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Setting priorities...

...is a challenge. If everything is "must have", how can you choose?

http://geekandpoke.typepad.com/geekandpoke/2010/01/priorities.html

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

The iPad's future shock

I'm often saddened by the infantilizing effect of high technology on adults. From being in control of their world, they're thrust back to a childish, medieval world in which gremlins appear to torment them and disappear at will and against which magic, spells, and the local witch doctor are their only refuges.

via macworld.com

Seems that loads of people have scorn for the new iPad but... are you the target persona? This article suggests that the iPad is for people who struggle with computers... and that's not you. The iPad is for all the people in your life that don't understand folders. It's for people who have all their files on the desktop. And why do we need files anyway? or Folders?

What have you done to understand personas and their goals? Are you programming to yourself and your developers and your sales people? Or are you programming to the personas?

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

ProductCamp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ProductCamp is a free collaborative, user-organized conference, focused on product management topics including, but not confined to, product marketing, development and management.

via en.wikipedia.org

I'm headed to pCamp in Minneapolis. www.pcampmn.org
c u there?

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

Friday fun: construction safety

I don't quite know how to respond to this email. What's my action item?

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

2009-2010 Survey results published

The new magazine is out and the latest survey results are in. We ran loads of analyses on the data and I think you're gonna find some neat stuff inside.

Are you technical? It seems that our customers are!

And it matters. People who are more technical make more money!

Thanks to all of you who shared your information and your candor with us. The results are fascinating. 

Social media adoption

Neilsen shares these amazing stats on social media adoption. 

Yet our 2010 survey results show that 43% of vendors place NO importance on social media. Yikes!

More stats from Pragmatic Marketing's 2009-2010 product management survey coming next week. 

Friday fun: ALL CAPS

In their haste to get it on the air, looks like they forgot some text! 

This photo reminds me of one of my favorite presentations. Maybe you've seen it too. It's called "<Client name goes here>"

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

Friday fun: the 30 second rule

In the old days we had the 5 second rule but with today's concern about sanitation and safety, we need to take a little more time analyzing the situation. Good news! Here's a flow chart to help. 

Source: San Francisco Food Blog

integrating two companies' products into a unified product suite

I was asked recently about the best practices in integrating two companies' products into a unified product suite. 

I posted a note to Twitter and got these replies:

@ditkis: Banks?  JP & Mutual, Wells and Wachovia for geo coverage & service diversification

@DavidWLocke No. I think the literature is very clear, M&As fail. Still the acquiring company does get to keep some things that work.

In http://hbr.org/product/m-a-needn-t-be-a-loser-s-game/an/R0306D-PDF-ENG

Three out of four acquisitions fail; they destroy wealth for the buyer's shareholders, who end up worse off than they would have been had the deal not been done. But it doesn't have to be that way, argue the authors. In evaluating acquisitions, companies must look beyond the lure of profits the income statement promises and examine the balance sheet, where the company keeps track of capital. It's ignoring the balance sheet that causes so many acquisitions to destroy shareholders' wealth

In a case I'm familiar with, two companies with complementary product lines merged. My product was the only one in direct competition within the two companies. I think we did the ideal integration, choosing the best features from each product to create a new superset suite. But it was an incredible political problem--not a technical one. Sales people got involved. The branding loonies did too. So did executives who hadn't seen a line of code in decades. Yeesh.

In the end, I spent most of my energy on getting the politics out of the way. The developers created the best-of-both with a clear path for our customers. And don't just think programs: many changes will require customers to convert data and scripts too. (Think of the reaction the world had to Office 2007. See "I Hate Office 2007" at http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.455976.20 ) 

People don't want better as often as they want consistency. Make the change painless to your customers and do your best to ignore the irrelevant complaints from within the building.

Customers come second

... employees come first.

Back in 2002, I read an interesting book called The Customer Comes Second: Put Your People First and Watch 'em Kick Butt by Hal Rosenbluth and Diane Mcferrin Peters. The premise: If you take care of employees, they'll take better care of customers.

SAS seems to be proof of this. Jim Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for SAS in Cary, NC, writes:

Satisfied employees stay longer, get better at their jobs, learn more about SAS products and the ways people use them, develop stronger relationships with our customers, and are ultimately better able to do the work that provides real value for our customers.

Read more in Fortune says SAS is the best company to work for in America.

What are you doing today to make front-line employees evangelists for the company and its products?

Converting Theory into Action

Product management leadership is all about action. It’s converting the theory of product management into sustainable methods. It’s organizing, guiding and enabling a team and teaching them a common language that builds momentum as a team, creates consistency in your activities and ensures product management maintains a level of credibility across organization and with executive management.

via pmtribe.wordpress.com

My friend Jim Holland hits the nail on the head: product management isn't about meetings and emails and artifacts; it's about learning from the market and turning those observations in action.

What are you doing this week?

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

How do you feel about coworkers asking you questions?

The Engineering mind is back with another one. "How do you feel about coworkers asking you questions?"He writes:

Yes, you're welcome to ask me whatever you like, but keep in mind that I will hate you. Forever.

For more on development productivity, see also http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

It takes 20 minutes to begin concentrating yet the typical workplace has an interruption every 3 minutes. No wonder we can't seem to get any work done at work. My suggestion: the closed door policy. Whenever you need to think, close the door. And scowl--at anyone who isn't your boss--when someone bothers you anyway. Or do what so many others do: work at home when you need to think.

Don't be the guy that interrupts everyone when they're trying to get real work done.

The Beatles: Authorship & Collaboration

I'm somewhat of a Beatles-maniac. This amazing chart reveal how much (and how little!) The Beatles collaborated.

More at Charting the Beatles

Data visualization is fascinating, isn't it?

ProductPotluck Austin - January 20, 2010

Join your peers on Wednesday, January 20 from 5:30pm - 9:00 PM to experience ProductPotluck, which as an unconference is FREE!  Your only cost is your participation - bring your ideas, lead a session in your area of expertise, facilitate a roundtable discussion, network, or volunteer.  The meeting will be held at the beautiful AT&T; Conference Center on the University of Texas campus.  

The session is tonight so sign up before it's too late. And be sure to look for the Pragmatic Marketing folks. Adele, John, and David plan to be there.

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

Silicon Valley P-Camp 2010: March 13, 2010

The third annual Silicon Valley P-Camp will be even bigger and better than before! Join other product managers for a Saturday of discussions, talks, panels, networking, fun, food, t-shirts and surprises.  Under the leadership of SVPMA and with Yahoo's generosity, we expect more than 500 participants at this FREE event. Learn more at http://pcamp10.weebly.com/index.html

Sessions are being added now! Check out Barb Nelson's topic: Why would anyone want to hire you? See the sessions (and vote!) at http://svpcamp10.uservoice.com/forums/38383-proposed-sessions-silicon-valley-product-camp-20

Pragmatic Marketing is a sponsor so you'll be seeing us there. 

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

ProductCamp SoCal: February 27

 

ProductCamp is a great opportunity to learn from, teach to, and network with professionals involved in the Brand/Product Management, Marketing, and Development processes in Southern California! At ProductCamp everyone participates: by presenting, leading discussions, helping with logistics, securing sponsorships, or volunteering. Learn more at http://sites.google.com/site/productcampsocal/

Barb Nelson has proposed a session on Managing your career like a product. Vote for her session (and others) at http://productcampsocal.uservoice.com/forums/37073-proposed-sessions-for-pcsc-2010

Pragmatic Marketing is a sponsor at this event so look for us there.

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

What were you doing at age 9?

Marko Calasan, a 9-year-old from Macedonia, is more than just a kid who's into computers.

At age 6, he got his first systems administrator credential from Microsoft and, last month, he became perhaps the youngest Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.

"I must say that from the technological point of view, Marko is definitely a wonder child," said Matej Potokar, the general manager of Microsoft Slovenia. Potokar said in an e-mail interview that he first heard about Marko two years ago and was eager to get the chance to meet the young prodigy.

via news.cnet.com

I'm fairly sure I was singing along with The Monkees on TV.

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

CEOs love the cloud

http://geekandpoke.typepad.com/geekandpoke/2010/01/ceos-love-the-cloud.html

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

Product Management in Pictures (cont'd)

Saeed with http://onproductmanagement.net does it again.

Product Management In Pictures - Feature Requests From Sales

View more presentations from Saeed Khan.

And if you didn't see the first one, go to http://onproductmanagement.net/2010/01/08/diagramming-product-management-1-requirements-and-reality/

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

ProductCamp Atlanta: February 6, 2010

The next ProductCamp in Atlanta is scheduled for February 6, 2010. 

In the spirit of BarCamp (www.barcamp.org), ProductCampAtlanta is a collaborative, user organized professional conference, focused on Product Management and Marketing topics. At ProductCampAtlanta everyone participates in some manner: presenting, leading a discussion, showcasing a best practice, or sharing their experiences. Others help with logistics, securing sponsorships, organizing sessions, or settng up/cleaning up.  This is a self organizing collaborative event that is designed be a fun, rewarding and a unique experience.  

ProductCamp Atlanta

When:  February 6, 2010

Where: GTRI Conference Center 

             250 14th Street NW

             Atlanta, GA 30318 

Time:    9:00am - 5:00pm

Register at http://www.barcamp.org/ProductCampAtlanta

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management