The product manager is responsible for determining the release or product mix—the specific set of ideas that are requested as product features for the engineering cycle. The product manager is, therefore responsible for defining the input to the system—the product requirements—while the program manager is responsible for releasing those requirements into the system of software production at the appropriate time to maintain optimal flow.
The product manager must estimate the Throughput (T) from a potential release and choose an appropriate feature set based on input from the development manager. The lead time and production rate of the software production system will determine the delivery date for the product or release. The delivery date is directly relevant to the appropriate mix of features. The product manager must strike this balance.
The product manager takes overall responsibility for NP and ROI and is responsible for the sum of money invested in inventory. The product manager has responsibility to determine the potential Throughput, select the delivery date, and control the investment. The delivery date controls the operating expense, (OE). Hence it is reasonable to make the product manager responsible for I, NP, and ROI. The better the product manager, the more NP he will be able to achieve with less I, which produces greater ROI.
The product manager must seek methods for improving idea generation and requirements capture. He must seek to reduce the average investment per function (AIPF). The marketing group should seek to become a learning organization. It must understand how its processes work and how to improve them. Marketing must be seen, in its own way, as a system—a system of idea generation.
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