Most companies
understand the need to manage the product/service lifecycle,
particularly during the front end in which products are initiated,
defined, developed and launched. However, most companies grow
revenue faster than their processes, resulting in longer development
cycles, products that miss the market sweet spot and overall
stunted growth in revenue and profits. Also, many emerging companies
are run by an entrepreneur who left a larger company and views
process as a bureaucratic quagmire that slows down progress,
not the powerful tool for reducing cycle time that it should
be if designed properly.
During this session, our panel will discuss the successful design
and implementation of product lifecycle management including
growing a strong product management function. We will focus
on the role of product management in the overall management
of the process and taking the lead at certain critical stages.
You will receive tips and tools that you can apply immediately.
For a recent article on the topic, please see: www.scsc.org/resources/productlifecycle.html
PANELISTS:
John Slade / Director, Product Management, Overture
John Slade
joined Overture in April 2002 to lead Overture's customer and
content solutions product management team. He is responsible
for Overture's systems used to support the company's editorial
processes as well as to measure and maintain the quality of
Overture's search listings. Prior to joining Overture, Slade
was director of product management at RiverOne, a supply-chain
management software company serving companies in the high tech
manufacturing space. John holds a B.A. in English from Michigan
State University.
George Goodrich / Product Manager, Executive Software
George has been a Product Manager at Executive Software for
9 years, during which time he has been involved in the marketing
research and product development for every successful (and failed)
Executive Software Windows product including their flagship
product Diskeeper. George is expert in developing software pricing
and helped Executive Software change from a direct sales model
to a channel sales model. He also helped to establish Executive
Software's online store and ESD sales. He will provide the perspective
of someone on the front lines of product management who has
seen many things that work well and not-so-well.
Moderator:
Leland D. Shaeffer, Managing Director of PLMAssociates, helps
companies bring better products to market faster, using fewer
resources, by helping them implement or improve development
and product lifecycle management processes. He currently is
an instructor at the California Institute of Technology Industrial
Relations Center on "Streamlining the Product Development
Process" and at the USC Marshall School of Business on
"Excelling at Product Management".
He has held
senior positions in product management, engineering and marketing
at companies ranging from venture capital backed start-ups to
Apple Computer, Convergent Technologies/Unisys, Imagery/Eastman
Kodak, and Siliconix/Vishay. Mr. Shaeffer also was a consultant
at McKinsey & Company, where he specialized in product/market
strategy. Mr. Shaeffer holds a BS in electrical engineering
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MBA from
Stanford University.
