BCG Growth-Share Matrix Template for Product Managers

What This Template Is For

The BCG Growth-Share Matrix is a portfolio planning tool developed by the Boston Consulting Group in the 1970s. It classifies products or business units into four quadrants based on two dimensions: market growth rate and relative market share. Despite being over 50 years old, the framework remains one of the clearest ways to visualize where to invest, where to harvest, and where to divest across a product portfolio.

This template gives you a repeatable structure for running a BCG analysis on your own product portfolio. It works for multi-product companies deciding where to allocate engineering resources, and it works for single-product PMs analyzing feature clusters or product lines. If you are building your product strategy, this matrix provides a concrete starting point for investment decisions.

For a broader look at how strategic frameworks connect to day-to-day prioritization, see our RICE framework guide and the prioritization glossary entry.

The Four Quadrants

Stars (High Growth, High Share)

Stars are your growth engines. They hold a strong position in a fast-growing market. Stars typically require significant investment to maintain their lead, but the payoff is long-term dominance. Most Stars eventually become Cash Cows as the market matures.

Action: Invest aggressively. Protect your position. Do not starve Stars of resources to fund other products.

Cash Cows (Low Growth, High Share)

Cash Cows dominate a mature market. Growth has slowed, but these products generate reliable revenue with relatively low investment. They fund the rest of your portfolio.

Action: Maintain with minimal investment. Harvest cash flow. Redirect profits toward Stars and Question Marks.

Question Marks (High Growth, Low Share)

Question Marks sit in attractive markets but have not yet won. They consume resources and the outcome is uncertain. The strategic question is whether to invest heavily to turn them into Stars or cut losses.

Action: Evaluate carefully. Pick 1-2 to invest in. Kill the rest before they drain resources from your Stars.

Dogs (Low Growth, Low Share)

Dogs hold a weak position in a stagnant market. They rarely generate meaningful returns and often consume disproportionate management attention.

Action: Divest, sunset, or spin out. Do not invest further unless you can identify a clear path to repositioning. See our product sunset plan template for guidance on sunsetting products gracefully.

When to Use This Template

• Annual portfolio review: Classify your entire product portfolio before budget allocation
• Quarterly roadmap planning: Decide which products receive the most engineering investment
• M&A evaluation: Assess how an acquisition target fits into your existing portfolio
• Feature line analysis: Apply the matrix to feature clusters within a single product
• Board and investor communication: Provide a clear visual of your portfolio strategy
• New PM onboarding: Help new team members understand the strategic role of each product

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Define Your Units of Analysis (10 minutes)

Decide what you are classifying. Options include:

• ☐ Individual products within a multi-product company
• ☐ Product lines or tiers (e.g., Free, Pro, Enterprise)
• ☐ Feature clusters within a single product
• ☐ Business units or verticals

List 4-10 units. More than 10 makes the matrix cluttered and harder to act on.

Step 2: Determine Market Growth Rate (10 minutes)

For each unit, estimate the annual growth rate of its target market. Use industry reports, analyst estimates, or your own historical data. A simple approach:

Adjust the threshold based on your industry. In hypergrowth SaaS, 20% might be the dividing line. In mature enterprise software, 5% might be appropriate.

• ☐ Document the data source for each growth estimate
• ☐ Flag any estimates based on assumptions rather than data

Step 3: Calculate Relative Market Share (15 minutes)

Relative market share is your market share divided by the market share of the largest competitor. If you have 20% share and the leader has 40%, your relative share is 0.5x. If you are the leader at 40% and the next competitor has 20%, your relative share is 2.0x.

• ☐ Use revenue, users, or another consistent metric across all units
• ☐ Note where your share data is estimated vs. verified

Use the TAM Calculator to validate your market size assumptions before calculating share.

Step 4: Plot the Matrix (5 minutes)

Place each unit in the appropriate quadrant using the grid below.

Step 5: Define Actions (15 minutes)

For each quadrant, document specific investment decisions and resource allocation plans.

The BCG Matrix Template

Portfolio Classification Grid

                        HIGH MARKET GROWTH
                              |
                              |
     QUESTION MARKS           |          STARS
     (Invest selectively      |    (Invest aggressively
      or divest)              |     to maintain lead)
                              |
                              |
   ───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────
                              |
                              |
     DOGS                     |          CASH COWS
     (Divest or sunset)       |    (Harvest, maintain
                              |     with low investment)
                              |
                              |
                        LOW MARKET GROWTH
     LOW RELATIVE SHARE              HIGH RELATIVE SHARE

Unit Classification Table

Investment Allocation Summary

Detailed Action Plans by Quadrant

Stars: Growth Investment Plan

Cash Cows: Harvest Plan

Question Marks: Evaluation Criteria

For each Question Mark, answer these questions before committing further investment:

• ☐ Can we reach 1.0x relative share within 18 months?
• ☐ What investment is required to move this to Star status?
• ☐ Is the market growth rate accelerating or decelerating?
• ☐ Do we have a credible differentiation story?
• ☐ What is the opportunity cost of investing here vs. elsewhere?

Use the RICE Calculator to score specific initiatives within each Question Mark product.

Dogs: Exit Plan

Filled-Out Example: SaaS Analytics Company

Portfolio Classification

Investment Reallocation

Key decision: Kill the Mobile Analytics App and redirect its budget to the AI Insights Module. The mobile analytics market is crowded, and our share is too low to justify further investment. AI Insights has a clearer path to differentiation.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Using revenue instead of market share. A product generating $10M in a $100M market (10% share) is very different from $10M in a $10B market (0.1% share). Relative position matters more than absolute size.

1. Ignoring the dynamics. The matrix is a snapshot. Plot your units quarterly to track movement. A Question Mark trending toward Star tells a different story than one drifting toward Dog.

1. Refusing to kill Dogs. Emotional attachment to legacy products is the most common portfolio mistake. Every dollar spent maintaining a Dog is a dollar not invested in a Star.

1. Treating all Question Marks equally. You cannot afford to invest in every promising opportunity. Pick the 1-2 with the best path to market leadership and cut the rest. Use a prioritization framework to decide.

1. Applying the matrix to products with shared infrastructure. If Product A and Product B share 80% of the same codebase, sunsetting one affects the other. Account for technical dependencies in your exit plans.

Tips for Presenting to Leadership

• Lead with the matrix visual. It communicates portfolio health faster than any slide deck.
• Pair the matrix with a specific ask: "We recommend shifting 15% of R&D budget from Cash Cows to Stars."
• Bring the data sources for growth rates and market share. Executives will challenge your classifications.
• Show the trajectory. Where were these products last quarter? Where will they be next quarter?
• Connect to financial outcomes. "Sunsetting the Dog frees $500K annually for the Star product."

For more on building and communicating product strategy, read the Product Strategy Handbook.

Key Takeaways

• The BCG Matrix classifies products into four quadrants based on market growth and relative share
• Stars need aggressive investment. Cash Cows fund the portfolio. Question Marks need selective bets. Dogs need exit plans
• Apply the matrix quarterly to track portfolio movement over time
• Use it alongside tools like the RICE Calculator for granular prioritization within each quadrant
• The hardest but most valuable decision is killing Dogs and underperforming Question Marks

About This Template

Created by: Tim Adair

Last Updated: 3/5/2026

Version: 1.0.0

License: Free for personal and commercial use