At first, Jira, Linear, and Productboard seem like three ways to help PMs stay organized. But looking at them through the market types from 2B, I think each is making a different assumption about what PMs actually need.
Jira entered an existing market for tracking issues and managing software work, so I would place it in a red ocean. Customers already knew they needed to organize tasks and coordinate their teams. Jira’s job was to convince them that its version was worth choosing. Its bet was that PMs would value a central place to track progress, assign responsibilities, and customize workflows enough to pay for it.
Linear went after a resegmented market. It focuses on software teams that want to move quickly and find tools like Jira frustrating or unnecessarily complicated. That makes it the “patch of blue inside a red ocean” we discussed in class. It still competes for customers who need issue tracking, but it focuses on a group with different priorities. Linear had to believe that some PMs would happily trade extra features and customization for speed and simplicity, and that those improvements would make switching worthwhile. The risk is that liking a faster tool does not necessarily mean a PM can get everyone else on board.
Productboard’s original approach fits a new market and a blue ocean strategy. It focuses on helping PMs figure out what to build by connecting customer feedback with priorities and roadmaps. Its bet was that PMs needed a tool specifically for that work and would pay for it alongside their delivery tools. That is a hard habit to change when people are already getting by with spreadsheets and scattered notes. It had to convince PMs that the time they spent organizing feedback would pay off in better product decisions.
