Frameworks and Tools

Helpful frameworks and tools to take action in complex realities.

Breaking The Walls Between Business and Agile Teams

Frameworks and Tools, PM Role and Skills, Product Operating Model

Managers and product managers are often frustrated by the apparent lack of care the development team is showing for the needs of the business. The team is forever busy with engineering and design projects (some visible and some well hidden), while business-critical projects are dragging on at a snail’s pace. When a long-awaited product or […]

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The Three True-North Metrics that Your Product and Business Need

Frameworks and Tools, Metrics and Data, Product Stategy

Imagine finding yourself in an elevator with your CEO or top investor. After a brief hello she lands the big question on you: “How is the product doing?” You have 30 seconds to answer. A simple “all good” won’t cut it — you need numbers. Your mind runs through your dashboard. Each metric conveys a

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Idea Validation — Much More Than Just A/B Experiments

Experimentation/Validation, Frameworks and Tools, Product Discovery

UPDATE: I published a longer and far more detailed explanation of these techniques in my free eBook Testing Product Ideas Handbook Here are a few important things to know about product ideas: 1) the vast majority of ideas lead to no measurable improvements in business results or value-to-customer (some actually cause negative results) 2) No one, no matter how senior

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Escaping the Vicious Cycle of Plan & Execute

Anti-Patterns, Frameworks and Tools, Product Operating Model, Roadmaps and Planning

Tell me if this sounds familiar: Well-thought-out strategies change seemingly every other quarter. 9-month projects that take two years to complete. Disgruntled managers talking about “low velocity”, “lack of ‘can do’ culture”. Skeptical employees talking about lack of vision, bad planning, politics. Spending lots of time on planning, replanning, scope-downs Disappointing launches that customers generally

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Why you should stop using product roadmaps and try the GIST Framework

Frameworks and Tools, Product Discovery, Roadmaps and Planning

Why I Quit Product Roadmaps Over the years I created my fair share of product strategies, product roadmaps and project gantts. I don’t do them anymore. I found a better alternative which I’ll explain below. First, here’s what I used to do: This form of planning is a ton of work — just getting all stakeholders to

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