I have loved film for most of my life. I read movie reviews on a regular basis, check my local movie listings weekly, and attend at least one film festival a year where I can support independent filmmakers and happily see so many movies that they all blur together, to the point where I can’t remember which film was which and eventually have to watch them all over again. So with that in mind, you would think I might be one of those people that jumped at the chance to read over the Oscars nomination list last week and tweet my predictions within minutes of the list being released. And that I actually watch the show – after all, I am the persona they target right?

Sadly, I hardly even bother to look at the list of nominations anymore, let alone actually watch the show.  Out of curiosity, I visited my friend Mr. Wikipedia to see if I was the only one who is not watching the show – and saw that I’m not alone. Over the past 14 years, the number of Academy Awards show viewers has significantly declined from a peak viewership of 57.2 million in 1998 (the year Titanic was released) to just 37.63 million viewers last year.

And when I think about this, and I think about the opportunity they have to reward the best films, the best writing, the best acting, for an entire year’s worth of films, I get sad.  Then I get analytical. And that is when I start to think in terms of product management to try and figure out why this product, The Academy Awards show, is not meeting my needs.

Which of course then leads me to ask what those needs even are – and I realize that for me it’s to see films rewarded for their quality, not the amount of star power, money, or new technology (think Avatar) they can throw into them. In a word, I want legitimacy.

And at some point, I believe the Oscars did deliver that. That at their core, they delivered the BASIC and PERFORMANCE requirements needed to legitimately reward the best quality films, regardless of who was in it, or the amount of money thrown at them.

Let’s take a look at what some of those BASIC and PERFORMANCE requirements for the Oscars might be: a shiny Oscar statue, attendees, an auditorium with a stage and seats, films and the actors that star in them, a committee of knowledgeable and non-bias voters, winners envelopes, and Billy Crystal (he has hosted 9 shows!). I’m sure there are others, but without those requirements met, the Oscars would simply not happen. Okay maybe they can happen without Billy, but he’s a good example of an EXCITEMENT requirement evolved into a PERFORMANCE requirement so I am keeping him in there.

Then, over time in an attempt to add value, they threw in some EXCITEMENT requirements: the extravagant red carpet, the overhyped media messaging, the best and worst dressed list, Joan Rivers, a revolving door of celebrity hosts and performances, a focus on fashion over film, more Joan Rivers, and over the top promo videos. Those requirements, for me, have turned the product offering into more of a large Hollywood party than any type of legitimate awards show. In effect, the EXCITEMENT requirements seem to have trumped the BASIC and PERFORMANCE requirements, creating a whole new product, with a whole new purpose and deliverable. A deliverable that just does not align with my needs.

What is interesting is that when we take a look at the graph of viewership, it shows that the years with the highest numbers are the years they brought Billy Crystal (the PERFORMANCE requirement) back to host. Oh and also the year that The Hurt Locker won – people sure do love a good war movie. Good thing Billy is back this year.

So what can product management learn from the Academy Awards?

It is important to remember that requirement types need to work together, and that while each type of requirement – BASIC, PERFORMANCE and EXCITEMENT – each serve their own purpose within a product, all the requirements work together to create the final product deliverable. And that while EXCITEMENT requirements are often the ones to ‘wow’ your customers, sometimes too much wow can turn to just ‘ow’ and negatively affect the value your customers receive from the product – and essentially drive them away.

Hey, speaking of Drive, I can’t believe that movie wasn’t even nominated…