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
44 published works
Product Development & Execution
Agile vs Waterfall: Key Differences And Definition — Which Model Is Better?
Doug Ringer · Codegiant ·
This article compares Agile and Waterfall as alternative ways to organize development work. Its current value is in rejecting methodology as ideology:…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
Take control of your products: How to unleash your expertise to create dynamic growth
Doug Ringer · CompanyWeek ·
This piece asks how a product strategy should connect corporate direction, product-line expertise, customer needs, and the value proposition. Its…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
High Rewards Do Not Have to Mean High Risk
Doug Ringer · Money Inc. ·
This article challenges the assumption that meaningful rewards require accepting uncontrolled risk. For product and portfolio leaders, the practical…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
Why Speed Beats Perfection Every Time
Doug Ringer · Money Inc. ·
This article argues that excessive pursuit of perfection can destroy more value than a timely, well-informed decision. The product-business connection is…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
Risk Management Planning: 5 Risks Businesses May Face
Doug Ringer · American Express OPEN Forum ·
This article examines the kinds of operational, financial, market, and strategic risks businesses need to recognize before they become disruptive. Its…
Read publication contextCustomer 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…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
Global Business Innovation: Finding Solutions to Common Challenges
Doug Ringer · American Express OPEN Forum ·
This article considers how businesses can approach common challenges with innovation that is grounded in real market conditions. For product leaders, the…
Read publication contextLeadership & Organization
Leading vs. managing: See our tips for effective leadership
Doug Ringer · Home Furnishings News ·
This article examines the difference between leading people and managing work. For product organizations, both are necessary: direction, confidence, and…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
The Five Most Important Phases of the Product Lifecycle
Doug Ringer · Money Inc. ·
This article frames the product lifecycle as a sequence of management phases that require different decisions and priorities. Today, lifecycle discipline…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
Investors want to see character, accomplishments before they will invest in CEO
Doug Ringer · FierceCEO ·
This FierceCEO piece addresses what investors look for in a chief executive beyond a title - character, judgment, and demonstrated accomplishment. The…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
CEOs owe it to company to be technically savvy
Doug Ringer · FierceCEO ·
This FierceCEO piece addresses how technically informed a CEO should be in a technology-dependent business. The product-business question is how executives…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
The Time They Are A-Changin' For Change Management
Doug Ringer · Chief Marketing Officer ·
This article examines how organizations should approach change when change is continuous rather than episodic. For product businesses, the lesson is that…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
Four Steps to Faster Results
Doug Ringer · Design World ·
This article focuses on converting organizational intent into faster results. The continuing management question is how to clarify priorities, remove…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
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 contextProduct Development & Execution
Simplify – Overcomplication Stalls Progress
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article addresses the cost of unnecessary complexity in management and development work. The product-business relevance is straightforward:…
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 contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
Three Problems Caused by Diffusing Product Leadership
Doug Ringer · Design World ·
This article addresses the consequences of spreading product leadership across multiple functions without one accountable owner. The management question…
Read publication contextLeadership & Organization
6 Steps to Getting the Best from Your Team
Doug Ringer · Industrial Equipment News ·
This article asks what managers can do to get stronger results from the people already on the team. The product-business relevance is execution capacity:…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
Risk: The Glass is Half-Full or Half-Empty – It's Your Choice
Doug Ringer · Design World ·
This article challenges leaders to treat risk as something to understand and manage rather than automatically avoid. That remains important to product…
Read publication contextLeadership & Organization
Expertise is Not Enough to Be Successful
Doug Ringer · Industrial Equipment News ·
This article asks why subject-matter expertise alone does not guarantee business success. The current lesson for engineered-product companies is that…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
Develop Partnerships to Improve Time-to-Market, Innovation, and Productivity
Doug Ringer · Design World ·
This article asks when partnerships can improve innovation, productivity, and time-to-market rather than merely add another supplier. For product leaders…
Read publication contextLeadership & Organization
Poor Communication Speaks Volumes
Doug Ringer · Industrial Equipment News ·
This article addresses communication as an operating issue rather than a soft skill. Poor communication slows decisions, creates rework, weakens alignment,…
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…
Read publication contextLeadership & Organization
Three Ways to Stop Skills Shortages
Doug Ringer · Industrial Equipment News ·
This article asks how organizations can respond to shortages of critical skills rather than simply compete harder for scarce hires. The product-business…
Read publication contextLeadership & Organization
Employees: The Other Half of Employee Empowerment
Doug Ringer · Industrial Equipment News ·
This article argues that employee empowerment has obligations on both sides: leaders must delegate real authority, and employees must use that authority…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
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 contextProduct Development & Execution
7 Steps to Process Development Every Manager Should Know
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article addresses how managers can build a repeatable process rather than depend on individual heroics. In today's product organizations, well-designed…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
Great Product Management Is About Process, Not Content
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article asks what product management is responsible for when strong functional experts already exist across the company. It positions product…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
If You Don't Control Your Products, You Aren't in Control of Your Company
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article asks who is truly in control of the company when product ownership is fragmented. Its relevance today is portfolio governance: when no one…
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 contextProduct Development & Execution
Decision Point for Maximum Effectiveness: Making the Greatest Impact on Your Organization
Doug Ringer · Industrial Equipment News ·
This article asks when a decision should be made to create the greatest business effect. It frames decision timing as a balance among information, risk,…
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…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
Leave Product Strategy to the Experts
Doug Ringer · Industrial Equipment News ·
This article separates the roles of executives and product experts in creating product strategy. The current management question is still critical:…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
The Advantages of Increasing Decision Power Throughout Organizations
Doug Ringer · Industrial Equipment News ·
This article asks how much decision authority should sit close to the work. It argues that broader decision power can increase organizational velocity when…
Read publication contextCustomer Value & Commercialization
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 contextProduct Development & Execution
5 Things to Look for When Evaluating a Contract Manufacturing Firm
Doug Ringer · Design World ·
This article addresses how leaders should evaluate a contract manufacturer as a business partner rather than as a unit-cost supplier. The choice affects…
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 contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
Product Specification: If You Don't Have a Destination, No Route Will Get You There
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article treats the product specification as a business blueprint, not merely a technical requirements document. It connects customer and market…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
3 Common Pitfalls in Product Development Projects
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article identifies behavioral causes of product-development failure, including hubris, ignoring facts, and poor planning. Its modern relevance is that…
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…
Read publication contextProduct Strategy & Portfolio Performance
3 Reasons Why Product Development is Important
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article asks why product development deserves strategic attention and frames it as the mechanism for creating new customer value and sustaining company…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
How Bureaucracy Starves the Golden Goose of Innovation
Doug Ringer · Product Design & Development ·
This article examines how bureaucracy can suppress innovation by adding friction between ideas and action. The current product-business lesson is not to…
Read publication contextProduct Development & Execution
5 Things to Look for When Evaluating an Engineering Design Firm
Doug Ringer · Design World ·
This article addresses how to select an outside engineering design firm capable of extending the company's technical team without weakening accountability…
Read publication context