First coined in the mid 20th century, the term “speculate to accumulate” refers to the need invest (at some degree of risk) in order to make meaningful gains. In other words; roll the dice, take a punt, have a gamble. This is a risky strategy for product managers, and if your gambling skills are anything like […]
At ProductTank London, Lean & Agile Enterprise Coach Debbie Wren shares insights into successfully scaling autonomous teams. Her key takeaway? Get good at the basics first. Walk before you can run, small changes can have a big impact and it all comes down to people Don’t Hire Talented People and Then Tell Them How to do Their […]
Prioritisation is a necessary evil of every product development lifecycle. Deciding what to build, where to focus limited resources and what customer segments to target are questions that face every organisation on a daily basis. With this being the case, why do companies prioritise so badly? Prioritisation is one of the most critical aspects of product […]
I wonder what it is about feature roadmaps that is comforting to the C-suite. Is it the false sense of security that you’re setting yourself up to deliver a list of features based on untested assumptions and educated guesses? Is it the delusion that locking your organisation into a plan a year in advance equals […]
Every product comes with a tumultuous ‘origin story’. Ours is still unfolding, but I’ve been reflecting on what building a product business within a service agency has brought to the tale. We decided, about 18 months ago, that our consultancy business model, though growing and successful, could benefit from diversification — specifically, from creating something with tangible intellectual property. Six […]
As technology professionals, we have been stuck at metaphorical basecamp for years. We’ve looked at the summit, attempted the various routes other teams have created, and worked hard on dialling in the basics of making sure we have food, water, and shelter. We have gone from wilderness survival to wilderness living. We learned the ways […]
For me, as for many, the idea of applying a scientific approach (experiments, hypothesis, etc) to product management came from Eric Ries in Lean Startup. In many ways, the concept was a game changer in how to approach validating product ideas and getting to product market fit. Over the last few years, the idea of using hypotheses […]
“Product/Market Fit” is a concept that every start-up founder knows is important, but many have trouble achieving or even defining. In The Lean Product Playbook, author Dan Olsen details a six-step process to achieving product/market fit: Determine your target customer Identify underserved customer needs Define your value proposition Specify your MVP feature set Create your […]
Coach, lean advocate, and author Jeff Gothelf talked about scaling Lean principles at this year’s London #mtpcon. Lean methodologies work well for a single team observes Gothelf: “A lean startup reduces risk by regular and continuous experimentation. When you take the concept of lean and combine it with agile you start to build a practice […]
I spoke to Lean Startup coach Tristan Kromer at Lean Startup Week earlier this month, where he presented a workshop about a “lean experiments toolbox”. Lean Startup Week is a conference for teams and leaders interested in applying a Lean Startup methodology to their product and Tristan helped to organise the Lean Unconference that kicked off […]