Jock Busuttil's Blog: I Manage Products, page 17
December 5, 2022
PRODUCTHEAD: The demented game show
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
Some people think about problems directly; others think through the problem via potential solutions
Organisations often jump straight into action without establishing a foundation for coping with uncertainty
If one group has all the decision-making power, others cannot properly contribute
a favour: please share this wi...
November 28, 2022
PRODUCTHEAD: Writing a product manager job description
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
The wording of your product manager job description could be putting off good candidates
Listing excessive requirements for the role will deter risk-averse candidates
Think about why you’re hiring and the candidate attributes you need most
Don’t copy-and-paste other job descriptions — they won’t describe what your organisation...
November 21, 2022
PRODUCTHEAD: Trust and transparency
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
Humility and authenticity go a long way in building trust
It is hard both to share data when expected, and to do so in a way that is trustworthy and acceptable to the public
“Nobody ever read a simple sentence and thought ‘well, that was too easy to understand.’”
With care it is possible to create valuable products with user ...
November 16, 2022
As head of product, should I be a player-manager, or hire and delegate?
Here’s a question I was asked recently:
Hi Jock,
I’ve recently joined a new company as their first head of product. Historically the company hasn’t been ‘product-minded’.
There’s plenty that needs doing with the products. I could focus on the hiring process, but the only product manager on my team has their hands full, so I can’t delegate any more to them. I could get stuck in with the products myself as a player-manager, but this means I won’t have time to hire.
What’s the right ba...
November 14, 2022
PRODUCTHEAD: Empathy with the engineering team
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
Create space for your engineering team, understand the ebbs and flows of work, and help them to avoid burn-out
Work to understand the technical complexities facing the engineering team
Engineers typically focus on a small number of large tasks
Product and engineering overlap: clarify who does what
a favour: please share ...
November 7, 2022
PRODUCTHEAD: Products with a fatal flaw ☠️
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
Encourage continual scrutiny of your product’s central flaws — talk openly about the elephants in the room
Cognitive biases lead us away from rational thought and objective truth
Research and evidence help us to neutralise biases
a favour: please share this with other product people
October 31, 2022
PRODUCTHEAD: Understanding the user’s perspective
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
A common language about research is vital for building a team’s capability
Customers are only reliable sources about their own experiences
The way we think about product is determined by the language we use
a favour: please share this with other product people
every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to ref...
October 24, 2022
PRODUCTHEAD: Do the hard work to make it simple
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
Focus helps to reduce cognitive load without losing sight of the underlying complexity — it is different to simplifying
The challenge of simplifying a complex legal process was to find simpler language that didn’t sacrifice essential points of law
a favour: please share this with other product people
October 17, 2022
Thank you for 10 years of support
Just a quick post to say that Product People Limited is 10 years old today. And I’m proud of it :-)
I started freelancing as a head of product back when it was barely a thing. In fact, I gave myself 6 months to see if I could make it work. Within a month or so SwiftServe (now part of Conversant) became Product People’s first client, and I’ve not looked back since.
Over the years I’ve been involved with an ambitious charitable project in Rwanda with the NIKE Foundation, shown up briefly in the back...
PRODUCTHEAD: Setting up a product support team
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
Work continues after the project ends — plan for the ongoing support of your product
A support team deals with user queries, incidents and ongoing improvement of the product
Great user support is an expectation, not a nice-to-have
Feedback from user support can identify areas of product improvement
a favour: please shar...
I Manage Products
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