Products
Audience: Product Manager, Strategy Manager, CEO
Page Type: How-To Guide
Phase: Phase 1 (Setup) — Cross-Phase (maintenance)
Duration: 1–2 hours (initial setup)
What are Products in COS?
In COS, Products represent the goods, services, or solutions your organization delivers to customers. The Products module connects your product portfolio to your strategy, enabling:
- Product-level SWOT Analysis — analyze each product independently
- Product Scorecard — track KPIs specific to each product
- KPI Library — define and manage product-specific performance metrics
- BCG Matrix positioning — position products on the growth-share matrix
- Strategic linkage — connect products to strategic themes and OKRs
Adding a Product
- Go to Context → Products from the left menu
- Click + New Product
- Fill in:
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Product or service name |
| Code | Optional | Internal product code or SKU |
| Type | Yes | Product / Service / Platform / Solution |
| Description | Yes | What this product does and who it's for |
| Market Segment | Recommended | Which customer segment does this product serve? |
| Status | Yes | Active / Development / Sunset |
| Owner | Recommended | Product Manager or responsible person |
| Unit | Yes | Which org unit manages this product |
| Revenue Tier | Optional | High / Medium / Low (for BCG positioning) |
| Market Growth | Optional | High / Low (for BCG positioning) |
- Click Save
Managing the Product List
Filters
| Filter | Options |
|---|---|
| Type | Product / Service / Platform / Solution |
| Status | Active / Development / Sunset |
| Unit | Filter by organizational unit |
| Market Segment | Filter by target segment |
Search
Use the search bar to find products by name, code, or keyword.
Product Detail Page
Click any product to open its detail view, which contains tabs:
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Overview | Basic info, owner, description |
| SWOT | Products SWOT analyses for this product |
| Scorecard | Product Scorecard (KPIs and measurements) |
| BCG Position | Current BCG matrix position |
| OKR Links | OKRs that reference this product |
| Strategic Themes | Themes that this product supports |
Product Lifecycle Management
Products move through a lifecycle:
Development → Active → Sunset
Development
The product is being developed or launched. You can run SWOT and define Scorecard KPIs in advance.
Active
The product is live and generating revenue or value. Full analytics and tracking apply.
Sunset
The product is being phased out. Historical data is preserved; no new KPI targets are set.
Linking Products to BCG Matrix
The BCG Matrix requires market share and market growth data per product. In COS:
- Open the product
- Go to the BCG Position tab
- Set:
- Relative Market Share: High (>1x vs. largest competitor) / Low
- Market Growth Rate: High (>10% annually) / Low
- Click Save
The product is automatically positioned on the BCG Matrix canvas:
- Star: High share, high growth
- Cash Cow: High share, low growth
- Question Mark: Low share, high growth
- Dog: Low share, low growth
See BCG Growth-Share Matrix for more details.
Tips
- Add all products at the start of each strategic cycle (Phase 1) — this ensures all analyses have the full product portfolio context
- Products can be shared across organizational units — useful when a product has cross-functional teams
- Use product status to keep the list clean — sunset products don't need to be deleted, just marked as Sunset