Jock Busuttil's Blog: I Manage Products, page 14

90: Always have a plan B

I’m writing about 100 things I’ve learned the hard way about product management. You can catch up on the previous entries if you like.

Have you ever wondered why product managers say “it depends” quite so often?

In this articleIntroductionIt’s all a bit complicatedAlways have a plan BYou can’t plan for every eventualityDon’t put it off — embrace it and practiceMaking unlikely but critical events mundaneOrchestrating complex eventsFinal thoughtsIt...

PRODUCTHEAD: Product-led growth

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADlike spinning productstl;dr

Moving to a product-led growth model takes time and will encounter resistance

A product-led model does not replace the sales-led or marketing-led approach completely

Growth loops operate on a similar principle to compound interest

Software companies with a frictionless product approach displace custom-built apps

ev...

PRODUCTHEAD: How to evaluate product opportunities

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADfake plastic opportunity solution treestl;dr

Take a systematic approach to evaluating multiple solutions to the same opportunity

‘Assumption’ is just another word for ‘things we believe’

When there are many opportunities in contention, assess whether it’s worth solving the problem

We tend to come up with solutions before defining the problem they so...

PRODUCTHEAD: There’s hope for us (and AI) yet

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADplanet producttl;dr

AI is:

accelerating the design of novel proteins, enabling a new wave of vaccines and drugs

predicting extreme weather events, helping to protect residents

listening to the rainforest and sends real-time alerts for chainsaws, trucks, cars and signs of incursion

monitoring the world’s oceans for illegal fishing activity

...

PRODUCTHEAD: Seeking control in a crisis

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADproduct of wartl;dr

62% of product leaders surveyed say the downturn has led to product being more valued in the organisation

In a downturn, track how customers reassess priorities, reallocate funds, switch brands, and redefine value

Silicon Valley Bank was the second biggest banking failure in US history

SVB’s collapse leaves a knowledge gap in fin...

PRODUCTHEAD: What do you worry about on a Sunday night?

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADproduct in the aisletl;dr

To reduce coordination cost, partition the work by time or space

Behavioural design considers customers’ levels of mental energy, cognitive biases, and their existing patterns

Successful organisations reinforce psychological safety in different ways

Adding more people to a team makes communication a more significant overhea...

PRODUCTHEAD: ‘Better’ decision making

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADproductdrunk lovesick singalongtl;dr

Decisions should be the result of rational and deliberate reasoning, but not all are perfectly rational

Almost every decision has associated downsides or compromises

Avoid trying to please people or to allow individuals to dominate the decision-making process

It’s easy to conflate transparency on the decision-mak...

89: What games taught me about customer onboarding

I’m writing about 100 things I’ve learned the hard way about product management. You can catch up on the previous entries if you like.

Video games aren’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, but some of the most successful games and products share a common attribute: they help the user become more skilled throughout their journey. Customer onboarding is a continual process.

In this articleIntroductionProblems with typical customer onboarding1. You clearly want me to use your ...

PRODUCTHEAD: Games and customer onboarding

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADpalo producttl;dr

The best moment to teach a user to use a new feature is when it is valuable for them

Uncompleted tasks stick in a person’s memory, completed tasks are more easily forgotten

Provide a safe, controlled environment to help users experiment and learn a new skill

help me out
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i’d be ever so grat...

PRODUCTHEAD: How technical does a product manager need to be?

PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADi might be a product managertl;dr

Developers and managers often have conflicting views of what constitutes value in software

Software engineers should ideally understand both what they are building and why

Unforeseen edge cases can cause headaches at roll-out, but provide valuable lessons

help me out
please recommend PRODUCTHEAD to a friend
i’d be...