How can Operational Value Streams Shape Your Product Strategy and Roadmap Success? by Ioanna Papakanderaki

Picture a world where every stakeholder within your organization effortlessly grasps and contributes to your Product Roadmaps. It may seem like an ideal scenario, but trust me, there are techniques available that can turn this vision into reality. Operational Value Streams provide a structured pathway for organizations to optimize their workflows, fostering collaboration and simplifying the visualization of your product roadmap.

Operational Value Streams, as delineated in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), offer a systematic approach to understanding and enhancing workflow across the organization. They play a pivotal role in aligning business objectives with the delivery of value to customers, enabling everyone involved to see the big picture and contribute to its realization.

A notable advantage of Operational Value Streams is their ability to offer end-to-end visibility into the product development lifecycle. By mapping out every stage and activity involved in bringing a product from concept to delivery, teams gain a comprehensive understanding of value generation and delivery.

This visibility empowers stakeholders at all levels to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement within the value stream. By analyzing these insights, teams can streamline processes, minimize waste, and optimize resource allocation. This collaborative effort ensures that the Product Roadmap reflects the collective priorities of the organization and drives success.

We've witnessed the transformative power of Operational Value Streams firsthand. Whether it's for existing products or brand-new ventures, we've created operational value stream maps that have revolutionized the way organizations visualize and execute their product strategies. Embracing this approach has not only streamlined our workflows but has also fueled innovation and growth across the board. Join me on this journey toward simplified, attainable, and impactful Product Roadmaps.

1. Ioanna Papakanderaki
How Operational Value
Streams Shape your
Product Strategy and
Roadmap Success?

2. 95% OF NEW PRODUCTS
FAIL!

•According to Harvard Business School over 30.000 new products
introduced every year and 95% of those products fail!

3. Can the high failure rate be attributed
solely to ineffective product strategy?
Of course NOT!
Inadequate testing
Limited market size
Poor launch timing
Ineffective product strategy
Lack of process and coordination

4. 34.2%

Percentage of increased profits by an optimized product management
process.

5. A bit about me…
Ioanna Papakanderaki
•Love Immigrant
•Originally from Athens, but the last 8 years I
live in Sarajevo
•Mother of 2 beautiful girls
•Studied Electrical and computer engineering
•Senior Product Manager @ MVP Factory, a
Ness Engineering company
•Previously in Citrix & Authority Partners

6. Why do Product Strategies
Fail?
Customer is not at
the center: Forgetting
the Agile Manifesto’s
customer centrality.
Lack of clear
objectives and goals:
Products like Microsoft
Zune lacked
differentiation.
Misalignment with
business goals:
Conflicting visions and
frequent direction
changes.
Resistance to
change:
Failure to iterate,
adapt, and embrace
feedback.

7. Netflix, at a time that
wasn’t so chill
The year was 2011, Netflix decided to split their 10$ offering into:
•8$ streaming plans
•8$ mailed DVDs

That didn’t resinate well with their customers.

To fix the problem, Netflix become obsessed with its customers
and to what they want. They use extensive amount of data to
make creative decisions.

8. MySpace’s
Decline
•Peak and fall: MySpace was once the leading social network
•Failed to address user concerns about privacy and usability
•Comparison with Facebook: Emerged as a user-friendly alternative,
leading to MySpace’s decline
•Lesson: "Listening to customer feedback is crucial for sustained success."

9. Microsoft Zune, a mere
copy of the iPod
•Microsoft Zune (2006)
•Microsoft’s attempt to compete with the iPod
•Lack of clear objectives and differentiation
from the iPod
•Zune lacked identity and failed to offer
compelling features.

10. "Without clear goals,
even well-funded
projects can falter."

11. What is Product Strategy?
Product strategy is the overarching plan that defines
what a business aims to achieve with a product or
feature. It encompasses how the product will be
created, its impact on buyers, and how it contributes
to achieving business goals.

12. Key
Ingredients of
a Winning
Product
Strategy
Solving Problems
That Matter
Focus on real customer
issues using tools like
direct interviews and
usability testing
Tracking Success
Importance of clear,
measurable goals and
continuous feedback
Tools: Customer surveys,
A/B testing, and usage
analytics
Seeing the Big
Picture
How product fits into
overall business strategy
and market conditions

13. Third Nature & Solving Real
customer problems

14. Motorola vs
iPhone
Iterated and re-thought their product strategy in 8
weeks!!

15. Key
Ingredients of
a Winning
Product
Strategy
Fail Fast: Iterate &
Adapt
Embrace rapid iteration based on
user feedback and market
changes
Beyond Silos
Necessity of cross-functional
collaboration for holistic strategy
development
Technique: Regular
cross-departmental meetings
and shared objectives

16. Operational Value
Streams Explained

•Activities required to deliver a
product/service directly to customers
•Different from Development Value Streams
focused on product creation
•Lean principles: Emphasize eliminating
waste and improving flow efficiency
•Importance: Direct impact on customer
satisfaction and organizational success

17. Types and Patterns of Operational Value Streams
Fulfillment: Managing
orders for digitally-enabled
products and services
Manufacturing:
Transforming raw
materials into finished
products
Software Products:
Development and support
of software applications
Supporting Streams:
Internal activities
supporting main value
streams

18. Examples
of 4 types
of OVS

19. Customer Journey Mapping & OVS

20. Development Value
Stream Canvas
•The Development Value
Stream Canvas as a tool to
summarize product vision
•Aligns development efforts
with customer needs and
operational efficiency
•Strategy: Ensures cohesive
product development and
delivery processes

21. Conclusions and Path Forward
Product Strategy
Imperative:
The staggering failure
rate of 95% of new
products underscores
the critical need for
effective product
strategy.
Profit Potential:
Optimized product
management
processes can boost
profits by 34.2%,
highlighting the
immense value of
streamlined strategies.
Addressing
Ineffectiveness:
Understanding the
reasons behind
ineffective product
strategy, such as lack
of customer focus and
resistance to change,
is crucial for
improvement.
Effective Strategy
Ingredients:
Key elements include
solving real customer
problems, tracking
success with metrics,
aligning with business
goals, embracing
failure, and fostering
collaboration.
Operational Value
Streams Importance:
Operational Value
Streams are
foundational to
customer satisfaction,
reducing time to
market, and
enhancing the overall
customer experience.
Path Forward:
By implementing these
insights and focusing
on holistic strategy
development,
businesses can
navigate the
complexities of
product management
with confidence and
success.

23. Let’s keep
in touch !

24. PLATINUM SPONSOR
GOLD SPONSOR
Thank you!
SILVER SPONSOR