This section describes the similarities and differences of the software product for stage 6a and for stage 6b. The main difference between these stages is related to the possibility of customizing the product software (stage 6a) so that it can be integrated to the customers’ current information systems or infrastructure (Hietala et al. 2004). On the other hand, product software can also be designed in order to serve the mass market (stage 6b), with configuration possibilities and without any form of customization. The decision of selling product software as service or as license should be determined in an earlier stage of the productization process.
General
The main change in this stage is the change in the release planning function. Where in the previous stage the release was specified for each customer separately, this stage will generate one generic release for all customers without any customized features. Therefore, the requirements prioritization and requirements selection processes should focus on all stakeholders and not specifically on one customer in particular. Important for successful release planning is the involvement of the
stakeholders with the composition and validation of the releases definition. As a result of this change, the ‘Delivery’ of a release specific for a customer (stage 5) is changed into ‘Launch & Delivery’ of the releases for all customers / entire market. The process of launching & delivering of the releases is further explained in the following section where it is specified for each end-stage. The involvement of the internal stakeholders is still increasing within this stage. The internal stakeholders have at this point a higher influence for the determination of the content of the releases. In addition, the marketing and sales department should focus in this stage on bringing the product to the market. Finally, this results in a decrease of the involvement of the external stakeholders on the development of the releases. Although, because of the customizable layer on top of the software product the contribution of the external stakeholder is higher in stage 6a compared with stage 6b.
Portfolio Management & Product Roadmapping
No major changes occur within the portfolio management and product roadmapping processes within stage 6a nor stage 6b; on the other hand the lifecycle, product line and roadmap should be updated based on made changes. In addition, the new release planning activities should be based on the identified roadmap. Central for this stage is the activity of bringing the product to the market and selling the product. Also the process of identifying the market trends and market requirements is important at this stage. Specific wishes of the market should be taken into account so that the new functionalities for the next releases can be determined. The product line specified earlier should be updated based on the identified trends.
Requirements Management & Release Planning
Compared with the previous stage the intensity of customized features should decrease in order to start developing a standard product. Therefore, the maturity of the requirements management and release planning activities should increase in such a way that the requirements prioritization and requirements selection processes are more based on a product oriented viewpoint. The
requirements prioritization process should be based on the gathered request from all the customers and these requests should be handled and stored as market requirements. The generated roadmap should be used as basis for the selection of a subset of requirements for a release. The releases are launched and delivered for all customers when it is developed, tested and accepted. Compared with previous stage; this process consists of the implementation of the releases for all customers at once. More information for each end stage specific can be found in the following sections.
4.1.7.1 Stage 6a: Customizable Software Product
Figure 12: Stage 6a – Customizable software product.
Definition of Customizable Software Product: a packaged configuration of a software-based service, with auxiliary materials, which is released for and traded in a specific market and customized for a specific customer. This definition is based on the definition for a software product from Xu & Brinkkemper (2005).
Characteristics:
• One standard product with customized layered part • Structured releases
• Software business aiming at selling services
General
For some companies there is still a need to be able to customize the software product so that it can be integrated within specific situations. This product type is characterized by software that is too complex to be sold ‘off-the-shelf’ and that requires customization or special integration and installation work (Cusumano, 2004). Therefore, there is the need for a customized (small) layer on top of the product so that the required functionalities can be added. Also Codenie et al. (1997) identified the essence of still having a customizable part in order to be able to apply the product to different situations. Additionally, Hoch et al. (1999) identified this type of product software as “enterprise solution systems”. Usually this type of product software is developed for other enterprises and not specifically for individuals.
Requirements Management & Release Planning
This stage has still a small customized layer on top of the product and this layer is special designed for each customer so that the software product can be integrated within for example existing
infrastructures. However, when we compare this layer with the previous stage, this layer should be considerably smaller and related to providing a service. Due to the addition of the customized layer on top of the product, the complexity of integrating the product for new customers might take considerable more time and effort. New customers will have a more complex process of launch and delivery due to the integration and collaboration within existing information systems. According to Hoch et al. (1999), when for example an ERP system is installed, 30% of the total costs is spend on the product license and 70% for providing professional services to implement the product.
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4.1.7.2 Stage 6b: Standard Software Product
Figure 13: Stage 6b – Standard software product.
Definition of Standard Software Product: a packaged configuration of software components, which is released for and traded in a specific market. This definition is based on the definition for a software product from Xu & Brinkkemper (2005).
Characteristics:
• One generic product for all customers and build for a specific market • Structured releases
• Software is completely configurable
• Software business aiming at selling licenses
General
After several stages still focusing on the customers, this stage only focuses on a market in general. By performing active marketing and sales activities, the company should start to sell the product to a mass-market and start looking at the wishes of that market. In order to bring the product to the market, it is required that there are no customized features included within the product and the product is completely configurable. Furthermore, the main measurement in order to determine success is mainly based on getting a bigger market share and having a shorter time-to-market. Still the customer satisfaction gives a proper indication whether or not the entire transformation is a success or not, but this is not the main success indicator anymore. An advantage of selling product software is that no additional development is required in order to be able to sell the product to new customers. This also results in a much bigger potential market and more customers (Hietala et al. 2004).
Requirements Management & Release Planning
Compared to the previous stage, this stage consists of the development of a product for an entire market segment. As a result, the release planning process should serve the identified market frequently with new releases. The requirement management process must be changed from gathering requirements from specific customers to gathering requirements from the entire market segment. Additionally, the requirements gathering process is driven by a market pull and technology push approach. Due to the release planning function, the main focus when prioritizing and selecting requirements is changed to create an optimal (subset) of requirements in order to increase market- share. While determining this subset of requirements it is essential to consider the available
resources. At this stage the product is launched & delivered per market and the product is delivered to a bigger amount of customers compared with stage 6a. All of the customers within this stage get
exact the same product without any customizable features at all. Some examples of this kind of products are: operating systems or business software. Main objective of this type of software product is selling as many licenses as possible.