The Productologist

I went to visit a customer a few weeks ago as part of a commitment to myself (and my products) to get out into the field more often. My goal with them and with all of my planned visits to the field was to talk about how they use my product, what business challenges they face and what they see for the future in terms of their own growth and what they would want and need from my product. I got what I was looking for…and a whole lot more.

Many years ago, when I was going off to start grad school, BW (at the time, she wasn’t BW, just B) and I rented a big yellow truck to haul all of our prized personal belongings to our new home (at least for the next two years). It was a long trip (2 days worth of driving), so we did the prudent traveler thing and went to AAA and got a bunch of maps to plan our route. The maps were not only for us, but others, too. Since this was the age before cell phone ubiquity, for safety reasons, we gave a copy to BW’s parents so that they would know what route we were following in case we didn’t show up at our destination or check in periodically.

If you are like most Product Managers that I know, you spend more time than you like in meetings. In the best of worlds, meetings can be productive endeavours where decisions get made and progress happens. Sadly, I don’t live in the best of worlds. Meetings in my world are sometimes useful. They can impart information, allow for vigorous dialogue and keep everyone’s priorities and effort in alignment. They can also be a colossal waste of time, especially when attendees are late or absent altogether.

Bug scrub is a word that strikes fear and hatred into the hearts of many Product Managers (Developers, QA leads, Release Managers, and Project Managers, too). Not because of the purpose of bug scrub–dispositioning recently filed product defects–but because the process behind the purpose can end up being so heinous and painful.

For the uninitiated, the Cranky Product Manager provides a valuable, albeit hyperbolic glimpse inside the bug scrub process. She highlights the frequent discord and conflicting interests that makes bug scrub such an ordeal and one that all-to-frequently ends up being internally-focused rather than customer- or market-focused.

On a recent trip to a trade show, I witnessed an interaction (several, actually) that underscored the importance of clear communication. For Product Managers, this actually has applications on a few levels. Here’s what happened–

My return flight connected through Washington D.C. and unfortunately, the 767 that was originally scheduled had mechanical problems (or at least that’s what we were told) and a 757 was now what we would be flying. What this meant was that there were instantly 40 less seats available for customers. It also meant that seat assignments changed, but more about that later.