Blog
Don’t be afraid to ask “Are you OK?”
At lunch time, on the way back from a walk along the frosty riverbank near my house I popped into to see my Mum and Dad. I peered in the front window first to see if they were in before going to the back door (which is the normal way in). About 30 seconds later a...
#7. Deep Dive on “Who”
I recently posted my thoughts on the 5W's of Product Management. Elaborating on the first one - the WHO 🤵 One of the first things I learnt starting out in my career, was to understand people. People management skills are more important than any other skill you...
#6. A core strength builds great products
The dragline silk produced by a spider has a tensile strength comparable to a top grade alloy steel. Some are able to stretch several times their length without snapping. I noticed this beautiful web whilst waiting for a tram in Manchester this morning. The dew making...
#5. The 5WH approach to Product Management.
Chapter and verse is written on product but on the back of 2 decades of delivering products and solutions in different capacities this is how I see things. WHO - Know your audience. What's the demographic of your (potential) user base. Are you building for b2b or b2c....
#4. Does AI ring the death knell for Product Management?!
I've used ChatGPT a few times to write user stories and so far I have been very impressed at the depth of which it goes, especially the more detail you provide around how you want it written. It is a topic frequently discussed at senior levels as to where it can...
Don’t conform for the sake of it!
Over the last few weeks, the leaves on the Cherry tree in our front garden have started to change colour as we head into Autumn. We planted this tree about 8 years ago and it's more than tripled in height. All through spring and summer, the tree puts effort in to...
The “IF” of Product Management
If you can keep your head when the squads around you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you If you can trust yourself, when the developers doubt you But make allowances for their doubting too If you can wait for code reviews and not be tired by waiting And not scream...
#3. It’s good to talk.
The slogan shared by Bob Hoskins as part of adverts by BT during the 90's cemented the values of conversation in the minds of a generation. I have long been a champion of communication being the most important factor in any relationship. Between two people whether...
#2. The darkest hour is before dawn.
The life of a product manager is probably the loneliest of any role within software development. I see it as the firewall between the business/users and the team delivering (development, QA, DevOps). Trying to configure a security firewall to allow enough traffic to...
#1. The HiPPO and the MOUSE.
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...