Portfolio management for product managers

Introduction to Product Portfolio Management

Fundamentals and strategic objectives

• Role and responsibilities of product portfolio management.
• Typical decision-making process.
• The vision and strategic objectives.
• Goal setting: Goal hierarchy and time horizons. 

Initial situation in the market

• Market and competition analyses.
• Market segmentation: Process and segmentation criteria, differences between B2B and B2C.
• Customer analyses and jobs-to-be-done.
• AI-supported analyses: Use cases for market potential analyses, opportunities, and limitations.

Portfolio analysis and strategy derivation

Inventory analysis and portfolio evaluation

• Portfolio mapping 4/9-field portfolio analysis, evaluation of market attractiveness vs. competitive position.
• Product lifecycle management: Phase-specific strategies.
• ABC analysis and long-tail strategy in e-commerce.
• Portfolio interdependencies: product bundles, cross-selling potential and cannibalization effects, synergies.

 Strategic portfolio design and positioning

• Product-market matrix, growth strategies for the product portfolio.
• White space analysis for market gaps and price/performance positioning.
• Types of decisions.
• 3-Horizon Model: Between core business, adjacent and transformative innovations.

Implementation, control, and performance management

From strategy to implementation

• Portfolio roadmaps: Time planning and resource allocation.
• Iterative approach: Build-Measure-Learn cycles.
• Agile frameworks: MVP approach, SCRUM.
• Cross-functional collaboration.

Monitoring portfolio decisions

• Requirements for a balanced product portfolio KPI system.
• Qualitative and quantitative evaluation criteria.
• Portfolio dashboards and reporting.
• Agile management with OKRs.