Sue Raisty - The Blog of Sue Raisty (Page 6)

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"Freemium" Business Models - How to Decide What's Free and What's Not

A colleague asked me this the other day: *If a company is pursuing a “freemium [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium]” business model, how should they determine the optimal mix of features to offer in free vs. paid software? * It’

Quora: What is the best way to visually present a product roadmap to executive stakeholders?

My answer, originally published on Quora [http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-way-to-visually-present-a-product-roadmap-to-executive-stakeholders/answer/Sue-Raisty] . Q: What is the best way to visually present a product roadmap to executive stakeholders? What are some effectively ways to communicate a product roadmap to executives

Quora: Should I finish a degree in CS if I don't really want to be a software engineer?

My answer, originally published on Quora [http://www.quora.com/Should-I-finish-a-degree-in-CS-if-I-dont-really-want-to-be-a-software-engineer/answer/Sue-Raisty-Egami] . Q: Should I finish a degree in CS if I don't really want to be a software engineer? Some context: I started a degree in

Why Sales bitches about Product Management & what to do about it

You've heard that old chestnut. You've seen it in a million articles. The big advice Sales Reps offer to Product Management is "Don't just talk about features. Tie the features to benefits."

The Joy of Sales Kickoff

This post was originally published on the Cranky Product Manager blog. (Learn more about the Cranky Product Manager here.) The Joy of Sales Kickoff The air is brisk. The holiday chocolate is all gone. And, at last, the gluttonous end-of-year

Quora: Does Apple get too much credit for its UI design?

My answer, originally published on Quora [http://www.quora.com/Does-Apple-get-too-much-credit-for-its-UI-design/answer/Sue-Raisty] . Q: Does Apple get too much credit for its UI design? Why does everyone treat Apple UI like god? My Answer Apple deserves the credit. First they

Quora: Is a PMP certification good for a software engineer looking to transition into product management?

My answer, originally published on Quora [http://www.quora.com/Is-a-PMP-certification-good-for-a-software-engineer-looking-to-transition-into-product-management/answer/Sue-Raisty] . My Answer I've worked with dozens of software / online service companies and helped them recruit product management candidates. None of them care about the PMI

The 5 Types of Beta Testing Programs and Why 4 of Them Suck

We all know the supposed purpose of Beta testing programs: to get customers to actually use about-to-be-released software, in order to find and fix problems that would not have been found by internal-only testing. So why (why?!?!) do so many

Pros and Cons of Pre-Announcing Upcoming Features

In general, I advise against pre-announcing upcoming product features until you are so close to releasing it that you can practically taste it. But your circumstances might differ, so here are the The Cons: Reasons to NOT pre-announce upcoming features

Your Business Case: Go Big or Go Home

Product managers create business cases and business plans all the time. I've created and seen a bazillion of them in my day. Lots. But, alas, so many of them are weak. In particular, many use a device that

Why the unique selling proposition (USP) of every technical product sounds the same

Almost every time I read about a new B2B startup or product, I get a sense of déjà vu. Alas, it's not a glitch in the Matrix. It's because pretty much every product pitch sounds exactly

Bikes & Mini Airplanes

Quora: Should I remove my wedding band before a VC pitch?

My answer, originally published on Quora [http://www.quora.com/Should-I-remove-my-wedding-band-before-a-VC-pitch]. Answer: Don't hide that you are married. And if you are a guy, don't hide that you have kids. But if you are a mother,

The High Cost of Product Line Complexity

A few weeks ago, I went to the pharmacy to purchase the most womanly of accoutrements. Yep, maxipads. Now, before you click away, be assured this post does have something important to say about product management. Please sit tight and

To Appliance or Not To Appliance

I’ve had a lot of conversations lately with product managers who are wrestling with the appliance question: Should they create a software-only product, or should they deliver an integrated hardware-plus-software appliance that contains all the underlying hardware and software

How to Become the World's Worst Product Manager in 9 Easy Steps

1. Don't visit customers. If customers want to talk to you, ask that instead they put their list of enhancement requests in an email or a spreadsheet. Take said list and cut/paste it into Jira. Don'

Warning signs that your new Product Management job is going to suck

Hey congrats! You landed a new product management job! But before you accept it, consider whether you really WANT this position. Here are some tell-tale warning signs that this new product management job is gonna suck. Warning Signs 1. Product

A Prototype for the Worst Positioning Statement Ever

In my last post, I mocked Crypto-Descriptions of companies and products [https://blog.sueraisty.com/product-positioning-statements-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/]. Microsoft and Oracle were the targets of my crankiness. Anyway, inspired by the ensuing discussion [http://www.theheretech.com/2010/02/mardi-gras-marketing.html], I

Product Positioning Statements - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

I wish I could start a vendetta against the Marketing Cryptospeak that is so prevalent in the software industry. You know... those meaningless, boilerplate-ish, hyper-generic, jargon-oozing, designed-by-committee, ridiculously cryptic descriptions of what a product (or company) supposedly does? Those nonsense-filled