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The 10 Best Product Portfolio Management Tools For 2023

The Best Product Portfolio Manager List

Here’s a shortlist of the best product portfolio manager:

  1. 1. Craft.io — Best end-to-end product portfolio management tool for digital product managers
  2. 2. ProductPlan — Best for visualizing and sharing product milestones
  3. 3. Productboard — Best for product evaluation and flexible hierarchies
  4. 4. Propel — Best for product commercialization that requires ongoing customer feedback
  5. 5. Wrike — Best product portfolio dashboards & data visualizations
  6. 6. Planview Clarizen — Best for rapidly growing and complex enterprise product portfolio management
  7. 7. Aha — Best for product roadmapping
  8. 8. ProdPad — Best for intensive or complex product strategies
  9. 9. Planview Enterprise One — Best for products with lean and/or Agile workflows
  10. 10. Planisware — Best for easy scaling between 5 and 30,000 users

This article will help you quickly compare and evaluate the best product portfolio management tools for managing a range of products with accuracy and ease. 

In this post, I’ll share with you a few of the best product portfolio management tools to help you manage, organize, and track all of the products across your portfolio. I will also explain what product portfolio software can do for you and explain how it can benefit your product workflow.

What Is Product Portfolio Management Software?

Product portfolio management tools are a way to easily glance across all the products or services you and your team offer in order to better manage, organize, and analyze them.

Product portfolio management software may track product growth prospects and operational risk. This helps you decide which products to grow and which to eliminate.

Overviews Of The 10 Best Product Portfolio Planning Software

Here’s a brief description of each of the product portfolio management tools that are featured on this top 10 list. 

1

Craft.io

Best end-to-end product portfolio management tool for digital product managers

Craft.io is an end-to-end product management roadmap tool with best practices built in. It provides product professionals an all-in-one solution to effectively manage the entire lifecycle of their digital products, from feedback collection and feature definition to prioritization, capacity planning, road mapping, and portfolio management. 

The tool's portfolio management module provides product executives with a high-level view of all the organizational product data in one place - every initiative, every line of business, and every product group. It allows them to visualize, track, edit, and manage items–including dependencies–across teams and initiatives. Product executives gain visibility and insight into how work is completed to meet business objectives across different teams and roll up selected workspaces with respective products and epics for a bird’s eye view of different work streams.

This big-picture awareness facilitates informed decisions with a holistic view of all products and business objectives together in one space and allows executives to share the company’s strategic plans and progress at the portfolio level and evaluate efforts. And by aggregating product data across your portfolio, you can get macro and micro views of how everything is performing.

Craft.io integrates with Jira, Azure DevOps, GitLab, GitHub, Targetprocess, Teams, Slack, Dropbox, Okta, Google Workspace, Active Directory, SAML, Google Drive, Confluence, Salesforce, PingIdentity, and 1,000s of additional applications via Zapier.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 44

14-day free trial

From $39/month/user, billed annually

2

ProductPlan

Best for visualizing and sharing product milestones

ProductPlan was established in 2013 and has since been used to build hundreds and thousands of roadmaps and to plan more than 8 million initiatives. Global customers range from growing teams to Fortune 100 companies.

ProductPlan lets you collaborate with your team on live roadmaps using their simple drag and drop editor. Customize the way you view your timelines, lists, tables, and your portfolio layouts as well. ProductPlan makes it easy for your stakeholders to view your data without having to pay for using the tool and lets you send them links to editable roadmaps.

ProductPlan integrates with tools such as Confluence, Jira Software, Pivotal Tracker, Slack, Trello, Zapier, Microsoft Teams, GitHub, and Azure DevOps. Connect with more tools through the ProductPlan API.

ProductPlan costs from $49/user/month and offers a free 14-day trial.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 145

14-day free trial

From $49/user/month

3

Productboard

Best for product evaluation and flexible hierarchies

Productboard is a product management platform for companies that specialize in product, design, marketing, and engineering. It launched in 2014 and has since been topping prestigious lists and is backed by top VC (venture capital) firms.

Productboard helps users with roadmaps, prioritization, insights, and engagement. Through the platform, you can have the benefits of centralized feedback where you can easily share data and roadmaps so you can keep the whole organization aligned.

Productboard integrates with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Zendesk, Intercom, Zapier, Chrome Extension, InSided, Gong, FullStory, Gainsight, Grain, and many more tools. Check their website out for the full list of integrations.

Productboard costs from $20/user/month and offers a free trial. Customized pricing for bigger organizations with more specific needs are also available upon request.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.3 197

15-day free trial

From $20/user/month

4

Propel

Best for product commercialization that requires ongoing customer feedback

Propel is a product lifecycle management (PLM) software that promises its users faster time to market. Propel has found success in the medical, tech, consumer goods, and industrial products industries and also offers solutions for companies that focus on engineering, operations and supply chain, quality management, sales and marketing, as well as information technology.

Propel was built on the Salesforce platform making it one of the best solutions for managing products. Its features allow users to not only manage project tasks but also communicate with everyone involved in the supply chain as well as the customers.

Propel is not limited for use by engineers but is also made for use by all employees and customers. Propel integrates with the following ERP systems: Netsuite, MS Dynamics, SAP, Oracle EBS, Sage, Rootstock Software, QAD, Infor, and Epicor Kinetic ERP.

Propel offers pricing details upon request.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 122
5

Wrike

Best product portfolio dashboards & data visualizations

Wrike is primarily a project management software solution that provides task management, collaboration, and project planning features, but it also provides PPM solutions. Wrike’s PPM tools include templates, project matrices that track risks, dashboards to monitor progress and goals, customizable reporting, and team collaboration tools. These features help teams stay in control of their portfolios, especially since users can visualize initiatives, streamline collaboration, monitor progress, and use portfolio dashboards to improve planning.

Wrike can help track and prioritize investments to avoid miscommunications from the start, accelerate project rollout through templates and automation, improve planning accuracy through calendars, improve real-time collaboration, optimize resources through accurate budgeting and cost assessments, use AI to automate risk reports, get real-time performance data, and share dashboards and reports with stakeholders outside the company.

The project portfolio management feature is available in Business, Enterprise, and Pinnacle. This feature being available in these packages means users can maximize the platform since they can use it alongside other useful features that are inaccessible in the freemium software and the Team plan. For example, being able to customize product project templates, a feature only available from the Business plan onwards.

Integrations include 400+ pre-built native integrations, including integrations with the most popular file management software from Microsoft, Google, and Dropbox, along with sales and marketing software from Salesforce and Marketo.

Wrike costs from $9.80/user/month and offers a 14-day free trial.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 2544

Free plan available

From $9.80/user/month

6

Planview Clarizen

Best for rapidly growing and complex enterprise product portfolio management

Planview is a platform for product portfolio management that gives leadership data-driven insights on where to invest in new products and innovations. Designed to drive collaboration, the platform provides teams with a simple solution for capturing and sharing crucial data at every stage of product development, from ideation to in-market analysis. 

The platform has an open forum for collecting ideas both internally and externally that allows stakeholders to score and prioritize the most promising concepts quickly. Customizable dashboards are a central hub for data collection, resource capacity and scenario planning, and strategic road mapping.

Support for various product development methods allows cross-functional teams to work in their preferred environments while communicating complex issues with the push of a button. Integration with gated project management software keeps everyone aligned on priorities, allowing organizations to accelerate new product development processes and speed the best products to market with greater efficiency.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 530

Free trial + free demo available

Pricing upon request

7

Aha

Best for product roadmapping

Aha! is a roadmap software that’s trusted by more than 5,000 companies worldwide to cater to their needs in product management, IT, project management, services, business operations, and marketing. Aha! also provides solutions in the areas of production innovation, customer empathy, and employee engagement.

What makes Aha! suitable for product portfolio management are its features that let you create custom workflows, allocate resources and budgets, track dependencies with Gantt charts, and visualize progress. Built-in templates make it easy for anyone to get started and keep going without the hassle of figuring the software out first.

Aha! integrates with 30 tools such as Jira, Slack, Azure, DevOps, Salesforce, Google Analytics, and Zendesk.

Aha! costs from $59/user/month and offers a free 30-day trial. Aha! is also available for free for startups that are less than 18 months old and have less than 10 employees.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 194

30-day free trial

From $59/user/month

8

ProdPad

Best for intensive or complex product strategies

ProdPad is a product management software made by product people, for product people. It launched in 2012 and is fully customer-funded. It was built specifically for large organizations with thousands of team members. ProdPad is a robust tool made for complex processes and extra-large organizations.

ProdPad specializes in helping you build products that matter to your customers. With ProdPad’s features, you won’t be spending time scraping projects and redoing a ton of work. Get feedback from your customers, create and adjust roadmaps, and launch your products effectively all through ProdPad.

ProdPad integrates with Azure DevOps, GitHub, Jira, Pivotal Tracker, Rally, TFS, Trello, Chrome Extension, Confluence, Doorbell.io, Slack, Uservoice, Email Dropbox, Slack, Active Directory Federated Service, Google Apps, and SAML Single Sign-On. More integrations with ProdPad are available through API and Custom WebHooks, as well as Zapier.

ProdPad costs from $149 for up to 3 users and offers a free trial.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.3 40

7-30 day free trial

From $25/user/month

9

Planview Enterprise One

Best for products with lean and/or Agile workflows

Planview is a work and portfolio management tool that has been in the industry for over 30 years with over 2.4 million users and multiple awards. Planview is also known as an authority in publishing studies about the world of work.

Planview is best for teams that work in lean or agile environments. Planview gives you project planning visibility, productivity and efficiency tracking, bug tracking, as well as the ability to manage backlogs. You can also analyze your team capacity and identify constraints across portfolios and hybrid workflows allowing you to more accurately evaluate and re-align your team, resources, and budget.

Planview integrates with Microsoft Teams, Dropbox, Google Drive, MS OneDrive, DocuSign, Box, Microsoft SharePoint, Zoom, Outlook, Slack, Microsoft Power Automate, Microsoft Power BI, and Google Workspace. More integrations are available using a paid Zapier plan.

Planview offers pricing details upon request and offers a free, fully-functional 30-day trial.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
3.8 28

30-day free trial

Pricing upon request

10

Planisware

Best for easy scaling between 5 and 30,000 users

Planisware has a track record of 26 years and has been recognized as a market leader in project portfolio management for its scalability and flexibility. Planisware is such an advanced tool that it’s capable of providing solutions to companies in very specific industries such as aerospace and defense, automotive, bank and insurance, chemical, energy, fast-moving goods. high tech, and life sciences.

Planisware has since evolved and grown with the companies that patronize them, proving their expertise in project portfolio management. Planisware is a tool for agile teams that need help with scaling their operations, improving business outcomes, and reducing time to market among other things.

Planisware integrates with SAP Applications, Content/Document Management Systems (CMS), DevOps and Agile tools, Oracle, Primavera, Microsoft 360, Google Suite, and other integration and API points as well.

Planisware offers pricing details upon request.

The 10 Best Product Portfolio Planning Software Summary

Tool Free Option Price
1
Craft.io

Best end-to-end product portfolio management tool for digital product managers

14-day free trial

From $39/month/user, billed annually Visit Website
2
ProductPlan

Best for visualizing and sharing product milestones

14-day free trial

From $49/user/month Visit Website
3
Productboard

Best for product evaluation and flexible hierarchies

15-day free trial

From $20/user/month Visit Website
4
Propel

Best for product commercialization that requires ongoing customer feedback

Not available

Visit Website
5
Wrike

Best product portfolio dashboards & data visualizations

Free plan available

From $9.80/user/month Visit Website
6
Planview Clarizen

Best for rapidly growing and complex enterprise product portfolio management

Free trial + free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
7
Aha

Best for product roadmapping

30-day free trial

From $59/user/month Visit Website
8
ProdPad

Best for intensive or complex product strategies

7-30 day free trial

From $25/user/month Visit Website
9
Planview Enterprise One

Best for products with lean and/or Agile workflows

30-day free trial

Pricing upon request Visit Website
10
Planisware

Best for easy scaling between 5 and 30,000 users

Not available

Visit Website

Other Business Portfolio Software Solutions

Here are a few more that didn’t make the top list. If you need additional suggestions for handy product portfolio management tools, check these out.

  1. Oracle PLM Cloud - Best for expansive, enterprise-level portfolio management
  2. Workfront - Best for complex product development lifecycles
  3. PTC Windchill - Good for standardized, out-of-the-box functionality across a comprehensive portfolio of core PDM to advanced PLM solutions. 
  4. Accelo - An all-in-one, complete service operations automation solution with business, service, and client operations in one cloud-based app.
  5. Saviom -  Good for raising flags with early warning systems in order to resolve product progress bottlenecks quickly. 
  6. Mavenlink -  Good for modern collaboration tools centered around increased visibility, greater control, and richer, more actionable data.
  7. Scoro -  Good for quickly compiling reports on your products, profitability, team utilization, based on real-time data.
  8. Sciforma -  Good for adapting to your current product portfolio maturity and supporting team members in any growth efforts.
  9. Asana - Popular SaaS that’s good for laying out your team’s goals, plans, and responsibilities in one shared space with flexibility and aesthetics. 
  10. Bubble - Good for incorporating Agile, Waterfall, and other processes to improve decision-making across product lifecycles. 
  11. Pie -  Good for switching between executing a super complex project using a repeatable recipe to a simple one-time process for planning.
  12. Bamboo Rose -  Good for improving product quality, branded packaging, and color consistency with digital artwork, component, material, and color libraries.
  13. Clarizen - Enterprise project management with PPM tools for risk management and capacity planning.

How I Selected the Best Product Portfolio Management Tools

What are we looking for when we select the best project portfolio management tools for review? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria:

Evaluation:

  1. User Interface (UI): Is the PPM tool clean and attractive? Are the products displayed in a user-friendly, useful manner? Are dashboards, reports, and other pages configurable for each user?
  2. Usability: Is it easy to learn and master? Does the company offer good tech support, user support, tutorials, and training? 
  3. Integrations: Is it easy to connect with other tools (Excel, Google Workspace, cloud storage, MS Project)? Any pre-built integrations? Can notifications be connected to Slack, email, or other spaces?
  4. Value for $: How appropriate is the price for the features, capabilities, and use case? Is pricing clear, transparent and flexible? Do they have different pricing for cloud-based or on premise solutions?

Key Features:

  • Market demand analytics - You’ll want to make informed decisions about your product direction according to key market trends 
  • Resource allocation and resource management for products (Gantt charts, etc) - Resource capacity will need to be segmented between everything in the portfolio, prioritizing highest impact projects 
  • Product rebranding tools - Project execution tools for changing up a product branding strategy or messaging
  • Product pipeline processes and workflows - Streamline approvals
  • Business goal tracking for measuring against business objectives
  • Product team communication features - Centralize collaborative work management so every team member stays in the loop  
  • Tools for product development or elimination - Features like time tracking and KPI metrics will inform you whether to keep or scrap a product 
  • Portfolio-level corporate strategy outline - There should be ways to brainstorm, record, comment on, and approve big picture portfolio strategy 
  • Product results measurements with big picture dashboards - Simple visualizations for stats like resource utilization per product
  • Task management (kanban boards, task lists, due dates, etc) - Plan, assign, and track tasks relating to the development or maintenance of each product

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to some of the most common questions about product portfolio management software.

Product Management Software Vs Project Management Software

Project managers and PMOs use similar software to product managers—the acts of managing products and projects have a lot in common. 

While in some cases a general work management tool will suffice, there are product management tools designed specifically for managing a product portfolio. In addition to project management or project portfolio management software features, product tools may include special features. These include things like:

Related Read: How To Use User Story Mapping To Improve Agile Backlog Prioritization

Why Use Product Portfolio Management Software?

There are plenty of benefits to using product portfolio management tools. Here are just a few stats showing how PPM software benefits product decision-makers, managers, and teams.

  • Users of product portfolio software report pipeline value growth, and reductions in project delivery times, of between 25% and 75%.
  • Some reports of productivity gains hit 20% or more, saving an average of one day per week.
  • 20-50% cycle time reduction with fewer manual tasks, one version of the truth, and real-time design and development collaboration.
  • Increases in revenue are tied to successful product selection and improved time to market.
  • 21% of IT buyers report the need for a product solution with portfolio management capabilities.
  • Products may be up to 2.5X more successful when a portfolio management system is employed.
  • Portfolio management solutions lose 13X less money because they hit their strategic initiatives more successfully

Examples Of Teams Who Use Product Portfolio Management Software:

  • Web development teams 
  • IT teams 
  • Marketing teams 
  • Sales teams 
  • Product acquisition teams 
  • Customer relationship teams 
  • Market research teams 
  • Publishing teams
  • Professional services companies

What Do You Think About These Product Portfolio Management Tools?

The unfortunate truth is that 95% of new products will fail. This is why business-savvy companies build and maintain a portfolio of different products, from sure-things to passion projects, daring experiments to sensical spinoffs and expansions.

The product portfolio management tools on this list will give your product a fighting chance to defy the statistics.

Have you tried out any product portfolio management tools listed above? What product portfolio management software would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments section.

Check This Out: How Feature Flag Management Helps You Manage Your Scaling Product

By Ben Aston

Ben Aston is an online media entrepreneur and founder of Black & White Zebra, an indie media company on a mission to help people and organizations succeed.

Ben applies his expertise in design and strategy to enable businesses to deliver innovative products and services that delight customers. Ben is passionate about understanding customer needs through design research, identifying opportunities based on those insights, and empowering designers and technologists to create solutions. He is driven to develop and uncover new opportunities for clients, establishing strong connections with their customers through product solutions that create lasting value.

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