I believe that having this additional slide would help to make things a bit more tangible for the part of our audience who don't do tech or aren't (ex) engineers or work with dev teams. It could also provide a helpful roadmap for the topics that you're looking to touch on in the rest of your talk.
Paul Lomax
One thing I haven't put in yet (will replace other weaker slides) is the role of the product team in this. 1) How tech can make or break them 2) What part they have to play in this (and it's a vital one) - they may not realise it's within their control
Marc Abraham
Good one, I like that angle!
Marc Abraham
[email protected] I was wondering whether it would be helpful to add an additional slide after this one, to outline some of the top 5 problems or challenges with respect to doing tech in a non-tech company.
Paul Lomax
Yeah I had this in the VO but might be a good slide for some bullet points.
JFDI!
Paul Lomax
Not sure about this slide. Trying to avoid bullet slides except for take-aways at the end.
The problem with technology is
people.
Buy, build or rent?“If it flies, floats or fornicates,
always rent it.. It's cheaper in the long run.”
– Felix Dennis (1947-2014)
Marc Abraham
[email protected] I'm sure you'll do this in your voiceover, but it would be great if you could provide a real-life example of where you had to make a 'buy, build or rent' decision with respect to technology and/or product.
Paul Lomax
Other than felix's mansion? Sure :)
Enterprise
Problem people #1: Developers
Writing code should be a last
resort.
Marc Abraham
I can imagine that our audience members will be keen to learn from you how they, as product managers, can help to ensure that writing code is indeed treated as a last resort. What are the practical ways in which can make sure that code is considered as a last resort?
"We'll just build our own..."
How much work your developers think is involved.
Stuff they haven't thought of.
Marc Abraham
[email protected] Similar to my thoughts re. your last slide, I was wondering about my role as a product person in working closely with developers in ensuring they've got a clear picture of what is involved (and what isn't and why).
Paul Lomax
Yep, I need to go through and put a 'what can product do about it' theme through the whole thing. My take aways at the end will change to be product manager focused actions.
Pragmatism
(Your job is to stop this!)
“You’re not here to write beautiful code. You’re here to create
business value.”Me, to developers
Technical debt
WUser story What was shipped
The vicious circle of technical debt
Record all borrowings
Agree a repayment plan
Problem people #2: Customers &
Stakeholders
“I’ll know what I want when I see it…”
Problem people #3: Product managers
Solution people! Product
managers
Product Managers
Marc Abraham
It would be great to perhaps here some of dos and don'ts that you've seen from the product people that you've worked with over the years - the good and the bad. Especially in the light of some of the challenges and outcomes which you talked about in the previous slides.
Paul Lomax
I may take this slide out. If was for an audience of companies who mostly don't have PMs. The point was PMs are the solution to all this. So I'll explain why that is rather than what a PM is (natch).
Requirements
re·quire·ment
n.
1. Something that is required; a necessity.
2. Something obligatory; a prerequisite.
RequirementsDiscovery
Ban ‘requirements’! Everything is negotiable
As an Account HolderI want to withdraw cash from an ATMSo that I can get money when the bank is closed Scenario 1: Account has sufficient fundsGiven the account balance is \$100 And the card is valid And the machine contains enough moneyWhen the Account Holder requests \$20Then the ATM should dispense \$20 And the account balance should be \$80 And the card should be returned
Story: Account Holder withdraws cash Scenario 2: Account has insufficient fundsGiven the account balance is \$10 And the card is valid And the machine contains enough moneyWhen the Account Holder requests \$20Then the ATM should not dispense any money And the ATM should say there are insufficient funds And the account balance should be \$20 And the card should be returned Scenario 3: Card has been disabled...
1. Eliminate waste2. Amplify learning3. Decide as late as possible4. Deliver as fast as possible5. Empower the team6. Build integrity in7. See the whole
Adopt lean principles
https://twitter.com/jopas
● Ban 'requirements'. Focus on objectives.
● Address technical debt & a repayment plan.
● Communicate business value through BDD.
● Wield a pragmatism stick:beat developers and stakeholders
with it.● Help developers spot the icebergs.● Avoid waste, prototype, spike, test &
learn. ● Control scope, focus on a quality MVP.● Kanban! Kanban! Kanban!
Technical Debthttps://twitter.com/khellangProduct Management Venn diagram: http://www.mindtheproduct.com/Iceberg: http://ralphclevenger.com/portfolios/earth/I'll Know What I Want When I See It: http://sharpsuits.net/HomeBaby Squirrels: http://www.flickr.com/photos/_crazysanman/2391480258/Lean Startup: http://lean.st/Agile Manifesto: http://blog.theworkinggroup.ca/Dilbert on Requirements: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2006-01-29/ MVP: https://twitter.com/jopas