AMA: Atlassian Director of Product Management (Confluence), Paresh Vakhariya on Product Innovation

Innovation is a collaborative exercise between PM, Design and Engineering. Engineering: * Engineers assess the tech feasibility of new ideas and concepts. * They might create prototypes, spikes, conduct tests, and provide tech input on design and product requirements * Eng. might also have architectural input to make sure the solution is feasible within given timeframes and constraints Design: * Designers often lead efforts to gather and analyze user feedback on proposed UX via usability testing or other means * Both engineering and design teams are involved in creating prototypes and conducting user tests. My fav method is a hackathon where all functions work together to come up with an idea and get scrappy about implementing an MVP.

It depends. The balance between focusing on big bets and incremental improvements in a roadmap often varies depending on the stage of the company, strategic goals, competitive landscape, current market position, and resource availability. Big bets include: building new products, brand new features, entering a new geography/market, or a tech innovation (such as AI). Product incremental improvements include engagement drivers, process/feature enhancements, or UX improvements. The factors outlined play a role. 1. Stage of the company: startups might invest more in innovation as compared to established companies/products 2. Strategic goals: Sometimes companies want to continuously improve their existing products, which requires innovation bets. 3. Competitive landscape: in a crowded social networking, messaging, etc., it might require more innovation bets. 4. Market position: depending upon whether the company is a leader in their market vs. trying to win the market, the approach to innovation might vary. 5. Resourcing: does the company have time/resources to invest in new innovation? In summary, it depends on many factors. There is no general rule of thumb.

Some key components of a business case are: * Problem statement: could include end customer/user issues, technological issues or market data. * Size of the problem: why is it important to solve it and solve it now? * Competitive analysis: what are other products building or doing well? * Solutions: one or more ideas to solve the problems * Company goals and strategy: how does this fit with company goals and help grow them? What is the long term impact of this solution? * Design ideas: are there design suggestions that can be included? * Technical feasibility: is it possible to build the solution? What are the options? What are the timelines and tradeoffs? * Resource analysis: do we have the required resourcing to make this happen? What other costs need to be considered (Marketing, Advertising, etc) * Metrics and impact: what are the key metrics we hope to move? * Identify potential risks involved in the project, including technical, market, financial, and operational risks. * Roadmap: what is the proposed plan? * Executive and stakeholder buy-in: how do we plan to get exec support and funding needed for the project? Overall, a business case involves many aspects that require diligent preparation.

SOME IDEAS FOR STAYING UP TO DATE: 1. Company events: 1. Understand company strategy to know where the industry is going 2. Competitor trends 2. Tech Blogs: * TechCrunch * Or based on your industry (Apple, Google etc.) * Or being a user of the products that you enjoy * Signing up for competitor products and reading about feature launches they have made * Peer conversations on latest tech trends: this is my favorite!!! 3. In Person Events and Networking: 1. Professional Associations: 2. Conferences 4. Social Media and online events: * LinkedIn: Follow industry leaders and join groups relevant to your field. * Twitter: Follow hashtags like #AI * Podcasts: as per your interest * Webinars: as per your interest * Youtube: online courses