Why Does Product Development Take So Long in Our Company?
Before blaming engineering, determine whether the schedule is absorbing decisions that should have been made earlier.
Read the AnalysisPublished works
Ideas for leading product businesses.
A complete archive of Doug Ringer’s published work on strategy, customer value, commercialization, and execution.
Current Product-Business Perspectives
Analysis of consequential product-business questions facing presidents, general managers, and product leaders.
Time to Market Is Not the Finish Line
Launch closes only one of the three clocks that matter to a product investment — cost to market, time to market, and time to profit. Why the business case should stay alive long after the product ships.
Read the AnalysisHow Do I Know Which New Product Investments Are Worth Funding?
A good product idea is not yet a good product investment. How to evaluate new product commitments with discipline.
Read the AnalysisYour Product Business Is One System — Even if Your Organisation Isn't
Every function can perform well and the product business can still underperform. Why product-business results are created in the connections between decisions, not inside any one department.
Read the AnalysisWhy Is My Product Business Not Growing?
The first explanation is usually a hypothesis, not a diagnosis. How to find the real root cause of a product business growth problem.
Read the AnalysisPublished Work Archive
11 published works
Customer Value & Commercialization
You Sell to People, Not Markets
Doug Ringer · Money Inc. ·
This article challenges leaders to remember that markets and segments are abstractions while buying decisions are made by people. The commercialization…
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Cheat sheet: What project managers need to know about RFIs and RFQs
Doug Ringer · TechRepublic ·
This article explains how RFIs and RFQs support formal buying and supplier-selection decisions. For product-business leaders, these tools are part of…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
Megapixels: What's the Perfect Number?
Doug Ringer · Security Insights ·
This article uses megapixel count to ask a broader product question: when does more specification stop creating more customer value? The modern relevance is…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
Beware of VOC: The Customer is Often Wrong
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article asks how leaders should interpret Voice of the Customer rather than simply transcribe customer requests into features. The principle remains…
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On-Shore Support: Using Company Location as a Competitive Advantage
Doug Ringer · Design World ·
This article asks whether company location and on-shore support can become part of the competitive offer rather than simply an operating fact. The current…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
Tips for Creating an Effective Value Proposition
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article asks how to build a value proposition that is useful before a product is fully defined rather than as late-stage marketing copy. The lasting…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
10 Ways To Convince Customers To Upgrade To IP Video
Doug Ringer · Business Solutions ·
This article asks how to persuade customers to move from an established video technology to an IP-based alternative. The broader commercialization lesson is…
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Not All Data Is Created Equally
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article asks how product teams should distinguish useful market and customer evidence from hearsay, irrelevant data, and feature requests that do not…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
Key Elements of a Successful Product Concept
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article addresses the front-end question of what makes a product concept strong enough to justify development. Today, concept quality protects…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
3 Reasons Why Product Quality is Irrelevant
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article challenges the idea that product quality, by itself, is a compelling differentiator when customers already expect an acceptable level of…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
Do You Know What You Are Really Selling?
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article asks what customers are actually buying when they choose an engineered product. It shifts the discussion from specifications to the customer's…
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