Roman Pichler

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Organise the Team around a Product As the name suggests, a product team is focused on a product. This sounds simple enough. But in practice, organising teams around products can be challenging, especially when a company lacks a clear understanding of what a (digital) product is and if it does not embrace a product-led way of working.

Reporting Tools 339

Reporting Tools User Testing Customer Experience Product Research 339

Roman Pichler

AUGUST 15, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] 1 No Strategy The first and most crucial mistake is to have no product strategy at all. When that’s the case, a product is usually progressed based on the features requested by the users and stakeholders. As there is no strategy, objectively assessing the impact of the requests is virtually impossible.

Product Strategy 226

Product Strategy Strategy Research Software Customer Experience 226

Roman Pichler

JULY 4, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Option 1: The Vision Captures Strategic Decisions Your first option is to view the product vision as a statement that captures strategic decisions like the product’s users and customers, its value proposition, and its standout features. A popular template to capture such a vision is the formula developed by Geoffrey Moore in his book Crossing the Chasm : For (target customers …) Who are dissatisfied with (the current market alternative ) Our pr

Vision 163

Vision Strategy Customer Experience Article 163

Roman Pichler

JUNE 6, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] “No Matter How it Looks at First, it’s Always a People Problem” This quote from Gerald Weinberg nicely summarises a core challenge we face as product people: Our profession is called product management, but the product part can be the easy one compared to the people challenges we sometimes face.

Construction 179

Construction Customer Feedback Framework User Testing 179

Roman Pichler

MAY 3, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Make Time to Keep up with Technology Trends As new technologies come and go, it’s important for you—the person in charge of the product—to stay on top of the developments. You should be aware of new trends, be able to make an informed guess if they are likely to impact your market and product, and decide if a technology needs to be further investigated.

Research Software 230

Research Software Technical Review Technology Product Research 230

Roman Pichler

APRIL 4, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] The Head of Product Role in a Nutshell A head of product manages a group of product people —individuals who look after one or more products and who may be called product managers or product owners. Depending on the company size and org structure, the role might also be referred to as Director of Product Management, VP Product, and Chief Product Officer.

Feedback Software 312

Feedback Software Reporting Tools Customer Feedback User Testing 312

Roman Pichler

MARCH 14, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] What Information Should a Product Strategy Provide? I like to think of the product strategy as a high-level plan that helps you realise your vision and that answers the following four questions: Who is the product for? Who are the users and, if appropriate, who are the customers? Why would people want to use and buy it?

Product Strategy 297

Product Strategy Strategy Vision Product Research 297

Roman Pichler

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] 1 Complement Scrum with a Product Discovery and Strategy Process Scrum is a simple framework that helps teams develop successful products. It achieves this by using sprints to create product increments, collecting feedback from users and stakeholders, and adapting the product with the insights gained. [1] As simple as this sounds, there is a catch: To create value with Scrum, you must understand who the users and customers are, why people would

Product Research 342

Product Research Feedback Software Research Software User Testing 342

Roman Pichler

JANUARY 31, 2023

Overview The checklist below is structured according to the five elements of the product vision board. These are vision, target group, needs, product, and business goals. You can download the list together with the product vision board template by clicking on the image below. Vision Inspiring : Describes the positive change the product should create.

Vision 225

Vision Differentiation Download Branding 225

Roman Pichler

DECEMBER 6, 2022

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link]. The Need for Guidance and the Lack of Transactional Power. Product success is not something you can achieve on your own as a product manager or Scrum product owner. Instead, you rely on the contributions and the support of the key stakeholders , the development team members, and possibly other product people who help you manage a large product.

Leadership 279

Leadership Technical Review Reporting Tools User Testing 279

Roman Pichler

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link]. 1 The Product Roadmap is a Feature-based Plan. Traditional product roadmaps are usually output-focussed plans that map a list of features, like registration, search, and reporting, onto a timeline. Such a roadmap essentially states when a piece of functionality will be delivered. This can be reassuring for customers and stakeholders.

Roadmap 313

Roadmap Weak Development Team Customer Experience Reporting Tools 313

Roman Pichler

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

Listen to the audio version of this article: [link] Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 10:10 | Recorded on September 13, 2022. The Model. An effective product strategy is key to successfully create, enhance, and manage a product. There is no point in worrying about the product details and writing user stories if a sound product strategy is missing.

Product Strategy 300

Product Strategy Strategy Vision Product Research 300

Roman Pichler

AUGUST 16, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. What is Empathy and What is It Not? Empathy is our capacity to understand other people’s feelings and needs, to take the perspective of another person. Empathy entails a warm-hearted, open, and kind attitude. This does not mean, though, that you must like the other person and that you must be happy and smiley all the time—nor does it mean sugar-coating messages, only telling people what they want to hear, and putting up with issues.

Product Management 275

Product Management Product Manager Product Research Customer Experience 275

Roman Pichler

JULY 5, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. The Head of Product Role. A head of product is someone who manages a group of product people—individuals who look after one or more products and who may be called product manager or product owner. Depending on the size and org structure of your company, the role might also be referred to as Chief Product Officer, VP Product, or Director of Product Management. [1].

Product Research 295

Product Research Leadership Feedback Software Roadmap 295

Roman Pichler

JUNE 7, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. 1 No Product KPIs. Imagine that you have trained hard to run a half-marathon. Shortly after the start of the race, your smart watch stops working, and you discover that you didn’t bring your phone. Consequently, you don’t know for sure how fast you are running and if you are on track to achieve your target finish time.

KPI 285

KPI Data Visualization Weak Development Team Customer Feedback 285

Roman Pichler

MAY 4, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. Why the Scrum Team is Not Enough. Scrum is a popular agile framework. Its strength is, at least partly, based on its roles with the Scrum team being the fundamental unit. This team consists of a product owner , a Scrum Master , and several developers, which are also known as development team. Forming such a team connects the person in charge of the product—the product owner—with the people who design, architect, program, test, and document the solution—the develop

Product Research 298

Product Research Agile User Testing Framework 298

Roman Pichler

APRIL 5, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. 1 Set an Objective. Be clear on the reason why the meeting is needed. What’s the meeting about? Which outcome do you want to achieve? For example, a product strategy workshop might have the objective to identify the key changes required to achieve product-market fit. Contrast this with a sprint review meeting , which might help you determine if users can easily sign up for the product.

Weak Development Team 265

Weak Development Team Product Management Product Manager User Testing 265

Roman Pichler

MARCH 9, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. Inspiring. An inspiring vision creates a meaningful purpose for everyone involved in making the product a success including the stakeholders and development team members. It helps people understand how their work relates to a bigger whole and how their efforts create a positive change. It also allows you, as the person in charge of the product, to understand if dedicating your time and energy to the offering is worthwhile and sustainable.

Vision 306

Vision Workshop Customer Experience Leadership 306

Roman Pichler

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. What the Scrum Master Should Do. While the role is discussed in many books and articles, I find that it is still not always correctly understood. What’s more, it’s not uncommon in my experience that product owners have to do their job without the support of a Scrum Master or agile coach. So why is the role important? I view the Scrum Master as someone who takes care of process, collaboration, and organisational change issues.

Reporting Tools 318

Reporting Tools Feedback Software Weak Development Team Product Research 318

Roman Pichler

JANUARY 11, 2022

Listen to this article: [link]. Overview of the Learning Roadmap. Like a modern product roadmap, a learning roadmap states the specific outcomes or benefits you’d like to achieve to become a more competent product person, and it captures them in form of learning goals. These help you direct your learning efforts, track progress, and measure how much you have learnt.

Roadmap 320

Roadmap Weak Development Team Customer Experience Leadership 320

Roman Pichler

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. The Four Factors Explained. To achieve lasting success, a product must fulfil the following four conditions. First, it has to address a specific need that a group of people have. Second, it has to be feasible to develop it. Third, it has to generate sufficient business benefits to justify developing it. Fourth, it must not cause any harm to its users, the wider society, and the planet.

Artificial Inteligence 241

Artificial Inteligence Vision Wireless User Friction 241

Roman Pichler

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. What is Bad Performance? Before I discuss how you can help an underachieving team, let’s briefly explore what good performance looks like, assuming that an agile, Scrum-based process is used. A development team does a good job if the following three conditions are fulfilled: First, the group reliably meets the agreed sprint goals and delivers product increments that offer a great user experience and exhibit the desired software quality.

Weak Development Team 325

Weak Development Team Development Software Review Technical Review 325

Roman Pichler

OCTOBER 5, 2021

[link]. The Product Backlog is Too Big. A few years ago, I was asked to help a healthcare company with their agile transition and its impact on product management. One of the challenges the agile transition team was concerned about was the choice of the right product backlog tool, which at first seemed odd to me. But when I was told that the backlog in question had over 40,000 items, I could see that there was an issue.

Weak Development Team 273

Weak Development Team Customer Experience User Testing Feedback Software 273

Roman Pichler

DECEMBER 1, 2020

Listen to this article: [link]. OKRs in a Nutshell. OKRs are a method for setting and tracking goals. An objective describes what is to be achieved. The key results state how we accomplish the objective. Let’s say, for example, that the objective is to “increase engagement.” The key results might then be “daily active users are up by 20%,” “session length is increased by 10% on average,” and “the objective is achieved by 30 June 2021.”.

Product Management 156

Product Management Product Manager Management Management 156

Roman Pichler

JANUARY 12, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. Imagine that you are talking to John, a senior salesperson who’s been involved with the product for a while. John mentions the upcoming product release and says, “You really must add the enhanced reporting feature. I’ve spoken to several customers, and they have all confirmed that it is absolutely crucial.” You know, though, that it is impossible to add the feature to the development effort.

Weak Development Team 156

Weak Development Team Customer Experience Reporting Tools Leadership 156

Roman Pichler

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. Once Upon a Time in Waterfall Land. Before the advent of agile frameworks like Scrum , a product person—the product manager—would typically carry out the market research, compile a market requirements specification, create a business case, put together product roadmap, write a requirements specification, and then hand it off to a project manager.

Agile 156

Agile Product Research User Testing Feedback Software 156

Roman Pichler

MARCH 9, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. Product Goals Defined. The Scrum Guide released in November 2020 states that “the product goal describes a future state of the product … [It] is the long-term objective for the Scrum team.” It also suggests that “the product goal is in the product backlog. The rest of the product backlog emerges to define ‘what’ will fulfill the product goal.

Product Goals 156

Product Goals Weak Development Team User Testing Vision 156

Roman Pichler

APRIL 13, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. What are KPIs? Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics that measure how your product is doing. Effective KPIs help you understand if your product is creating the desired value for the users, the customers, and the business. Without KPIs, you end up guessing how well your product is performing. It’s like driving a car with your vision blurred: You can’t see if you are heading in the right direction or getting closer to your destination.

Feedback Software 156

Feedback Software Data Visualization Analytic Tools Research Software 156

Roman Pichler

MAY 11, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. Myth #1: The product owner must ensure that the stakeholders are satisfied. Stakeholders can be powerful and influential individuals. But the value a product creates is ultimately determined by its users: No product will be successful in the long run if it does not solve a specific user problem, create a tangible benefit, or help the users achieve a specific goal.

Weak Development Team 156

Weak Development Team Product Research User Testing Customer Experience 156

Roman Pichler

JUNE 7, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. Be Clear on When to Involve the Stakeholders and Development Teams. You can—and should—make many business-as-usual decisions on your own. Complex and high-impact decisions, however, are best made together with the stakeholders and development teams. There are two reasons for this: First, you usually require people’s expertise to help you tackle complex issues, for instance, to understand technical risks or the impact on the ability to market and sell the product.

Weak Development Team 156

Weak Development Team Product Research Workshop Customer Experience 156

Roman Pichler

JULY 6, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. Be Prepared to Look after People, Not Products. When you become a head of product, you move into a line management position. Consequently, your focus shifts from managing a product to looking after the product people on your team and empowering them to do a great job. Instead of creating, for example, product strategies and roadmaps and tracking KPIs , you should help the people on your team acquire the right knowledge and develop the right skills so that they can

User Testing 156

User Testing Product Research Weak Development Team Customer Experience 156

Roman Pichler

AUGUST 17, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. What is the Product Vision? The product vision describes the ultimate purpose of a product, the positive change it will bring about. You can think of it as a big, hairy, audacious goal (BHAG) —or a moon shot—that inspires people and offers continued guidance for the next five to ten years. Say I wanted to create a product that helps people become more aware of what and how much they eat.

Vision 156

Vision Customer Experience User Testing Product Strategy 156

Roman Pichler

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. Goal-oriented (a.k.a. Outcome-based). Traditionally, product roadmaps are output-focussed plans that map features like registration, search, and reporting onto a timeline. Such a roadmap essentially states when a piece of functionality will be delivered. This can be reassuring for customers and stakeholders, as the individuals believe that they know when their features will be delivered.

Roadmap 156

Roadmap Weak Development Team Customer Experience User Testing 156

Roman Pichler

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. Goal-oriented (a.k.a. Outcome-based). Traditionally, product roadmaps are output-focussed plans that map features like registration, search, and reporting onto a timeline. Such a roadmap essentially states when a piece of functionality will be delivered. This can be reassuring for customers and stakeholders, as the individuals believe that they know when their features will be delivered.

Roadmap 268

Roadmap Weak Development Team Customer Experience User Testing 268

Roman Pichler

AUGUST 17, 2021

Listen to this article: [link]. What is the Product Vision? The product vision describes the ultimate purpose of a product, the positive change it will bring about. You can think of it as a big, hairy, audacious goal (BHAG) —or a moon shot—that inspires people and offers continued guidance for the next five to ten years. Say I wanted to create a product that helps people become more aware of what and how much they eat.

Vision 323

Vision Customer Experience User Testing Product Strategy 323

Roman Pichler

JULY 6, 2021

Be Prepared to Look after People, Not Products. When you become a head of product, you move into a line management position. Consequently, your focus shifts from managing a product to looking after the product people on your team and empowering them to do a great job. Instead of creating, for example, product strategies and roadmaps and tracking KPIs , you should help the people on your team acquire the right knowledge and develop the right skills so that they can carry out the relevant work on

User Testing 321

User Testing Product Research Weak Development Team Customer Experience 321

Roman Pichler

JUNE 7, 2021

Be Clear on When to Involve the Stakeholders and Development Teams. You can—and should—make many business-as-usual decisions on your own. Complex and high-impact decisions, however, are best made together with the stakeholders and development teams. There are two reasons for this: First, you usually require people’s expertise to help you tackle complex issues, for instance, to understand technical risks or the impact on the ability to market and sell the product.

Weak Development Team 71

Weak Development Team Product Research Workshop Customer Experience 71