Over two decades of working in IT across many different roles including the early days as a software installer & trainer, through years as a business analyst / project manager and where i have been the last 5 years or so working exclusive in product development has given me the opportunity to travel extensively, work with many great well known high street brands, deliver solutions across countries and time zones and work with some brilliant people building products and providing services.
I love to write, to think things out, to solve problems, to share ideas, thoughts, debate and discuss across many different topics and disciplines.
This is my first attempt at creating an occasional blog to share some insights, experiences, rants and rambles from my professional life in the hope that someone, somewhere may learn something useful for their own life/career.
Why the product “peak”? Life both professional and personal is full of peaks and troughs. This is where my professional life is at the moment.
#1 is short (thanks for bothering to get this far!). On holiday in Malta my wife and I got back from a nice meal out in Mdina to the hotel just as the weather forecast came true. After a day of 30’c sun, the thunderstorm rolled in off the Eastern Med and unleashed a spectacular sound and light show accompanied by monumental rain. The kind you can’t really see through.
It hit just as a load of fresh guests arrived at the hotel. Dripping wet just getting from the bus to the front desk they presented the hotel staff with a number of challenges.
– Access to all rooms was via outdoor footpaths
– There was no covering over said footpaths
– The tiled floors were very slippy
– The hotel only had a handful of small umbrellas.
Sitting in reception while we waited for the rain to ease till we could get to our own room got me thinking.
Who thought it was a good idea to build the hotel this way? Who thought a shiny tile was a good idea and last but not least why did the hotel not buy bigger umbrellas!?
Product management has a number of animals. The HiPPO (“highest paid person in the room” for the uninitiated!) being one of them. I am sure there were some HiPPO activities that led to this soggy experience for some guests tonight.
I’d like to propose a new animal. The MOUSE. Mostly Overlooked, Underused and Seldom Entertained. The MOUSE for me is the most important people in any software project or product development (primarily in a b2b world vs b2c). It is of course, the end user.
The tacit knowledge they hold sent shivers through management in any consultation I did. The success of any project or product hinges on them, their knowledge and how they will use the product.
I am sure not many “mice” were consulted in the setup of this hotel, but as a starter for this blog my #1 piece of advice for anyone working in product or project development is to never ignore the MOUSE!
