‘What are you building here?’ was an interview question that dumbfounded me 5 years ago. That day, I mumbled an incoherent answer.  In hindsight, I have a better response: a squiggly career*. With every new product job I have changed industries, working across non-profit, legal, government and now gaming. I have chosen to focus on … Continue reading What about a squiggly product career?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about feeling like a product fraud, which got me thinking about what this PM archetype is that we imagine the role of a typical Product Manager to be. And then, considering how many blogposts I have read about that particular question, I wondered why we spend so much of … Continue reading Why do PMs keep asking existential questions ?

Throughout my career as a Product Manager, I’ve had several existential crises, thinking that the job I was doing did not reflect what I imagined a Product Manager should be doing. Several years into being a PM, I came to realise that no-one really does this ‘typical PM role’ I imagined, because it doesn’t exist … Continue reading Feeling like a product fraud

Two of the talks at MTPcon were concerned with designing for our future. On the one hand Amber Case was advocating for calm technology, while Josh Clark was talking about considerations for designing machine learning and big data products. Amber Case, who is a scholar at MIT, started talking about a few worries of hers: … Continue reading MTPcon 17 — theme 4: designing for the future

Some of the speakers touched on how we deal with the ideas and ways of the past. Jake Knapp’s design sprint methodology is framed as a rupture from the past, from the ‘default’. Don’t just do design the way you’ve always done it, break from it. Using the ‘design sprint’, a one-week exercise for a … Continue reading MTPcon 17 — theme 3: rejecting or embracing the past

A number of the speakers touched on ideas and methods to create space and opportunity for cross-functional product teams to perform. Sarah Nelson talked about the importance of space and the working environment. As culture shapes space, shape also creates a culture. And shape limits or enables the kind of interaction that will enable a … Continue reading MTPcon 17 — theme 2: creating space and opportunity for teams to perform

Martin Eriksson opened the day with a story from his time as a PM at a London startup and a release that was particularly pivotal for the product, and for the company. At that time, he questioned his contribution to the release — he hadn’t prioritised any of the stories, discussed any of the designs … Continue reading MTPcon 17 — theme 1: the contribution of leadership

A while ago at Product Tank London, we discussed ‘when your customer is not your user’. The speakers described their experiences of where their customer was not their user, what the challenges were and how they were (or weren’t) overcome. When your customer is not your user… One example of where customer != user is … Continue reading When your customer is not your user

I decided to write a PM manifesto to hang over my desk so that I remind myself as to what is important to me in my role as product manager but also generally as a human interacting with my colleagues. Here it goes: 1. Practice equanimity2. ‘Yes’ is a commitment, use it wisely3. Read twice … Continue reading My PM Manifesto

I want to share a framework that I created to review the customer experience of my product, as I started in a new role. I hope that it offers you an opportunity to review the customer experience for your product, whether you’re starting out or if you’ve been on a product for a while. I … Continue reading A product-perspective on Customer Experience