Rethinking how Microsoft launches its products and services

Maryleen Emeric, a director of operations in Microsoft Business Operations (MBO), knows that it’s challenging to transform a process that’s vital to people’s day-to-day work. Emeric launches new business models as well as sales and commerce capabilities that inform how Microsoft goes to market with third-party device partners. To be successful, she puts people at the center of her solution and gets them on board with the shift in thinking.

Emeric and launch leadership had to do exactly that when they set out to transform the way Microsoft launches products, something that would require acceptance from product groups that build drastically different products and services.

“Initially, there was resistance to change because people were familiar with the processes in their own silos,” Emeric says. “We encouraged employees to have a growth mindset and recognize the value for the entire company.”

Teams across Microsoft used 600 different launch types, each with their own vision, roadmap, and revenue forecast. Emeric and Brandon Ruby, a director of operations in MBO responsible for launch process, infrastructure, and analytics, knew that transforming the launch process would require a change in the people, process, and technology. But the most crucial part was adding value to the work of launch managers.

“We saw a gap in experience and productivity, and we wanted to make sure that the launch managers felt like they were a part of the process,” Ruby says.

This transformation aligned with MBO’s vision to run state-of-the-art operations.

“Our culture of innovation in Operations empowers employees to lead improvement for our customers and partners through end-to-end business process improvement and tool optimization,” says Mary Ellen Smith, the corporate vice president of MBO. “Modernizing our launch processes enables us to compliantly launch products, services, and capabilities with agility at scale.”

[Learn how Microsoft is optimizing launch management to deliver innovation to market with speed and compliance. Check out how citizen developers at Microsoft used Microsoft Power Apps to build an intelligent launch assistant.]

The previously siloed launch process didn’t align with Microsoft’s integrated selling model that bundles products, devices, and cloud services.

“We knew putting together end-to-end solutions would be challenging if we didn’t change the way we sell,” Emeric says. “Bundled solutions are especially important for commercial and industrial scenarios where you have a range of devices, cloud services, and AI on top of what you’re trying to build.”

Additionally, compliance was also done manually in silos using spreadsheets, Microsoft PowerPoint decks, and Microsoft Word documents. Each launch manager would be responsible for knowing the latest launch rules or working with experts who could flag finance and anti-corruption risks.

This led Microsoft to create a single launch delivery process that runs on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Microsoft Power Platform to deliver innovation with speed and compliance. This ensures that over 200 launch managers at Microsoft have a consistent way to conduct compliance assessments of their product, service, and program launches at scale.

“Before, there was a perception that our launch process was slowing people down,” Emeric says. “In reality, offering a standardized launch process enables Microsoft to do highly complex launches and assess risks with minimal risk to the company.”

The new launch process requires a dynamic digital compliance assessment, which asks a list of questions that change as risk domain owners continuously evaluate risk categories. This is critical to consistently assess risk across the launch ecosystem. The launch team’s responses are used to determine the risk of the launch, and launch managers consult relevant risk domain owners on key risks involving finance, trade, and anti-corruption. Launch managers are then responsible for mitigating or closing risks before launching their product or service.

“Through a centralized risk management process and consultation with risk domain owners, we are much more confident that 100 percent of critical launches are managed, maintained, and meet compliance requirements before they go out the door,” Ruby says.

Built by the launch community, for the launch community

Initially, Ruby’s team focused on the process, data fields, and controls of the transformed launch process. Halfway through their journey, it was evident that the team was putting the process and digital requirements ahead of experience and productivity. Launch managers needed to be more involved in shaping the launch process that was a part of their day-to-day work.

“We found that communities, citizen development, and incubation are a great combination for creating experiences that empower the productivity of launch managers,” Ruby says.

In the summer of 2019, a team of people from MBO and Microsoft Digital participated in the Microsoft Hackathon with the goal of transforming the company’s launch process.

“This led to the creation of a citizen development program where we create rapid prototypes of value with the community,” Ruby says. “We continue to have conversations where we identify top priorities before making major investments on the platform.”

Ruby is referring to the Launch Management Excellence team, a forum among launch managers and citizen developers across the company who bring perspective from their launch portfolios. They share pain points that they’ve heard from their teammates, advise on best practices for the launch process, and provide information about upcoming trainings and events. Based on these conversations, Emeric and Ruby can return to their leadership team and share what the launch community is passionate about addressing.

“Our launch managers drive the conversation,” Emeric says. “We prioritize the needs we get in this feedback loop and address the top pain points first.”

Leading with a vision and intentional investment in your employees

Transforming the launch process with compliance by design is already paying off. It’s been exciting for Emeric to see the vision come to life.

“When it comes to transforming your launch process, it’s vital to have a clear vision about what you want your transformation to look like and have buy-in from leadership,” she says.

As this vision has come to fruition, Emeric has found that teams see MBO as a leader in launch.

“Business groups come to us for launch resources or oversight so they can ensure that they’re compliant,” Emeric says. “They’re also using our launch platform for portfolio, launch, and external risk management.”

Transforming the launch process requires intentional investment in the experience and productivity of employees. At Microsoft, the launch community and citizen development community have been central in deciding what features to add to the new process.

“You have to invest in people just as much as the process and technology,” Emeric says. “Our leadership team understood that they could have the biggest impact by empowering people with the tools they need to be productive.”

Ruby and Emeric also emphasized the importance of prioritizing progress over perfection. The team is always iterating on the launch process, and they’re willing to repivot if necessary.

“It’s a journey, and you have to start somewhere,” Ruby says. “If you anchor it in making an investment and having a shared vision, you’ll see progress.”

Emeric and Ruby recognize that the launch platform and community have grown significantly since this journey began two and a half years ago, and they hope to empower customers and partners to transform their launch processes too.

“The goal for Microsoft is to be the industry leader in how enterprises launch products and services,” Emeric says. “Our launch process is designed to uphold our commitment to trust and compliance, all while ensuring that our customers and partners have a great experience.”