I recently met a product team, let’s call it Team Red, who is developing a new product in an established, traditional industry. On the surface Team Red has it all: it is cross-functional, fully-staffed, well-funded, working towards clear business goals, and is empowered to make decisions. And yet as we sat down to talk, I […]
The Illusion of False Predictability Read More »
Experimentation is becoming more commonplace, but this positive development is often hampered by a common problem. I see company after company testing product ideas with users and customers, collecting the results, but then failing to take meaningful action — no parking of ideas or pivoting. I call this the Build-Measure-LooksGood! loop. Why is this happening?
The Build-Measure-LooksGood! Loop Read More »
A common question I get is when it is ok to stop validating a product idea and switch to delivery. It’s a natural question given the pressure product teams face to execute and launch. It’s also an important question. If we stop too early we may end up launching a bad idea (we’ve all been
How Much Product Discovery Is Enough? Read More »
These days everyone seems to be talking about transformation, product-based development, and discovery. And yet, I find that many people support these concepts in principle, but can’t truly believe they can work in their companies. They see them as theory, something very futuristic, hard to do, and abstract. I disagree, but instead of giving you
Real-World Product Discovery Read More »
In a famous essay Martin Eriksson defined product management as “the intersection between the functions of business, technology and user experience.” While it’s flattering to imagine ourselves as the center of things, it’s also a strange way to define a role. Why do we need a function in an organization that is a composite of
The Most Important Thing Read More »
Roadmaps are a hotly debated topic these days. I regularly meet CPOs who try to ban this staple of product management altogether. This often worries and confuses the rest of the company. What’s wrong with roadmaps? Why can’t we just go on planning as we did since the 1970s? In this highly entertaining talk, Gojko
Your Roadmap Isn’t Really a Road Map Read More »
There’s a common and highly destructive pattern I’m seeing time and again (and likely you have too). The leadership team falls in love with a big idea and turns it into a big project. This project becomes the top priority—apparently the future of the company depends on it. Other projects (including yesteryear’s top priorities) are
The Big Project Syndrome Read More »
It was mid 2004 and my colleagues and I were gathered in a cinema hall in Tel Aviv to hear our American CEO speak. The charismatic gentleman on stage was all smiles and positive energy. He told us he was proud of what we had achieved that year. There was one topic, though, that made
A Lean Approach to Opportunities and Threats Read More »
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
Escaping the Vicious Cycle of Plan & Execute Read More »
How to use the confidence meter tool and iterative testing to make sure you invest in the right product ideas.
Idea Prioritization With ICE and The Confidence Meter Read More »