Dean’s semi-definitive list of ProdMgmt Podcasts & Books “When you stop going to school, you’ve only given-up on formal education. When you stop learning, you given-up on living.” ~ George L. Peters, Sr. Not a week goes by now when I receive a request from an active or aspiring product person looking to up their product…
Tag: Lean Startup
WTF is ProdOps, and why should I care?
The new buzz word in #prodMgmt is #prodOps. It’s a real thing. I want to share my views before it gets overly commoditized. ProdOps is short for Product Operations. But what does that actually mean? Is it some re-packaged and monetized mishmash of DevOps + MarTech + RevOps + SalesOps + Pragmatic Marketing? Is it…
6 Questions every Product Manager should ask about Data, Statistics, and Analytics
As product people, we all deal with a lot of data. Here are some questions I’ve learned to ask based on my work in full-text search products; regardless of whether I’m dealing with a search implementation, adoption analytics, or setting up statistical experimentation on a new feature of value. Six Questions to Ask Is it clean?…
15 McCoy’isms for Product Managers
The “I’m a doctor, not a …” meme has been a running gag across all generations of Star Trek. I’ve extended this to product management. As any experienced product manager or product owner will tell you, we wear a lot of hats … A LOT OF HATS. This is the norm, and in most contexts perfectly acceptable…
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…