The Blog of Sue Raisty

Sue Raisty

Sue Raisty

Born-again software engineer, former product management geek, adoptive mother of boys, trail runner, tinkerer, wannabe writer, soccer mom & compulsive researcher.

📍 Silicon Valley, California http://blog.sueraisty.com

Product Line Hoarding: Don't let this happen to you

I have recently become obsessed with the TV Show Hoarding: Buried Alive. If you are unfamiliar, it is a reality show that profiles people who hoard stuff -- tons of worthless artifacts and even unsanitary crap (literally crap! think rotten food! old diapers! full cat boxes!) -- until the point

Quora: What level of coding experience should a good product manager have?

My answer, originally published on Quora [http://www.quora.com/What-level-of-coding-experience-should-a-good-product-manager-have/answer/Sue-Raisty] . Q: What level of coding experience should a good product manager have? My Answer Caveat: I'm assuming we are talking about software products. In THEORY, actual coding experience should be irrelevant to the hiring decision

The Five Stages of Debugging

We Product Managers sometimes can't understand why the product bugs we complain about so vociferously take so long for Engineering to fix. Well, here is the developer's point of view when faced with a nasty bug. It's an extremely well-written guest post by an

Yay for Me!

I've been honored as follows! (And I live for the external validation! Seriously, I really do.) * Listed as one of "52 Women Making an Impact in Product Management" by the Product Management Feestival. * Listed by LevelUpPM as a Product Management Thinker to follow * Highlighted in Michael

Market interviews GONE BAD (ooh, with comics!)

Ever wonder why so many startup entrepreneurs put out misguided and doomed products, even after taking four steps toward an epiphany and reading the "Lean Startup"? Face Palm Alas, I have witnessed similar "attempts" at market validation too many times to count. Maybe a product manager

Quora: What Kellogg MBA classes have students found to be the most useful and why?

My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: What Kellogg MBA classes have students found to be the most useful and why? My Answer Here are the classes that have proven the most useful in my career as high tech product management professional and as founder of a product management consulting

Yes, Product Manager, you too can (help) acquire companies

Let's say that you're a junior-ish Product Manager. Your product is NOT killing it (not yet, anyway). You have stiff competition. Your product is missing key capabilities that the market demands -- perhaps because this technology looks to fundamentally disrupt your product's market or

The Brain of a Tech Sales Rep - A Visual Guide

Behold, I have developed a visual guide to the inside of a Sales Rep's brain! Or more specifically, an Enterprise Software Sales Rep's brain, as viewed from Product Management. Please do not show to any sales people unless you are sure they have senses of humor.

The (ahem) "Art" of Pricing

Originally published in 2010. Updated and republished in May, 2015. A reader asks: "Can you please enlighten me on the art of pricing?" At the risk of misinterpreting, I believe the reader is asking specifically about enterprise software, where price lists are usually secret, transaction volumes are relatively

A Dangerous Combination: Sales People and the External Product Roadmap

This is my youngest son. He's a total goober. Let's call him "J". J is probably going to be a sales person when he grows up. He is extroverted, charming, funny, naturally positive, and when he wants something he goes after it with dogged