ProductMarketing.com

Friday fun: where's my remote?

2009-12-18T07:38:00-05:00

Every lose your TV's remote control?

Just in time for Christmas from thereifixedit.com.

Six technical practices you should know about

2009-12-17T07:12:00-05:00

It seems ignorance is bliss for many in tech companies but it really doesn't matter if you're a product manager, a product marketing manager, or a product owner, there are six technical practices you should know about: Version control, Continuous integration, Automated testing, Refactoring, Simple design, and Collective code ownership. If you're in a tech role--or work with technical people-- you should understand these concepts, and make sure they're in use by your team.

(Oh, and also, you need to know the characters of Battlestar. Of course, you already know Star Trek and Star Wars.) (Plus, who Douglas Adams is.)

Here's the link!

2009-12-15T07:26:00-05:00

Have you every found yourself getting a request, googling it, and sending the link? Don't you wish some of your least favorite people could... uh... I dunno... think? Or at least use Google before they ask you to read aloud to them?

The solution: Let Me Google That For You. You can also get a tinyURL to tweet or to confuse your "friends."

Friday fun: imagine computing in the trillions

2009-12-11T07:29:00-05:00

My friend Barb shared this with me: imagine computing not in the billions but in the trillions!

Trillions from MAYAnMAYA on Vimeo.

This presentation uses animations very well... and the cute people icons actually help, instead of distracting. (Anyone remember those annoying string bean people?) Notice as well the SPEED of the animations; most animations in presentations are waaaaaayyyyy toooo sllloooowww.

I know we can't duplicate this technique in Powerpoint or Keynote but it's a handy reminder that each animation should add real value to the presentation.

An engineer roasts "marketecture"

2009-12-10T07:26:00-05:00

Alas, "Marketecture" is often a term of scorn used by developers and engineers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hn-AU3KQRk

Ideally, you should use marketecture to free yourself from the technical and refocus on how the product solves problems for buyers. Now that's a marketecture I can believe! Or as Adele would say, "Got a great product? Get over it." Talk to buyers about solving their problems, not about your features. DCPs indeed.

How Product Management Must Change to Enable the Agile Enterprise

2009-12-09T07:09:00-05:00

Nice article by Catherine Connor in How Product Management Must Change to Enable the Agile Enterprise. She writes:

When development teams adopt agile practices, product management is often caught off guard by the amount of work added to their already overflowing plate. Agile calls for new product management skills and traditional staffing models do not typically accommodate the new product owner role. Given that most product managers are already overworked, how can they manage these new activities to derive more value from software projects and products?

The product owner role is a full-time job. Catherine notes that the folks at Enthiosys have estimated the product management workload to rise by about 50% when software teams adopt agile. In fact most companies are assigning a full-time product owner to each project. Do you have responsibility for 3 or more products? No wonder you're so exhausted.

The solution for many has been to implement the product management triad: one product manager for strategy; one product owner for technology; one product marketing manager for go-to-market. Learn more about implementing the triad in my (free) ebook The Strategic Role of Product Management.

Friday fun: Mobius 2009

2009-12-04T07:53:00-05:00

This photo from Mobius 2009:

Mobius is an invite-only event, hosted by Microsoft, where the invited guests are shown what Microsoft is doing in the mobile space.

Ah, the irony.

Best gifts for 2009

2009-12-02T07:33:00-05:00

The Uncle Mark 2009 Gift Guide & Almanac is simply the very best guide for anyone vexed about technology, in search of good purchases, or who simply wants to know the answers to life's incessant questions. It's free. And delightfully opinionated.

Let's play "Req or Spec": insert a page break

2009-12-01T07:31:00-05:00

There's often confusion about what is a requirement and what is a specification. Let's play "Req or Spec." Is this a requirements or a specification?

Which is this? How would you improve it? Add your comment below.

See On Reqs and Specs for more.

Ethan Henry at Battle of the Bloggers

2009-11-30T07:38:00-05:00

Ethan Henry from "On Product Management" posted his presentation from the PMEC Battle of the Bloggers. Check out slide 6 and remember "WWSS: What Would Steve Say?" Good advice indeed.