How to do product planning

There are many different aspects to consider in Product Planning. This is part of the Product Manager‘s position. He must create a product with the help of the right resources, and product planning is the essence of project management.  

What is Product Planning? 

Product planning is about all the internal decisions, steps, and tasks needed to develop a successful product. It consists of all the actions that you need to take to introduce the product and also to market it.  

It is the process of identifying and implementing new product ideas. The goal is to align the company’s assets and operational factors. Through the strategy, you can increase the success, and achieve the business goals.

A product plan should answer the following questions: 

• What features should the product have?  
• How will the prices be determined? 
• What are the goals and metrics?  
• How can you determine success?

Why planning is important  

Product planning is an important part of the introduction of a product. The strategy ensures the safe development of the product and reduces potential problems and risks.  

It also provides benefits for the following: 

• Improved customer support  
  Planned scheduling can provide customers with better support and on-time delivery.  
• Optimal use of resources  
  Resources can be used more effectively through scheduling and can be incorporated into the production process. This also means that resources are less wasted and can be used optimally.  
• Brand image  
  By having the product planned and thus the customer can be satisfied as they have relevant information that they need at all times. And with satisfied customers, there is also a good brand image!  

Process of product planning  

Through the process, you get a multi-layered view of the management side of a product. Here are a few steps you need to take for development. 

1. Define product concept  

This first step is about what product you are trying to develop. This is where you write down the idea and define it as an implementable idea. It is also to create a precise idea of the problems that the product will solve.  

2. Market research  

Once the idea and rough concept are in place, it is time to move into market research. In this phase, it is found out whether there is a market for the product to be developed and whether it can be sold. This includes competitive analysis and SWOT analysis to find out the advantages and weaknesses compared to competitors.  

3. Plan product testing process 

The next step is to create an MVP = Minimal Viable Product. This means that the product exists and can be presented to customers or test users so that they can test it and give feedback.  

4. Details

This is where the product roadmap and product planning are combined. Through the roadmap, the product team can be built more easily and other processes such as price changes or infrastructure changes can also be simplified.  

5. Product lifecycle  

The process does not end with the product launch but should also include the phases thereafter. To continue to optimize the product afterward, a constant life cycle is therefore also useful with a view to the competitors.  

Best practices  

1. Define and have in mind corporate goals.  

The success of the company depends on the definition of the company’s goals. Defining these and always keeping them in mind also helps to identify potential customers and also how to approach them.  

2. Agile product planning  

There are three phases of agile product planning:  

• The vision
  These are the overall goals and objectives that the team wants to achieve. Everyone should work towards this goal  
• Product strategy  
  This is the identification of strategy, competitors, target group, and requirements for the product.  
• Tactics  
  This phase is about the basics, functionality, and design. It is also about achieving the sprint goals.  

3. Use a product management tool  

This is a good way to make sure that the development is going in the right direction. There are many different ways to visually represent this with tools.  

Product Planning Tools  

Tools for your product planning can you find here.