Jock Busuttil's Blog: I Manage Products, page 24

PRODUCTHEAD: Facilitating workshops

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEAD(nice product)tl;dr

Meetings are for information exchange, workshops are for solving problems

With hybrid working, adopt a “remote first” mindset to avoid divisions in your team

Poor workshop facilitation discourages future participation

Reflection gives everyone a chance to contribute and listen

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PRODUCTHEAD: Product management in charities

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADkarma producttl;dr

Charities’ strategy should focus on the future, not the annual planning cycle

Break the habit of surveys and focus groups with user interviews

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated growth in digital fundraising

Commodity services free teams from reactive and defensive development patterns  to truly innovate

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82: Replatforming the cash cow

I’m writing about 100 things I’ve learned about product management.

Recently people all seem to be encountering the same problem. Their engineering teams are choosing to work on projects that make them look busy, but which don’t actually move things forward. What they’re usually working on is a convoluted — and arguably doomed — attempt to replatform a legacy ‘cash cow’ product.

Why are these projects doomed?Lost tacit knowledge

Replatforming a legacy product runs several risks....

PRODUCTHEAD: Rapid prototyping

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADhow i made my productstl;dr

Learning is more valuable than being successful and not knowing why

You can experiment with the content and layout of any web-based product with basic skills

The success rate of experimentation is higher if there is no penalty for failing

“If you have a good idea on a Monday and can design, test and learn by the Friday, t...

PRODUCTHEAD: Working well with user researchers

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADsubterranean homesick producttl;dr

More specific questions yield better user research findings

User research works well when the team collaborates with a specialist user researcher

Increased team user exposure hours correlates with more successful product improvements by the team

The sooner you start user research, the greater impact it will have on...

PRODUCTHEAD: Becoming a product leader

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADhail to the producttl;dr

To build trust, mutual respect and transparency are critical

Becoming a product leader means letting go of the day-to-day product management

Being good at your job means training others to be good at theirs

Equip your team to make good choices without needing your input

Developing people is the single most important part ...

PRODUCTHEAD: Should we be saying no or not?

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADa product at a wedding (no no no no no no no no)tl;dr

Saying no to a good idea requires confidence in your product strategy

Even if saying no to an opportunity, take the time to understand its value and context

Keep ideas and suggestions separate from your product backlog

Clear company goals and strategy make it easier to say no to unaligned request...

PRODUCTHEAD: 9 of the best product management podcasts

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADtalk show product managertl;dr

A selection of the best product management podcasts by product people, recommended by product people

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every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

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Everyone’s either still on holiday or just coming back from one, so nothing too strenuous t...

81: The unifying principles of product management

I’m writing about 100 things I’ve learned about product management.

A recent tweet by John Cutler provoked some interesting reactions. It got me thinking about whether there are unifying principles of product management that apply in all contexts.

A large chunk of product management advice is targeted at 1) startups and/or 2) individual product management career advancement (eg “how can I get ahead”)

The problem. 1) most PMs don’t work at startups and 2) product is a team activity.

— J...

PRODUCTHEAD: (Re)discovering discovery

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADyou and whose product?tl;dr

Discovery is about understanding the problem space experienced by people

When on a tight budget for discovery, mitigate bias where possible and document all the biases you see

A relaxed participant will open up and be more honest with you

A discovery can prompt one or more possible solutions, or tell you the problem is no...