Agile Mashup

In this audio interview I speak with the author of the blog Purist Product Management: Aziz Musa. I had the opportunity to work with Aziz for a year at Reed Business Information and found him to be an inspirational and focussed product manager. During the interview I review Aziz’s:

Uncategorized Product Management, Your Career

Uncategorized Your Career

Graham Jones co-founder of Lane4 an international performance development consultancy gives several tips, in his recent article “How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better”, published in this months addition of Harvard Business Review, on improving your management performance – many of the tips are applicable to Product Managers. The article draws several parallels between successful sports and athletics personal. The tips are very applicable to Product Managers.

The first point that Jones puts forward is that the real key to excellence in both the sports and business world is mental toughness and the ability to thrive on pressure.

Loving Pressure
Product Management by its very nature is a job that is highly pressurised. You may be at a trade show and all of sudden the (beta) product your demonstrating gives up the ghost. How do you cope? It’s not always possible to ship spare equipment to annual exhibitions – such a situation will call for the product manager to quickly think on their feet. Or suppose your release gets unexpectedly delayed, a senior stakeholder has promised a major client that new features in order to secure a purchase order or sponsorship deal– the lucrative deal is under threat and your mail box and voice mail gets flooded by a host of complaints and questions to add to the pressure your company is desperate for revenue, times are hard – competition is tough.
Jones states that “You can’t stay on top if you aren’t comfortable in high-stress situations. Indeed, the ability to remain cool under fire is the one trait of elite performers that is most often thought of as inborn. But in fact you can learn to love the pressure…” The two tip that Jones gives is to a) learn to compartmentalization – the sports person who loses a match on Monday must be able to put the defeat behind them walk onto the pitch the next day and play with the will to win. b) Have a secondary passion that you can switch to – a hobby or charity you support. The ability to switch will help you avoid burn-out and therefore succesfully ride the storms of a commercail life.

Reinvent Yourself
I read a number of years ago that feedback was the breakfast of champions. Jones gives example of Trampolinist Sue Shotton who reinvented her performance and as a result became world champion. One of the things that enabled her to achieve her ambition was her “insatiable appetite for feedback – according to Jones a quality he has seen in all top business performers his worked with. Product Managers who work in an organisation that values ‘lesson learnt’ or ‘scrum retrospectives’ can solicit or create an atmosphere for honest constructive feedback.

Celebrate the Victories
It’s important to celebrate victories but according to Jones it’s vital to be able to identify how and why you were victorious he says that “The very best performers do not move on before they have scrutinized and understood thoroughly the factors underpinning their success.” It’s important that Product Managers know how and why they’ve achieved success. This gives them a better chance of repeating success at a later date.
Related articles: Ten Steps to Better Product Management

Uncategorized Product Manager, Your Career

Traditionally when I think of the job of the product manager I think of someone who is half marketing and half engineer – someone who is 50% orientated towards business needs and 50% orientated towards technology. People who have this mixture hold a number of different job titles: product manager, product marketing manager, product development manager… and so on. There are many papers and blog post that explain the differences between these job roles and functions e.g. Product Management vs. Product Marketing. From my point of view your job title and function depends a lot on the type of company your working for and the industry you’re in.

I wrote a blog post a few months ago about Product Management moving into IT/IS departments. This should not come as a surprise since the Product Manager is essentially a bridge between business and market needs and technology – (be it hardware, software or a combination of the two) - and the talented individuals who dedicate their lives researching, designing and building technical products. Many SME and organisations e.g. Banks rely on information technology to gain the competitive advantage hence the investment in product management to ensure that technology constantly delivers business value and therefore the competitive edge.

Tim O’Reilly states that: “Technology is fundamentally transforming publishing.” In the same article entitled Tools for change conference he continues by saying that:
“There is so much that publishers need to know: how to effectively apply new Web 2.0 concepts like harnessing collective intelligence, loosely coupled web services, tag clouds, and mashups; content generation technologies like blogs, wikis, and crowdsourcing; content management systems; production workflows for XML publishing; real time data analysis driving publishing decisions; new presentation layer tools like Ajax (and the latest from Adobe, like Apollo); search engine optimization….”

Taking all this into consideration it’s no wonder that Product Managers have arrived at online media companies, bridging the gap between the publishing business and technology teams. Marie Griffen says in her article Product Managers Arrive that:
“The Internet is a constantly evolving technology, not simply a delivery platform for content in electronic form. It requires the creation of new jobs within media companies, and one area that is on the rise is online product management.”

The article goes on to say that: “At Penton Media, the product manager function is well-developed. “Product managers marry market needs with the core competencies in our technology group,” said Prescott Shibles, VP of Penton Media “s new media group.

I’ve been working as a Product Manager for Reed Business Information (the world biggest B2B publishing company) for 3 years – prior to that I had worked for in Project Management and Product Management for two different technology companies who designed and manufactured products for the broadcast industry. Comparing the two different Product Management roles I would say that the technologies, of course, differ. Also in the online world your loyalty is shared between at least 3 different types of customers: the advertiser and/or sponsor, the end user and the search engine/google(bot) as opposed to just a single customer who was generally the end user. Apart from that the fundamental functional differences in Product Management are minimal. The key differences lie in the area of work flow and processes - however this can also vary between companies with in the same industry.

So if your looking for a challenge and a change in your product management career I would highly recommend transferring your skill set and working for an online media company.

The current transition the publishing world is experiencing is akin to the transition the broadcast industry went through when it moved from analogue to digital or to put it in consumer terms the transition from having limited TV channels with analogue to have unlimited channels with digital TV or the move from vinyl to CD – as with all changes some will embrace while other will get left behind.

Product Management is not just here to stay its growing fast and gaining ground. Where ever there are business problems and commercial needs (be it B2B/B2C online publishing or re- purposing adverts in wide screen format for television or producing films in HD for the cinema) the product managers ultimate goal is to utilize technology to produce products to solve the problems and meet the market needs in a profitable way.

Uncategorized Product Management, Product Manager, Technology, Your Career

Where do you, as the Product Manager, see yourself in three years time?
I always find this question challenging: the pace of product management and technology is moving so fast that it would be quite difficult to predict where or what today’s product manager would be doing in three or five years time. However here are a few thoughts that may help you answer the question and put you on track for a prolonged and fruitful career as Product Manager
Stress on seeing yourself as a successful Product Manager
I’ve always liked this quote from Allan R Cohen book “The portable MBA in Management”
“…the meaning of success has also changed for most people. No longer do people think of success in terms only in vertical terms (for example in terms of promotions). Increasingly, people define success in their own terms, measured against their own particular set of gaols and values in life. We call this psychological success. The good thing about success from the individuals point of view is while there is only one way to achieve vertical success (that of moving up), there are an infinite variety of ways of achieving psychological success.”

• Becoming or continuing to master a range of technologies that are applicable to his/her market and product.
• To be known as the Product Manager that successfully launched a number of innovative products into the market place.
• Broadening your product portfolio and entering new markets.
• Taking on more responsibilities and mentoring junior product managers

Achieving the above and being formally recognised for it is also known as lateral promotion acording to Promoting to a new employer
“The lateral promotion is where, because of your increased knowledge, skills or experience, you earn more pay but do not get a managerial position. Many companies have realised over the past decade that one way to keep their personnel happy is not to make them supervisor, manager, partner or vice president, but to pay them better for being good at what they do. It’s a simple way of rewarding - and keeping - valuable employees without putting extra strain or a new life on them.”

It’s important not to give the impression (or have the idea) that you’re using the company only as a stepping stone to becoming the “Head of Product Management” or promoted to being the “Group Product Manager.”
Be sure to persuade the interviewer that you are able and ready to add value to the company and the product range(s) you will be managing before you give any impression on having a desire to climb the corporate ladder.

Uncategorized interview, Product Management, Product Manager, Your Career

Wikipedia, states that: Product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal. Therefore it is important that the product manager believes and supports the processes that the company has implemented. However are there ever situations when it is acceptable to break an agreed process?

The answer depends a lot on the industry and products you’re managing. Very early on in my career I worked as an Avionics Engineer – the company would periodically be audited (with little or no warning) by the CAA, FAA and internal QA department. For obvious reasons failure to adhere to and being seen to follow the laid down processes would be totally unacceptable. Other industries are bound by SOX or ISO 9001 etc…. So if asked, at an interview – it would be wise to demonstrate that you understand and embrace the appropriate processes and procedures. However it would also be good to demonstrate that you can think outside the box. Some industries are not heavily regulated and there will be times when bypassing a process may result in commercial gain. If you feel it is appropriate to bypass processes then by sure to indicate that you would consider the following 7 points:

1. Inform your line manager. The last thing you want is for you boss to approach you if something goes wrong – ensure you keep her/him in the loop.
2. Weigh up the risk and rewards to the company and product. Are you sacrificing quality and therefore the company’s reputation for the sort term commercial gain? E.g. by shipping a product to a customer before it has been fully beta tested. On the other hand if you don’t ship first will you competitor ship before you and gain valuable market share?
3. Weigh up the risk and rewards to your career – in other words would you feel confident defending your actions to corporate management? How would you explain a lost commercial opportunity to the CEO or MD?
4. Keep a record of what was not done or who was not consulted.
5. Send an email, inadvance, to those who may have actually by pass the process and be sure that you clearly indicate that you as the ‘Product Manager’ are prepared to take full responsibility for any unfavourable outcome.
6. After the event (e.g. a release of a new online feature) be sure to backtrack – tidy up any loose ends and make sure that the records correctly reflect what actually happened and why. Or continue beta testing and offer the first customers free upgrade etc…
7. Review the process that was bypassed and see if it could be improved to cater for any future emergencies.

My final thought on the topic is never by pass a process if it involves compromising on health and safety, breaking the law or deceiving the customers/end user no matter what the commercial gains.

Uncategorized interview, Product Management, Product Manager, Your Career

Many ask the question “How do I get into Product Management” well here are a few links to Q&As, on the topic, on Jeff Lash’s new website ‘Ask a Good Product Manager’

How can a software engineer become a product manager?
View my answer to this question - hopefully it will help not just the asker but many more software engineers who want to make the transition from software engineering to product management.

How can I become a product management consultant?
After being a product manager for a number of years you may want to change career and become a product management consultant. Read how Adrienne Tan of brainmates answers this question.

How can I become a product manager without any experience?
Saeed Khan of On Product Management shares his views on how to get into product management.

You can also read more of my thoughts on how to get into product management at:
How to get into Product Management

And read how other got into Product Management at:
How others have moved into Product Management

Uncategorized interview, Product Management, Your Career

In general Product Management and/or Technical Product Management is about orientating between business and markets trends and needs and

being able utilise technology to define product features and enhancements. Marty Cagan, in his article Are You Technical Enough? States that:

“When I interview product management candidates, I’m looking hard at these two points. The candidate must convince me that they are capable of understanding and applying new technology, and of earning the respect of the engineering team.”

As such keeping up with new and emerging technologies and learning about technologies that could be new to you is not only a challenge but critical to being a good and well respected Product Manager. Marty in the same article gives a few tips on how to stay technically savvy or should I say technologically savvy.

“There are many ways to do this. Books, articles, blogs, extension courses, experiment with the technologies or write software on your own, spend more time with your engineers, ask them about the technology topics they are exploring and tag along.”

In my book we should be careful not to get being technical mixed up with being able to apply technology to solve a problem – semantics one might say – let me explain – I view being technical as being the role of the Developer, Engineer or the Architect the person who is able to dig deep into the code, design the solution be it hardware, software, firmware or a combination of all three – they are also the people who are able to maintain the product, figure out work arounds (e.g. when chip sets all of a sudden go obsolete and purchasing are unable to source any more or a release of a new online feature causes performance issues not experienced in UAT or system test environments). The Product Manager needs to be able to have an appreciation for these issues but is not the person to offer up a detailed solution.

Here’s how a few Product Managers that I have interviewed keep themselves updated with new technologies:

From Marketing to Product Management: Ivan Chalif says that he
“…typically let my Engineers bring new technologies to me, but I keep my eye open for new UI features and capabilities in other products that I think might be useful for my users. I also subscribe to a number of usability- and technology-oriented RSS feeds.”

Transition from Web Developer to Product Manager: Patrick Jolley said “By using sites like TechCrunch and eHub. I also really like the ‘Movers and Shakers’ section on Alexa.”

Interview with a Director of Product Management: Paul Young says that he tries “… to read a lot. I make heavy use of Google Reader to keep up with RSS feeds from favorite tech sites like Engadget. I also regularly read the other Product Management blogs that I link from my site, Product Beautiful. I am always amazed and humbled by the great thoughts and posts that other Product Management bloggers are creating.”

Interview with an Ex AOL Product Manager: Brunella said “By reading a lot on the Internet and getting the latest hints through friends and colleagues in the field.”

Interview with Jeff Lash: Author of How to be a Good Product Manager “… I try to read as many blogs as I can manage, read general consumer and business magazines, and learn from colleagues. I try to use as many new web sites as possible — I always sign up for the “notify me when this service is available” email notifications, since there’s too many to remember. As much as I try to stay ahead of the curve, though, I can’t keep track of everything. My feeling is that if something is really going to be important, I don’t need to be the first to find out about it, since I’ll probably hear about it soon enough if enough people are talking about it.”

From Technical Support to Product Management Mark Barns states “Mostly through working closely with in house development teams on Product Requirement and Software Requirement Specs. Continuous customer engagement, Trade Shows and Standards bodies attendance also help.”

Tony Bradley in his article: Keeping up with Tehnology gives this advice:
“New technologies and improved technologies are emerging all the time. It can be daunting to try to keep up with them all. Remember to focus on keeping your business needs in mind and finding the technology that helps solve them rather than keeping up with technology just for the sake of keeping up with technology.”

How do you keep up with technology? – Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences.

Uncategorized Developers, Engineers, interview, Knowledge Management, Product Management, Product Manager, Your Career

What would you do if your boss called you to a meeting and informed you that your team has been complaining about your lack of leadership and management?
You would or course be surprised even shocked because you would have put things in place to ensure that you where leading and managing the team well. Once you express that you would be surprised you could then:
1. Ask if their where any particular examples.
2. List the things you would have in place to ensure that individually and collectively the team felt they where managed and led. Such as:
a. Regular team meetings – where everyone has the opportunity to give feedback and where you have the opportunity.
b. Regular one to one sessions – where you have a chance to get close to your team members.
c. Periodic review of work done – with out micromanaging your team.
d. Yearly formal appraisals where tasks are set followed through with formal quarterly reviews.
The above demonstrates to the interviewer how you would manage your team so that such a situation would not occur.
However if such a complaint surfaced and your line manage agreed with the complaint then you could suggest you work with your line manager to put an action plan together in order to get things back on track.

Uncategorized interview, Your Career

Mark Barnes has extensive experience in facing customers, initially as a customer support engineer and then later in his career as a product manager. Continue reading to learn more about his transition and views about product management.

1. What’s your academic background/training?
BEng in Electronics Engineering from Sussex University.
Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from Chartered Institute of Marketing.
2. What did you do before you where a product manager?
Field Service > Customer Support > Sales Support > Product Management
3. Where did you work prior to your current position?
Prior to current position at Tektronix I worked for Adherent Systems Ltd, (Digital Broadcast Test and Measurement) as a Product Manager. Adherent was acquired by Tektronix (General T&M) who in turn have been recently been acquired by Danaher (global portfolio of companies) - now my current employer. Prior to Adherent I worked for Radamec Broadcast Systems Ltd as a Customer Support Engineer, Sales Support Engineer and Product Manager. Prior to that I worked in the Oil and Gas exploration industry for Baker Hughes Inteq (aka Exlog) as a Field Service engineer.
4. What inspired you to become a product manager?
The desire to improve the products I was working with. In previous (support) roles I was always dealing with the results of other peoples product development decisions. I felt I could do better and had ideas about how to improve products and services so decided I should put my money where my mouth is and take on that responsibility in a product management role.
5. How did you make the move from being a Support Engineer to becoming a product manager?
During time spent in customer support role I found I gravitated towards sales activities, demo’s, trade shows etc. This led me to realise that I needed to be in a position where I could more effectively influence product direction and when a Product Management opportunity in the same company came up, I took it.
6. What do you like best about your job?
Getting to the bottom of customers problems and developing solutions that make those people and their companies more successful.
7. What do you least like about your job?
Overcoming the challenges of large company ‘inertia’ needed to execute with velocity.
8. How do you keep up with the latest technologies?
Mostly through working closely with in house development teams on Product Requirement and Software Requirement Specs. Continuous customer engagement, Trade Shows and Standards bodies attendance also help.
9. Describe your Product Management job in one sentence.
Solving customers problems profitably.
10. What’s your dream product to manage?
Great question - something that I am passionate about, is strongly differentiated and targeted at a clearly defined niche segment.
11. How would you describe managing product development before you/your company adopted agile?
We don’t tend to use agile in teh hardware world. My current company uses a gating process common to many hardware technology companies product introduction processes. A product is researched, defined and business case justified before the main thrust of development commences. Some amount of de-risking by the development team may take place before the project gets the green light.
12. What would be the top three attributes you need to do your job?
#Insight into customer needs, current and future.
#Ability to communicate effectively across functions, and at all levels, of the organisation.
#Leadership qualities - necessary to motivate cross-functional teams to deliver outstanding products that deliver value to all stakeholders.
13. What’s the key attribute you need in order to work with the development team?
Credibility in the eyes of the developers - I have seen others fail because of this.
14. What do you do when you’re not managing products (outside interests)?
Young family occupies most time. Also motorcycles.
15. What advice would you give some one who wants to become a product manager?
Product Management can be very rewarding because you control, and are accountable for, the product or service in question. However the Product Manager must be truly passionate about the Product or Service to maximise the rewards. If you do not feel a connection to the Product or Service in question then don’t take the position - find one that you care about.

Uncategorized Product Development, Product Management, Product Manager, Your Career