Influencing a Vendor Roadmap

Vendors make (some of) the products we need. Open source tools have a unique solution; get off your butt and fix it yourself. But some solutions are too complicated for an individual or even a community because building a great, reusable product takes focus. That’s how vendors should originate – experts trying to create a reusable capability.However vendors face issues in attempting to solve your problems; they aren’t you. Despite the best vendors being founded or staffed by the brightest in the industry, they aren’t you, not today, not in your organization, and without your mission/problem. This means there’s a big chance their solution doesn’t meet your day-to-day needs.

So how does an analyst, a team lead/manager, a project/program manager, and/or an “acquisition” person persuade the vendor to update their solution to meet your needs? Analyst1 explains how feedback can successfully influence a product roadmap.