Best Practices in Product Management with case study and discussion.

1. Ikhlaq Sidhu
Chief Scientist & Founding Director, Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology
Faculty Director, Engineering Leadership Professional Program (ELPP)
IEOR Emerging Area Professor, UC Berkeley
Department of Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, UC Berkeley
MEDTRONIC CASE DISCUSSION
Best Practices in Product Management

2. Medtronic
Source: Medtronics case used in course, HBS

3. Medtronic
Source: Medtronics case used in course, HBS
What are the
Problems of the
Firm in 1986?

4. Medtronic
Source: Medtronics case used in course, HBS
What triggered
the turn around
in 1986?

5. How did Mike Steven’s approach the
situation in Medtronic
when he becomes
VP of Product Development?

6. How did Mike Steven’s approach the situation in Medtronic
when he becomes VP of Product Development?
Mike Stevens
Leadership:
Sets tone and
expectation
MeasuresProcess

7. How did Mike Steven’s approach the situation in Medtronic
when he becomes VP of Product Development?
Mike Stevens
Leadership:
Sets tone and
expectation
Measures:
Process
Measures:
• Cycle time
• Fully allocated cost
• Quality
• Innovativeness:
Market Share

8. How did Mike Steven’s approach the situation in Medtronic
when he becomes VP of Product Development?
Mike Stevens
Leadership:
Sets tone and
expectation
Measures:
Process:
To scale. Removes
management from
day to day decisions
Measures:
• Cycle time
• Fully allocated cost
• Quality
• Innovativeness:
Market Share

9. Elements of the Medtronic Process

10. A Narrow Funnel
Commitment Review
Tech. uncertainty
Strategic Fit
Source: Medtronics case used in course, HBS
X
X
X
X
XXX
X
X

11. Train Schedule + Platform
• Fully featured platform -> product line management
• Avoid Medtronic problem: newest feature on simplest product
• Platform costs are shared and allocated over all products
• Team structure to avoid duplicate work and skills
Platform 1.0 Platform 2.0
Product A (High)
Product B (Med)
Product C (Low)

12. Train Schedule + Platform
• Fully featured platform -> product line management
• Avoid Medtronic problem: newest feature on simplest product
• Platform costs are shared and allocated over all products
• Team structure to avoid duplicate work and skills
Platform 1.0 Platform 2.0
Product A
Product B
Product C
What are the
characteristics of an
ideal platform?

13. An R&D Process for Product Development
Methods:
– Train schedules
– Platforms/Produ
cts
– Gates / Docs
– Funnels
– PRD
– Agile vs.
Aggregate
Planning
Measures:
– Cycle time
– Market Share
– Quality
– Fully Allocated
Cost
Funnel
Commitment
Point with Product
Requirements
short
Keep
Technology
Risk in “Labs”
“Adv.
Work
”

14. Lets Discuss Agile for a Moment
Team A
Team B
Team C
Team D
Team E
1
Market
Target
2*1
2
Moving
Target
* X day sprints
* Design + test together

15. Lets Discuss Agile for a Moment
Team A
Team B
Team C
Team D
Team E
Does this case conflict
with the ideas of Agile
Development?
1
Market
Target
2*1
2
Moving
Target
* X day sprints
* Design + test together

16. What are the Challenges of the
Future for Medtronic:

17. Challenges of the Future
Performance
Time
Performance
needed by market
Product performance
driven by technology
Disruptive Technology
or model in new, insignificant market
• Over-served market
• Looking for New
Markets, possibly less
profitable
• Making your current
customers profitable
How well is the Medtronic process
suited to the new challenges?

18. Leaders vs. Competitors
Competitor in Pack
• Fast follower
• Fast cycle times
• Prioritized features
• Leverage cost advantage
Leader
• No one to follow / copy
• Target on back, other copy
• Expectations of being a global
citizen
• Must disrupt status quo and/or
disrupt self

19. End of Section

20. What has changed since the writing
of the case?

21. Sample Diagrams