Product Strategy for Not-For-Profit Organization

Situation

The Project Management Institute (PMI) needed to refine its product portfolio and global expansion strategy. With a broad range of offerings and an increasing number of markets to enter, PMI faced three major challenges:

• Portfolio Rationalization: PMI had 11 products, many of which overlapped or lacked a clear value proposition. The high costs of maintaining these products needed to be addressed. International

• Expansion Risk Mitigation: PMI was expanding into 22 new countries, but lacked a robust, data-driven approach to forecast growth and optimize entry strategies.

• Product Development Decisions: PMI invested $3 million into a 3D/immersive training tool for project managers, but after extensive research, its viability was unclear.

  
  

To address these issues, PMI engaged Numbers & Letters to analyze, rationalize, and optimize its product strategy and market expansion approach.

Solution

Numbers & Letters conducted a multi-phase strategic evaluation that addressed each challenge systematically:

1. Product Portfolio Optimization

• Partnered with the VP of Product to assess 11 products, identifying overlap, redundancy, and low-performing offerings.

• Recommended a rationalized product suite of 5 core offerings, resulting in $11 million in annual savings.

2. Market Expansion Modeling

• Worked with the SVP of Strategy to develop a probabilistic market entry model.

• Used Monte Carlo simulations and historical growth data to forecast market success rates in 22 new countries.

• The model has since been used for PMI’s expansion into over 200 countries, significantly reducing risk and improving decision-making.

3. Product Development Assessment

• Conducted a deep dive into PMI’s investment in a 3D/immersive training software.

• Interviewed 25 potential buyers and found no strong demand for the product.

• Recommended shutting down the project and instead applying the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) framework to instructor-led webinars—a lower-cost, more scalable alternative.

Result

Numbers & Letters helped PMI streamline operations, optimize market expansion, and prevent costly missteps. The product portfolio was reduced from 11 to 5, saving $11M annually. The Monte Carlo market entry model, initially built for 22 countries, was scaled to over 200, reducing risk and improving global expansion efficiency. $3M in sunk costs were avoided by discontinuing a failed 3D training tool, redirecting efforts toward scalable, instructor-led webinars aligned with PMI’s core education model.

Key Metrics

• $11M in annual savings from product rationalization.

• 200+ countries now using the Monte Carlo market entry model.

• $3M in sunk costs avoided by discontinuing an ineffective product and pivoting to a scalable, high-impact training model.