Check ✅. Check ✅. Nope ❌. Check ✅. - The Gap Analysis

Creating a new innovative product is something I thoroughly enjoy, but there are some instances when a product manager is helping bring an existing product back to life. These revival undertakings can be initiated by many things:

• Application modernization

• Internationalization

• Cost optimization

to name a few. A Gap Analysis evaluation is one of the most important tools a product manager can use revive dying products. A gap analysis shows you the scope of features you need to accomplish your final result. It will help you understand where you are and where you want to be. It's often paired with a Pains vs Gains analysis to allow you to see what is feasible in your allotted time to deliver your MVP.

When performing a gap analysis its important to consider all aspects of your product because in many cases delivery of one feature might be dependent on another. For example delivering a performance improvement and hardware upgrades might actually go hand-in-hand. To fully vet your product for missing features you'll need the help of your entire team.

Stakeholders and End Users

Let you know what they need. They are in essence the "definers" of the gap. They tell you what features they would like to see and use and which ones are of little or no use to them. Don't be alarmed when you see the length of feature requests from your stakeholders. It's not a sin if you can't deliver everything on the list, but your job rather, is to judge what features are going to be the most valuable. And remember, the stakeholders are the reason your product is viable.

Business Analysts

Will help you understand what features already exist in the product and how well they are performing. BAs understand the requirement scope and know what user stories were fully implemented vs. those in the backlog. They often times have good rapport with your stakeholders, development team and architects and can help you liaise all parties to get a true picture of features that exist and are missing. They can also help you expose features users weren't aware of, thus reducing your gap list.

Architects

Will take the input from your stakeholders and BAs and let you know what it will take to deliver missing features. They understand what's under the hood, for example, delivering a scalability feature would require migrating in-memory data to an external data store. They will design the appropriate solutions to meet the needs of your stakeholders. They are skilled at what they do and their input is invaluable. A seasoned architect will work with your developers and dev-ops teams to ensure a sound delivery for both software and hardware.

Project Managers

Will coordinate the schedule and budget. They will help ensure you don't go over your schedule or budget, which plays a big role in obtaining profit. And we all know profit is key. They will help you stay on track and keep you from getting derailed with fruitless requests.

These are just a few ways your team can contribute to your gap analysis and allow an seasoned product to thrive again. They help you have educated discussions with your stakeholders and provide quality features to your users.