As product managers, we talk about creating the right solutions with our products. Understanding the very real problems our customers face, understanding the very real opportunities our markets present, and manifesting that understanding in a product roadmap. Other than being “not as good,” how expensive is it to build the […]
Don’t Listen to Your Market
Most companies ignore their markets – and they will struggle to survive. Some companies listen to their markets – and they have an opportunity to succeed. You have the opportunity to understand your market, and transform it into your market – but you can’t get there just by listening. Don’t […]
The One Idea of Your Product
“For what one idea do you want your product to stand in the mind of your customer?” I heard Roger Cauvin ask that question at the most recent ProductCamp Austin [correction – he said it here – thanks Roger], and the quote has been jumping to the front of my […]
Consistent Requirements
Consistency in writing requirements is important on two levels – strategic and tactical. Tactically, you need to write your requirements with grammatical consistency, so that potentially ambiguous statements will be interpreted similarly. You also need to write requirements that are logically consistent, so that you avoid “impossible” requirements and gaps […]
Minimum Market Acceptance
April Dunford just presented Startup Marketing 101 at DemoCamp Toronto. Great ideas from the ‘marketing and your startup’ point of view. I’ve often said that product managers and product marketers care about much of the same market data, they just do different things with it. The idea of minimal feature […]
ProductCamp Austin Spring 2010
ProductCamp Austin is here again! The Spring 2010 session is this Saturday, 27 March 2010 at the AT&T Conference Center on the UT campus in downtown Austin. Make sure and say hi when you’re there!
Great Product Manager Questions
The Laudi Group and Red Canary organized and shared a great set of questions for product managers and answers from a panel of product management leaders. Steve Johnson, another leader in our space shared his answers to the same questions, and in this article, I share mine.
Business Goals and Requirements
One of my colleagues got into a debate with one of his colleagues about the differences between goals and requirements. His opponent fired the following salvo: “[That] is not a business requirement in any company of the world…” What you call your requirements is less important than how you communicate […]
Measuring Great Design – Mad Libs Input Form
I came across a really interesting article LukeW.com, showing how making changes to the way an input form on a website increased interaction by 25 to 40%. The changes reflect the value of thinking outside-in, investing in user experience, and performance measurement. Bonus: the idea is cool.