1. Let me start off with a little background for your benefit. Many years ago I was an
instructor at the S3G Naval nuclear prototype in upstate NY. I managed to get an
ROTC scholarship that landed me in Colorado.
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2. Let me start off with a little background for your benefit. Many years ago I was an
instructor at the S3G Naval nuclear prototype in upstate NY. I managed to get an
ROTC scholarship that landed me in Colorado.
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3. 3

4. After studying electrical engineering for 4 years I graduated and got several
positions where I could apply my new skills building high-end video camera systems
for the government, medical, and the scientific community.
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5. After studying electrical engineering for 4 years I graduated and got several
positions where I could apply my new skills building high-end video camera systems
for the government, medical, and the scientific community.
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6. After 6 years of hardware design I managed to land a position doing software
technical marketing for a semiconductor company. Three positions later my
software technical marketing turned into software product management. This was
over a 10 year stint with that company.
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7. The end of which was brought on by the current recession. 15 months of scouring
the internet, business journals, networking, job boards, etc. I finally landed my
current position doing product management for a wireless security hardware
company.
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8. I finally landed my current position doing product management for a wireless
security hardware company.
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9. My name is Larry McKeogh and I am here to talk to you today about Domain
Knowledge and whether it matters?
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10. That knowledge which is specific to an application, as distinguished from general strategic
or control knowledge that is independent of the details of any particular application. i.e., a
specific area of expertise of an expert system
http://www.testrepublic.com/forum/topics/domain-knowledge-what-is-
it?page=2&commentId=1178155%3AComment%3A57055&x=1#1178155Comment5
7055
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11. This has been a topic that cyclically appears on various product management
forums, blogs, and twitter. Traditionally, I have taken the stance that Domain
Knowledge does not matter. However, during the course of putting this
presentation together I have found myself vacillating on the answer. It is one that
depends on what side of the fence you are on.
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12. For this reason I will apologize in advance if this is not a well-polished presentation.
I would like to turn it into more of a working topic with everyone here. As I
understand the intention of product camps this is what yields the greatest value for
both the presenters as well as presentees.
So that we are all on the same page what am I talking about when I say “Domain
Knowledge”
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13. The operative word for this morning’s discussion in my mind is knowledge. Domain
is a secondary consideration. From a product management perspective, you, or
more specifically your knowledge is the product. The potential customers are your
target employers. What are their needs and do they realize it?
What I have found to be the case is most employers do not entirely realize what
they are looking for when it comes to product management. As most people in this
room can attest to, product management at most companies and its job description
is very broad and ill defined. One company is looking for a mar-comm type while
another is looking for technical wizard. They all know they need something but are
unsure of exactly what it is. I say this based on reviewing hundreds of job requests
and then correlating the job requirements to what the employer actually wanted. I
am going to share my experiences with you today. Unfortunately, with a sample
size of one this is far from scientific.
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14. But before I do that, I would like to revisit my own personal history. If you
remember during my introduction I made the jump from hardware design to
software technical marketing. On the surface this seemed to me like a huge leap.
Especially when I also let you know that my worst subjects during college were
software related.
The main reason I was hired, as explained to me by my boss after the fact was
“because I was familiar with the competition.” He wanted someone who knew
what the competitor did well and not so well. He didn’t care that I didn’t know a
lick about know that company’s product or that I didn’t know the first thing a
software product technical marketer did. I would pick that up on the job.
I don’t think he initially knew how much these skills would matter. It was over
beers several years later, when he was no longer my boss that he informed me that
he was close to giving up on me. Fortunately I was a fairly fast learner and able to
develop the necessary skills for the position and my career took off. In this
instance, I had the domain knowledge of interest but not the skills to match the
position.
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15. At this point, I’d like to take a look at recent example that is very similar in nature:
If the red elements are the “domain” specific criteria for this position, without even being
able to see them, is this company looking for a PM or a developer to play a PM?
[audience?]
In my opinion, based on the amount of space given to the product management
requirements it would be a product manager.
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16. This announcement is a pretty generic product manager request except for a couple
of market specific lines:
5+ years of software search product management
Experience in social networking, search, or websites required.
And
Ability to build a road map for search engine products
Previous experience as a software developer
To demonstrate my background in product management as part of my application, I
gathered information on the search market. I outlined the other players that were
in this space, their strengths and weaknesses. Where I thought the company could
do well and where they might want to stay away from. I had done some homework
on the market. I also thought I was shedding some new light on the founder by
revealing some of these players. In the end it was for naught.
I happened to know the recruiter for this position. She informed me that what was
really meant by these lines was a PhD from Stanford that had worked at Google for
5 years. They would entertain someone from Yahoo if they had to. Without that on
my resume, this company was not even willing to talk to me. They were not looking
for a true product manager. Like the boss I had described earlier they were looking
for someone with more of the technical knowledge.
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17. This illustrates to me at least that the term domain is deeper than a single vertical.
By that I am not talking about a market rather a spectrum of domains.
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18. Collective knowledge specific to an application or market – is the application or
market the actual job position or the market vertical it exists within? Does it matter
that a software developer knows C/C++ for the financial and banking industry or
can they code for gaming industry just as easily?
At one end of the spectrum there is product management domain knowledge. At
the other end there is technical domain knowledge. In between there is a whole lot
of gray area that most of us fall into.
There is a an old saying – “The only constant is change”
My impression is that getting out or avoiding this pigeon hole is the quandary most
of us are facing today. The competition for the jobs today is so high that it is an
employer’s market. Unfortunately, many of them are willing to wait for just the
perfect fit. It was frustrating for me to see that the last position was posted 3 times
and sat unfilled for nearly a year. During that time frame I could have done pro-
bono work while developing the technical knowledge they desired. Last time I
checked, they are still looking for some form of product management.
I am looking at the Domain Knowledge in different perspectives:
1. Business Domain Knowledge (Implies purely the Business Rules at company level
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19. handled by managers)
2. Marketing Domain Knowledge (Acts as intermediary to BDK and TDK to make the product
sellable to create revenues)
3. Technical Domain Knowledge (Implies the Technology involved in developing the particular
application and the support & Maintenance
http://www.testrepublic.com/forum/topics/domain-knowledge-what-is-
it?page=2&commentId=1178155%3AComment%3A57055&x=1#1178155Comment57055
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20. Let’s take a look at the other end of the spectrum using another position
announcement.
On the surface it appears similar to the earlier search example; this company is
looking for someone with imaging or IC design experience along with the standard
product management skills requested. In actuality, their deeper need was for a
product manager that could influence and manage their Asian partners. If it came
down to two equally qualified PM candidates: one with the imaging / IC experience
and another with greater Asian experience it would probably be the later who was
given the nod.
This criteria is completely absent from the requirements list though.
So if the customer doesn’t really know what they want how can you provide it?
Especially when you don’t have easy access to ask them all the pertinent questions
you would normally ask a typical customer. This turns into a market segmentation
problem.
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21. With this understanding of your customer what skill set are they trying to improve
upon. What expertise is currently lacking that they are trying to fill with this request
for a product manager? Where do your strengths lie in alignment with the needs of
the customer and do you have compensating competencies that might add value to
the customer?
Huh? Drawing a simple analogy, your senses give you multi-dimensional insight
into the world around you. If you lose one the others pick up the slack. Likewise, a
seasoned product manager is able to use their existing skill set to accelerate the
learning associated with any new position and offset any gaps they may have with
their past experiences.
Unlike a product that is one dimensional you as a person offer more and can adapt
as needed. How have you done this in your past roles? Who has had only one job
here? So for each of those positions you have taken on in the past there was some
learning curve. Thinking back to those early days what did you do to accelerate it?
What skills do you possess that ensure your future success in the position you are
applying for? It is this tangible experience that has to be conveyed to your
audience.
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22. Last set of examples and let’s see how this all plays out:
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23. Let’s take a look at a response from an HR person
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24. Unfortunately, we are in an employer’s market. They can be choosy because there
are a number of candidates on the street. So I had to reframe the problem and
their desired solution to be me. Do you really need that domain knowledge that
they are so looking for? How are your product management skills and how can you
demonstrate them to the employer? Play up your compensating competencies and
give them something else to think about. For most people here I am going to say
that your product management skills are what needs to be highlighted.
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25. I agree that working on different domains will enable us with multiple options to choose.
But by being expert in one domain I don’t think can’t be expertise in other domains too. So,
It’s unfair to say that being ‘Jack all of all trades is better than master of one’ because they
both have advantages and disadvantages on their own.
So, It’s in ones perspective whether he/she is open and showing constantly the growth in
his knowledge and adding quality to the company working for.
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