The document discusses the concept of a 'letting go' mindset in project management, comparing it to a midwife's role in delivering a product to a client. It emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer needs, accepting that a product can be 'good enough,' and being prepared to move on even if minor imperfections remain. Key takeaways include collaboration, transparency, and addressing technical debt proactively.

1. Letting go
Suni Stolic

2. Hello, I am Suni
“A Project Manager is like a midwife
- he/she delivers the baby, hands it over
to the mother and moves on.
The baby being the product and the
mother being the Product Manager” -
Derek Morrison
brainmates.com.au

3. Today
Handing over
Hiring
Support
MindsetThe mindset

4. When it is good enough
“Finishing a UX project is like sweeping a
floor. You get the big pile fairly easily, but
those last few specks of dust are
impossible to ever really clean up. You just
keep cutting the dirt pile in half until finally
you’re left with an acceptable amount of
grime to put the broom away and get on
with the next thing.”

5. The ‘letting go’ mindset

6. The ‘letting go’ mindset
Outcomes:
• Awareness and acceptance
• Better product
• Customer needs are truly no. 1
• Gets us out of our comfort zone
• More useful to our customers

7. The ‘letting go’ mindset
• Product is “good enough”
• Budget runs out, or customer is fundraising
• Customer needs to reassess viability or
strategy
• Customer wants to build an in-house team

9. Tracker

10. Tracker
Kick Off
First Milestone
20152014
Support Mode
Staff Rollout

11. How it felt

12. Start ups

13. Taggd

14. Taggd
Delivery Kick Off
2015
CTO Hire
! !! ! ! !
June October

15. How it felt

17. Sixpark
Delivery Kick Off
Proof of Concept
20162015
Support Mode
Launch
Licence

18. How it felt

19. Takeaways
- Customer needs first
- Inclusive and collaborative from the start
- Don’t avoid tech debt
- Support in an open and transparent way
- Speak up if customer choices are short
sighted

20. Questions?