Jock Busuttil's Blog: I Manage Products, page 7

PRODUCTHEAD: The 3 pillars of product ops

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADfollow product around

every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

tl;dr

Product ops is an enabling function that streamlines the logistics of product management

It is particularly valuable in larger organisations with fragmented product practices

Product ops is just as focused on context as product management is

hello

The p...

How do you ensure success as a freelance product manager on a short engagement?

This is one of the questions I was asked during a recent interview with Liam Smith about my experiences working as a freelance product manager.

In contrast with permanent employment, the game changes a great deal when you know you’re only going to be in role for a relatively short period of time. That means you should think about two specific things: how you can deliver value as quickly as possible, and how to ensure you do at least the one main thing they brought you in to do.

Deliver val...

PRODUCTHEAD: Negotiating freelance day rates

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADmillion dollar product manager

every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

tl;dr

Companies hire freelancers because they need to address a specific issue or are not ready to commit to a full-time hire

Excel by being a problem-solver — pay close attention to potential clients’ challenges

Don’t apologise to your client for your (hopefu...

PRODUCTHEAD: This too shall pass

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADi am product insane

every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

tl;dr

A pursuit of job stability can easily translate into an unproductive ‘inertia’ instead

Self-sealing arguments are no-win situations: every defence you make is co-opted the by other party as evidence you’re wrong

helloThom Yorke looks unimpressed

That my s...

DevRel and Product Management with Jock Busuttil on the Voxgig podcast

Richard Rodger runs Voxgig, a company that provides developer relations (DevRel) tools and services. He kindly invited me back on to his Fireside podcast to chat about the similarities and common challenges in product management and DevRel.

We cover topics including:

» Learning product management by soundbite and from stories that gloss over the messy context has given a generation of product managers a superficial understanding of their craft.

» Why we’re finding it hard to communi...

Podcast: Voxgig Fireside with Jock Busuttil

Richard Rodger runs Voxgig, a company that provides developer relations (DevRel) tools and services. He kindly invited me back on to his Fireside podcast to chat about the similarities and common challenges in product management and DevRel.

We cover topics including:

» Learning product management by soundbite and from stories that gloss over the messy context has given a generation of product managers a superficial understanding of their craft.

» Why we’re finding it hard to communi...

PRODUCTHEAD: The backlash against the Spotify Model

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADany product can play guitar

every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

tl;dr

The Spotify Model was only ever a snapshot in time at Spotify

It existed in the context of a company whose leadership valued trust, self-organisation and change

As Spotify grew, it failed to strike the right balance between autonomy and collaboration

Ali...

PRODUCTHEAD: Ways to structure your team for efficiency

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADeverything in its right product

every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

tl;dr

Rather than existing in a bubble, each product team should have core members, collaborators and supporters

How you should divide up teams depends on your product’s overall flow; avoid ambiguous ownership

Teams should have end-to-end responsibility for a...

PRODUCTHEAD: In a flat spin from a failed product launch

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADproduct lag: 2+2=5

every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

tl;dr

Sonos is working through a major user backlash after launching a flawed app

Pressure from senior management forced the launch to happen before it was ready

Tips for recognising and managing tension as a product manager

Round-up of lessons learned from failed prod...

PRODUCTHEAD: Coding in the open

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

Subscribe to PRODUCTHEADi am citizen product

every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to

tl;dr

A common misconception is that openly sharing code presents security risks

Keeping code open clarifies ownership and can avoid vendor lock-in

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As part of a recent talk I gave, I touched on the topic of coding in the open. Part of a broader design princ...