Analytics for Product Planning: In-Depth Interview Study with SaaS Product Managers

SaaS cloud computing, in contrast to packaged products, enables permanent contact between users of a software product and the product-owning company. When planning the development and evolution of a software product, a product manager depends on reliable information about feature attractiveness. So far, planning decisions were based on stakeholder opinion and the customer's willingness to buy. Whether or not a feature actually is used was out of consideration. Analytics that measure the interaction between users and the SaaS gives product managers unprecedented access to information about product usage. To understand whether and how SaaS analytics can be used for product planning decision, we performed 17 in-depth interviews with experienced managers of SaaS products and analyzed the results analyzed with a mixed-method strategy. The empirical results characterize the relevance of a broad range of analytics for product planning decisions, and the strengths and limitations of an analytics-based product planning approach.