The Adept Blog

Product lines, thought through in public.

Essays on managing product lines as systems — strategy, flow, velocity, and roadmapping — from Paul O’Connor and The Adept Group.

Systems thinkingManage the line, not one product.
Velocity & flowWhat actually ships, and how fast.
RoadmappingThe whole stack, across generations.

What you’ll find

The ideas behind the trilogy, worked out loud.

The blog is where the product-line system gets argued in the open — archetypes, platform-levers, decision flow, the tilting effect, verb-based segmentation, and outcome velocity.

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Browse by topic

Six threads run through everything here.

Product Line StrategyProduct Lines as SystemsFlow & VelocityResponsive RoadmappingPortfolio ManagementCorporate Innovation

CONFIRM: category archive links / slugs

Latest

Recent posts.

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Product Line Systems Management

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This 2-day Master Class is an in-depth and interactive learning experience exploring how to create, advance, pivot, or transform a product line… creating and carrying out an intense focus on continuous product line velocity improvement.
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What’s Your Product Line’s Archetype?

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Many managers don't recognize that every product line has a root system type that defines how the product line works. We call this the system archetype.
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Decision Flow

Noun-Based Vs Verb-Based Market Segments

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In the past, whole industries have been defined using Noun-Based segmentation. When you buy a market research study, it'll break down an industry by Noun-Based segments. But driving greater value from innovation and product development demands we complement the noun approach with verbs.
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Where and How to Play

The Where and How to Play Strategy Questions

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The key to business performance is to know where and how you want to play the game of business. Product line strategies and roadmaps are central to the answer. Learn More
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Corporate Innovation Podcast

Podcast-Corporate Innovation Productivity

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An insightful discussion with Paul O'Connor exploring Corporate Innovation Productivity, the state of the art, our struggles, and where we're headed.
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Indivisible Strategy

Indivisible Product Strategy

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Big company leadership teams must figure out how they wish to focus on "where-to-play" and "how-to-play." Strategy Indivisibility, much like a prime number, is the natural level at which further dividing or aggregating a focus and strategy becomes forced and ineffective. Learn why a product line is indivisible and how indivisible strategy unison determines business performance.
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Keep reading

Bring the systems view to your own line.

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