Finding software can be overwhelming. Software Advice helps small businesses choose the right product management software so they can build roadmaps and align their portfolio and business strategy.
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Viewpath is a cloud-based project management solution that allows teams to view team availability, assign tasks and collaborate with teams in real time. With everything hosted in the cloud, the platform can be utilized by global teams,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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inMotion ignite is a creative project management software built specifically for the needs of creative and marketing teams. Combining the most powerful elements of task and workflow management with the collaborative features of online... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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monday.com, an award-winning collaboration and project management platform, helps teams plan together efficiently and execute complex projects to deliver results on time. monday.com team management and task management tool allows for... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Smartsheet is a work execution platform and collaboration tool with a familiar spreadsheet-like interface that helps teams plan, track, and manage projects in real-time. Smartsheet features include a range of project management tools,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Easy Projects is a cloud-based project management platform suitable for midsize organizations and enterprises. Easy Projects provides every contributing team member, project manager, executive, stakeholder or customer with access... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
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Project Insight (PI) is the work management hub helping companies manage projects, allocate personnel and track what work is being done throughout the entire organization. The intuitive software aggregates data from high-productivity... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
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Designed to eliminate rigid departmentalization and streamline strategic execution, MPOWR Envision helps organizations build an execution strategy using open communication and organizational alignment. As a cloud-based execution tool,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Sciforma is a cloud-based project and portfolio management solution for enterprises that allows to strategically track and analyze project data and make relevant decisions. It can be sold as a stand-alone portfolio management, project... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
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Cora Systems provide enterprise project and portfolio management solutions to global organizations and government agencies, such as Honeywell, Elanco, PwC, City of London and the UK’s National Health Service. Their solution, Cora... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
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Workamajig is a cloud-based HTML5 project management solution designed for creative ad agencies and in-house advertising teams of all sizes. Key features include opportunity tracking, project management, time tracking, resource management... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
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WorkOtter is cloud based and built to make your collaborative work easy and visible to the organization. Keep projects in the light and gain traction. Get the tools you need to simplify your work, focus on people, move projects to... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Wrike is a cloud-based project management platform for teams of 20+ that is suitable for both large enterprises and SMBs. It supports remote work for various teams. This solution comes with Gantt charts, calendars, workload view for... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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AchieveIt is a cloud-based solution designed to help medium to large organizations in healthcare, government, utilities, enterprise, education, and more organize and integrate multiple plans, progress updates, and reports in a centralized... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Workfront is a platform for enterprise work management. Now there is one central application platform to share ideas, create content, manage complex processes, and help people do their best work. When all the information about work... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Mavenlink offers services and solutions for project management, resource planning, collaboration, and project accounting. Mavenlink combines the robust functionality of a Professional Services Automation solution with intuitive user-friendly... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Targetprocess is a cloud-based enterprise visual platform which connects Portfolio, Products and Teams. The tool perfectly reflects the agile methodology and can help any company to adopt and scale agile across the enterprise. To... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: CloudOn premise
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Ravetree is a cloud-based project management solution with integrated resource planning, customer relationship management and time and expense tracking capabilities. The solution helps users manage project workflows, task assignment... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Deltek WorkBook is a cloud-based agency management system that provides a way to manage resources, schedule jobs and record time. With this system, organizations can manage projects, control budget, store documents and more. Deltek... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Kimble focuses exclusively on professional services automation (PSA), innovating a best-in-class SaaS platform that works seamlessly with CRM. Recommended by global leaders in consulting, software and hi-tech, Kimble helps professional... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Work-Relay is an enterprise work management system that brings together task, process, project, and resource management in a single, unified application. Work-Relay ensures that work patterns are clearly defined, timelines are well... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud
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Popular Comparisons
Digitalization is causing a major disruption in the project management industry, prompting organizations to shift from a project model to a product model in order to more effectively manage technology investments.
Gartner predicts businesses that embrace this change now will outperform their competition in both customer satisfaction and business results. (Source: "Mastering the Role of Products in the Digital Era." Full report available to Gartner clients.)
We've created this guide to help you better understand all that product management encompasses and how it relates to the current project management marketplace.
Whether you're just starting to shift from a project to a product model, or you're a seasoned product manager looking to upgrade your current system, this guide can help you make a more informed purchase decision.
Here's what we'll cover:
What Is Product Management Software?
Product Management vs. Project Management
Common Capabilities of Product Management Software
Market Trends to Understand
What Is Product Management Software?
Product management encompasses the planning, production, marketing and managing of products over their life cycle, i.e., introduction, growth, maturity and decline. It brings together business strategy, customer needs/wants and technology investments.
Products can be tangible, i.e., physical goods, or they can be more intangible, such as software applications or a service you offer.
Gartner's Definition of a Product in the Digital Era
(Source: "Mastering the Role of Products in the Digital Era." Full report available to Gartner clients.)
Within the realm of IT and project management, product portfolio management refers to an organizational approach to managing technology investments (i.e., software and applications), both internally developed or purchased.
It involves grouping applications into product suites that align with, and deliver the capabilities required by, each business area. The goal is to deliver continuous value from software and applications over their life cycle, rather than a single delivery of value all at once at the close of the project.
Product management software provides support for these ventures, allowing businesses to more effectively:
- Align their portfolio with the business strategy
- Balance demand with resource capacity
- Analyze the risk versus reward for various opportunities
- Manage product initiatives from concept to closeout
Product Management vs. Project Management
These disciplines are closely related, but there are some key differences:
Product management involves developing and communicating a product strategy (that aligns with business goals). Product managers put together a product vision, outline high-level requirements, prioritize initiatives in the portfolio and drive the development of products in the product line.
Strategic planning in Aha!
Project management involves executing the strategy through individual initiatives. Each project initiative is designed to deliver specific requirements. Project managers govern those initiatives, coordinate resources, oversee schedules and manage all the details of the project from kickoff to closeout.
Project dashboard in LiquidPlanner
Common Capabilities of Product Management Software
Product management software can range quite significantly in size and function, with some specializing in a single phase of the product life cycle and others offering an integrated suite of tools to govern multiple phases.
Expect to see some or all of the following capabilities as you evaluate the various product management systems on the market:
| Collaboration | Increase transparency into your product strategy and vision. Enable users to communicate and collaborate in a centralized workspace, share ideas and work together to accomplish goals. |
| Idea management | Create a forum where users can submit and discuss product ideas and build out a business case. Figure out what to work on next by grooming your product backlog based on impact versus effort. |
| Content management | Upload and store files such as product requirements, market research and competitor analyses. Set permissions and share files with approved users. This may be called a "research repository." |
| Product portfolio management | Build a product portfolio based on business strategy and current, near term and future goals. Design product lines and manage opportunities across the business. Communicate your product vision, value proposition, go-to-market plans and more. |
| Product research | Conduct research on users, build personas, test various designs for the best user experience. |
| Product roadmapping | Prioritize initiatives based on customer analysis and feedback. Break product requirements into features and put them on the roadmap according to priority. Roadmap options will vary across tools, i.e., team roadmaps, product roadmaps, portfolio roadmaps, release roadmaps. Discuss needs with vendors to ensure the product capabilities match your business requirements. |
| Application management | Support software and application products over their life cycles: Plan/gather requirements, put into design specification plan, develop/build it, test it, deploy application and maintain/support it. |
| Reporting and analytics | Organize data, analyze it, spot trends and identify patterns. Collate data from various sources on dashboards and build out custom reports or use an out-of-the box template. |
| Feedback management | Gather customer feedback and incorporate it into product decisions. Link feedback to product ideas and requirements on your roadmap. |
Market Trends To Understand
The shift from project to product portfolio management is happening faster than you might think. We surveyed managers and application leaders to find out how their organizations currently manage technology investments.
While 36 percent still manage all investments as IT projects, it's telling that 64 percent have a product component in their portfolio in some capacity.
This reflects a major change in how organizations are seeking to deliver value through capabilities, from strictly project-based to product-oriented portfolios.
Organizational Approach to Managing Technology Investments
![Organizational Approach to Managing Technology Investments [chart]](https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/wp-content/uploads/1676202-product_management.png)
Gartner estimates that by 2020, three-quarters of digital business leaders will have pivoted from project to product portfolio management. (Full report available to Gartner clients.)
If you're part of the 36 percent who have yet to make the transition, here's how to get started:
- Direct your project management office (PMO) to include both a product and a project component in your portfolio moving forward.
- Empower existing product managers to lead your transition.
- Set up cross-functional teams (e.g., executives, product managers and their counterparts in IT and operations) to align your product portfolio and resources with your business strategy.
- Embrace business agility, agile development methods and the DevOps movement (if you haven't already).