Yes folks nothing says remote work team-building for the holidays than a delightful, Zoom-based product management song parody loudly voiced together in the cumulative song style of that Old English Carol favorite, ‘The 12 Days of Christmas.’ On the First day of Christmas, my PO gave to me … An estimation that is guilt-free. On the…
Category: Product Management
My thoughts on all things product management I hope add value to your day.
When Consistency becomes Tyranny
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Let me ask you a question: As a product manager or scrum master, do you feel there is a tipping point where consistency devolves into tyranny? I posed this question to some poor unsuspecting peeps at…
A Product Owner’s Office Party Survival Guide
TL;DR — Here are 7 tips to help product managers & product owners navigate some common pitfalls associated with corporate holiday parties. 1. Don’t skip it I know that sometimes corporate Christmas parties can be a pain, and to some, they even seem spurious, but the managers and executives who are stakeholders and sponsors for your initiatives will…
Dear Product Manager, have empathy for the symptoms, but cure for the cause
Not understanding the difference in addressing the cause vs. the symptoms is what leads to bad solutions, such as bloodletting for nosebleeds. Falling into the trap is easy. You get a call from a customer or an account executive where somebody needs a ‘red button’ on ‘screen 123’ because it’s slowing their ability to complete…
Scrum Master, is your team merely singing the notes, or are they making music?
source: The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach © 1976, Prof. Peter Schickele TL;DR — Standards are important, but not so much that we shift our focus from the rapid & continuous delivery of value to merely getting Scrum right. It’s that time of year again. No, I’m not talking about the 10 pounds of ‘Christmas Cheer’ we’ll…
7 Things That Drive Your Product Manager Crazy
Here’s a list of 6 things your product person hates, 7 that drive them crazy. Please try and use this list for good rather than evil. Weather permitting, this weekend I am going to record a set of 12.25-minute podcasts for a series I’m calling “Software Product Therapy.” Topics I’m covering come from a list…
Product Managers, do you know how much your bugs cost?
TL;DR — Not knowing the cost of bugs is about as wise as learning to juggle using chainsaws. Sure, you learn from your mistakes, but at what cost? Counting the Cost Yesterday I wrote why it’s important to know how much your teams cost per sprint. Today I’d like to build on that conversation by offering thoughts on…
Product Owners, why aren’t you talking about how much your team costs?
TL;DR — Not knowing your team cost is like the difference between riding into a debate atop the elephant vs. standing behind it with a shovel. Consider the Cost How much money does your team burn per sprint? Why do I ask? I posed this question a few weeks back on both Twitter and LinkedIn in response to…
Product Manager — CEO or Pirate Captain?
TL;DR: Below be the 7 Arrrrguments based on Black Bart’s Pirate Code of 1722 that suggest that a product manager is more pirate king/queen than CEO. Some CEOs exercise their power to dictate priorities by virtue of possessing the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. According to the 1st Article of the Pirate Code: “Every man…
Please, let’s not toss the PO baby out with the bathwater
TL;DR — The role of the product owner is not to come up with the best ideas, but to create an environment where the best ideas can be surfaced and measured. I read with no small amount of interest Joshua Kerievsky’s “Eliminating the Product Owner Role” after being directed to it via Bob Galen’s response in “Here…