementation of category baseline and common features
Tackle portfolio threats/ risks, such as possible products delay or changing competition landscape
Tackle portfolio opportunities, such as entering new arenas or changing the game rule
Ultimately for a product line proposal
Propose the product roadmap, slots increment/ cancellation for approval
Instead of individual product planning,
portfolio manager should focus on

5. Portfolio manager will performs multiple roles during the whole
planning cycle
Portfolio implementation
Range planning
(all product lines
Intertwined planning)
Start of planning cycle
End of planning cycle
Next year
range planning
Product line planning
Less work at the start due to range planning not stable,
but get heavier later)
Yearly cyclic planning activities timeline

6. Target setting and
portfolio target
Portfolio logic &
innovation
Asset prioritisation
1. Market ambition
2. Price band target
3. User experience target
setting (partly on
strategic differentiator)
4. Focus markets
5. Consumer value
proposition step up
(enhance screen size
etc.)
6. Product line priorities
7. Innovation targets
8. Production capacity
assumption
9. Definition of ideal
portfolio (after taking
account of all above)
1. Alternative portfolio
constructs
(e.g. what happen if we
chipset delay etc.)
a) No. of products
b) Pricing
c) …
2. Assessment of
alternative
3. Financial modelling
4. Priorities of experience
& innovation
5. Investment level vs.
priorities aspiration
6. Competitiveness
assessment
1. Selection of portfolio
construct
2. Anchors products
3. Draft product roadmap
4. Draft implementation
plan
5. Asset step-up plan to
fulfil the roadmap
6. Consumer research
Product line 1
Product line 2
Cross planning is a must as
categories are intertwined
Long term (LT) product strategy
Where/ what to target?
LT differentiation
LT forecast
Top down financial target
Target consumers
Geographical scope
Product line …
This is what range planning is about

7. Range planning logic Portfolio (product line) planning logic
Iterativeon-goingsynchronisation
1. Range planning Way of Working (WoW)
1. Product Pricing stack up
2. Experience roll-out stage
3. Ideal portfolio + anchor products
2. High level product line planning
1. Boundaries
2. Engine/ chipset phrasing
3. Product count trade off
4. Capacity balancing – e.g. if need to prioritise
one product, what is the knock-on effect for
the rest of the portfolio (even in other lines)
5. Pricing conflict
6. Technology feasibility -> technology (e.g. new
component) lead product selection (not
necessary be a new product)
7. Consumers value proposition
1. Market value sizing
2. Target consumer
3. Value proposition
4. Product logic
1. Tiered vs. focused products
2. Role and drivers (cost, TTM, etc.)
3. Slots and differentiation
4. Phasing of products
5. Products priorities
5. Experience priorities
6. S/w asset plans where possible
7. Competitiveness assessment
8. Technology envelope
1. Baseline / minimum definition
2. Stretch / maximum
3. Breadth / how many variation
9. Re-distribution of financial target, as a result of
on-going update of financial modelling /
business case vs. finance target
Iterativeon-goingsynchronisation
From range planning to portfolio planning

8. The end!
Any question? Wanna debate? Contact me below!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheeunng
THIS IS A DOCU-SLIDES. NOT PRESENTATION
Oct 2017
www.superzi.com
Based on my old works in Nokia/ Microsoft/ Alcatel,
and many thinking are from the Nokia Portfolio Team