Product Management

I've been in software product management for 15+ years and have trained and coached many PMs. These posts explain my product management philosophy, tips, tricks, and stories.

Quora: What are some must-read books for product managers?

My answer, originally published on Quora. My Answer The Must-Read Books for Product Managers For product managers working on business-to-business high tech products and early technologies, the following are absolute must-reads: * Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to

The Economics: NoSQL vs "New SQL" vs Relational Databases

Economics are a big deal when deciding whether to go with a NoSQL, NewSQL [http://blogs.the451group.com/information_management/2011/04/06/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-newsql/] , MPP DBMS, or traditional RDBMS. Many of the products  (in all four of these categories) claim

Product Management & Product Marketing Haiku

Inspired by the fine folks at Pivotal Product Management, here are some enthralling and inspirational haiku I whipped together. Only bad PMs Don't install or even use The products they own. Their go-to excuse: "Technically impossible,"

How to Get the Respect of Development

Heresy Against the Church of Agile Software Development

I am a big fan of anything that will get quality, innovative, market-killing products out the door more quickly. Sincerely. I would even trade in my extensive work wardrobe of jeans for a pile of business suits if it would

So You Think "Agile" Methodologies Exempt You From Product Management

Harvester Research and Analyst 2.0

Oh goodness. This April Fool's send-up of technology analysts [http://wikibon.org/groupdocs/13_341246093.pdf] has been creeping around the Internet for some time. But this is the first time I've seen it. Please read

GUEST POST: The 7 Types of Software Engineers: Identification, Care and Feeding

How to get a results-focused testimonial from a former colleague/client

[Cranky PM] Technology Analysts: Flatterers for Hire

On Dealing with Unreasonable Customer Demands

Some customers just don'nt (won't?) understand you don't develop custom software just for them. They sometimes think you are their corporation's IT department. So, if a customer presents a detailed list of

What I WISH I knew about client testimonials when I was starting out

9 Agile Mistakes

1. Trading off company strategic fit versus product-level features 2. Assuming a few customers represent the broader market 3. Adding new features without considering the business value 4. Starving the architecture in favor of features 5. Wandering from the roadmap

Are 'Product Manager' and 'Consultant' Mutually Exclusive?

When I tell people I’m a Product Management Consultant, it sometimes throws them. “Product Management Consultant?  I haven’t heard of that,” they say. Then, “how does one use a consultant to help with product management?  Isn’t product

"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

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