Part #2:  Using market turbulence for competitive advantage

Effectively managing software development for a product line portfolio using conventional methods requires a slow, controlled portfolio evolution; thus, accommodating market turbulence -- sudden, unanticipated change or rapid evolution in market demand -- is very difficult. Turbulence can result in products that do not adequately meet market demand, underperforming products, lack of competitive pricing, or an inability to maintain quality standards.

What happens when software product line methods enable you to launch new products into the market with 10 percent of the time and effort required by conventional approaches? What happens when you can design and implement your product line portfolio to a three month horizon rather than a two year horizon?

Market turbulence becomes an opportunity rather than a risk.

The opportunity in this case is the ability to be consistently first to market with quality products that meet rapidly changing technology, market and customer demands. Leveraging the power of the portfolio provides the stability to not only weather turbulence, but to utilize turbulence as a strategic advantage against competitors.

Creating market turbulence: If software product line approaches make market turbulence a strategic tool against competitors, why just wait for it to happen? Why not create some turbulence that you can use to your own advantage? Software product line approaches also make this possible.

What happens when you introduce 10 times more products than your competitors -- or create new products with one tenth of the time or resources as others in your market?

The competition is overwhelmed and off balance, while you are busy capturing market share.

When creating market turbulence, the power of the portfolio provides the ability to destabilize competitors in order to capture market share. For example, Nokia established their market leadership in the early days of mobile phones by overwhelming competitors with their large and rapidly evolving portfolio of handsets. Contemplate the strategic value of being the one to introduce that kind of turbulence versus being among the companies that have to deal with the fallout.

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