OMFG! thoughts on product management
Some
from alan jones alan@pollenizer.com

Who is this Alan Jones?
Not the Alan Jones some of you
already know
Career in journalism and PR
Web product manager since 1995
Google “bigyahu” for more info

Product management is communication

Product management is
translation
Development
A product is the tiny overlap
between the needs of a
business, the aspirations of its
development team and the
Customer
Business
unsatisfied desires of the
customer

Product development needs
Business requirements re-
formulated as interesting
challenges, puzzles, problems
This is the crew of the Starship
Enterprise...

Business needs
Clarity on resources,
timeframes, worst-case as well
as best-case
Accountability
Dashboard-level reporting
Technical issues reformulated as
business issues

Don’t forget the external
audiences
Customers
Investors
Partners
Media

Be top level, with detailed
subfloor
You’re in this position so they
can count on your top-level
summary
They don’t want detail unless
they ask for it
You better have up-to-date
detail in case they ask for it
Respond with conviction, not
with data

How to be a top level guy
Set the time, place, agenda
Don’t take notes, ask for
someone else’s
Leading the conversation means
having an opinion
Delegate effectively

How to delegate like a top level guy
Define the start point, direction
and deliverables in detail
Leave the outcome and the
process undefined
Don’t check back unless you’re
invited
Support the outcome 100% of
the time

The process

Agile process to win
“Engineers design for themselves.
Marketers write requirement tomes.
Customers don’t know what they need.”
David Tarber

Build use case to win
User is not always the customer
Customer buys it
User uses it

Focus to win
Feature-comparison is dead
Fewer features
Fewer options/preferences
Fewer people and
corporate structure
Fewer meetings and
abstractions
Fewer promises

Credits
Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eamon/509019535/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/assbach/337449769
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pillowhead_designs/2285627205/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7364897@N02/2334953234/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jameslines/2542260350/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mydogtag/3476679277/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cote/248669633/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ihtatho/627226315/
More about me:
http://www.bigyahu.com
http://www.pollenizer.com/content/alan-jones