There are many reasons that a product might fail in the market. One of those reasons is that your product solves the wrong problems. There are many ways to solve the wrong problems. This article continues the series on sources of product failure, exploring the idea that your product may […]
Who Are Your Customers – Comparing Products Part 2
The first step to comparing products is understanding your customers. This may seem counter-intuitive, but your product’s capabilities are meaningless unless you are comparing them from your customer’s point of view. This article is part 2 in a series on comparing products. Check out part 1, then continue with this […]
Compare Products Not Specs – Comparing Products Part 1
Recently, the gadget-reviewer crowd has caught on to something we’ve known for a long time. Comparing products is not about comparing specs, it is about comparing how well the products solve problems that customers will pay to solve. That begs the question – how should you compare products? Read on […]
Agile Estimation, Prediction, and Commitment
Your boss wants a commitment. You want to offer a prediction. Agile, you say, only allows you to estimate and predict – not to commit. “Horse-hockey!” your boss exclaims, “I want one throat to choke, and it will be yours if you don’t make a commitment and meet it.” There’s […]
Requirements Management Journey – Part 0
Requirements Management – I’m embarking on a journey to help several teams manage their requirements with their existing systems and tools. This is the first in a series of articles, where the rubber meets the road. I’ll look at both the theory and the realities of what works (and doesn’t) […]
Nokia’s Smartphone Strategy – Maximin
Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer, is getting clobbered as their market rapidly moves away from them. Recent analyst reports show that Android and iOS (Apple’s platform) based phones are rapidly gaining market share. Nokia sells neither. Nokia has a major press event in a few hours, where they will […]
Everything Old is New Again
A lot of teams that I’ve worked on and with get hung up when thinking about defining requirements for “migration projects” and “system upgrades.” There’s some intangible barrier to being market focused when it comes to improving existing internal systems. Every new product represents a solution to an existing problem. […]
Don’t Prioritize Features!
Estimating the “value” of features is a waste of time. I was in a JAD session once where people argued about if the annoying beeping (audible on the conference line) was a smoke alarm or a fire alarm. Yes, you can get to an answer, but so what?! The important […]
Agile Documentation
Agile values working software over comprehensive documentation – it is 1/4th of the original manifesto. That doesn’t mean don’t document! It means don’t document more than you need to document. Documentation does have value, but the practice of documenting got excessive – that’s why a reaction to the bad stuff […]