Sample Projects
Product Management for Open Source Product / Project
The Kuali Student project had a need for a full-time product manager to provide project leadership and product guidance. Mike Zackrison played this role for over a year on a full-time basis for this important project. In this capacity, Mike was part of the project leadership team, responsible for driving the overall product roadmap and leading the requirements gathering process involving a team of 15+ business analysts and subject matter experts from each of the participating schools. He chaired the project's Functional Council to facilitate product scope decision-making and overall product direction. He also supported marketing activities, third-party technology partnership development efforts, community outreach, and other needs as necessary. Mike's involvement in Kuali Student was generously provided by the University of Southern California, a Kuali Student founding partner.
Product and Market Opportunity Assessment for a VC-firm Considering an Education Software Investment
A VC-firm considering an investment in a promising new LMS competitor requested an assessment of the target's LMS product and of its competitve positioning. ZSix created a report featuring key competitors, their strategic positioning, strengths and weaknesses and a high-level analysis of each competitor's product functionality, highlighting gaps that the new entrant would need to address to be competitive. This report supported one of the most exciting LMS investements of 2011, that being Instructure's Series B investment.
Strategy Guidance for Small, Start Up Software Company
A few innovative students from Harvard University created several unique services to support their undergraduate colleagues with course scheduling and textbook search. In the process they formed a firm, Verba Software, to market these innovations to more universities. Faced with multiple products addressing multiple market needs they required help identifying where to focus their limited resources. ZSix advised them in this capacity helping steer them towards a strategy while introducing them to industry partners along the way. Verba has a bright future helping college bookstores remain competitive.
Product Selection for Large, For-Profit, Multi-Campus Institution
As a result of several acquisitions, a large, for-profit university emerged with multiple information systems from multiple vendors supporting its various university brands. They sought a campus portal solution to tie the disparate solutions together as they considered migrating to a common system. We helped them comsider the vendor landscape, understand the pro's and con's of various options, and faciliate a decision to go with an open source portal solution.