Running a Platform
Transitioning from platform launch to running a platform
You've got your platform off the ground…how do you run your platform while having time for new initiatives? Maybe you have a Software-As-A-Service platform that underpins a few inventory management applications. Or perhaps you have a security service that is used in two managed services for your customers. Your platform end customers are needing increasing amounts of your time and you have a big roadmap of platform capabilities to deliver.
Now that you have demand for your platform, it is time to run your platform as a business. A few ways to run a platform as a business are:
Develop a platform explainer to enable teams to use your platform
Operationalize your roadmap
Fill gaps in the platform organization
You need the platform to be self-managed. These steps enable your platform to run itself.
Explaining Your Platform
You likely have multiple internal teams that want to use your platform. Each internal team needs support from you to use your platform. Here are the typical needs for internal teams and how to handle them:
Basic education on the capabilities in your platform - prepare an overview of your platform that includes:
Why end customers need your platform
High level view of the services, features and capabilities of your platform
Best practices to integrate your platform
Understanding the platform business model - collect reference points of your platform users that includes:
Revenue stream for the user and your platform
Key measurements
Cost per unit of measure
Requirements to integrate to your platform - a requirements template that covers every touchpoint between your platform and internal users. This includes:
Real-world workflows and APIs using your platform
How customers and sales interface with your platform
Tracking usage and P&L of your platform
Providing basic education, business models and integration requirements explains your platform to internal users. Another benefit of your platform explanation is internal users can integrate to your platform at their own pace.
Roadmap Operations
Remember all the things you couldn't address before releasing your platform? This is the beginning of your platform roadmap. These are the key steps in operating your roadmap:
Daily attention to moving through requirements to delivery - Each lifecycle phase gets the proper attention. For example, you write requirements daily during the requirements phase or you review how requirements are implemented just before delivery.
Get the whole product team involved - Each major function is contributing to the roadmap and owns their part. This means the delivery team understands the requirements and the financial team is maintaining the business forecast, for example.
Merge in new requirements transparently - When a new internal user needs a new capability, then publicly add the capability to roadmap. Make multiple announcements about the addition and celebrate the delivery.
Filling The Gaps
Don't let process gaps in your platform fester. This leads to people spending too much time outside of their subject matter expertise area. Platform product managers are especially prone to filling in gaps in the rush to launch a platform.
Once a platform is launched, it is time to examine the glue work for standardization. The goal is to slowly transform dependencies on good people going outside of their core responsibilities into formal roles with well understood processes.
For example, suppose you launched a platform service that is used by two managed services in your infrastructure service catalog. The only way to add your platform to other managed services is for you to develop end-to-end procedures for each service. You realize this won't scale and takes you away from your core product management responsibilities. Instead you define the problem for your delivery team and enable the delivery team to bring on new services.
Conclusion
Transitioning from platform launch to running a platform takes fortitude, persuasion and collaboration. Taking the time to develop a re-usable platform overview, putting operational features in the roadmap and filling gaps in the platform operation are a few steps in this transition. This channels the energy from your platform launch into sustained platform success.
Useful links:
https://www.aha.io/blog/the-product-roadmap-vs-the-platform-roadmap AHA blog on the difference between a product roadmap and platform roadmap
https://fourweekmba.com/platform-business-models/ Examples of well-known platform business models
https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud/2020/02/04/cloud-operating-model/ platform capabilities example
https://www.productledalliance.com/product-operations-is-about-incentivizing-glue-work/ getting the benefits of glue work