Some Thoughts on Product Management

Miks keskenduvad ettevõtted nii palju sellele, et arendusprotsess oleks agiilsete arendusprotsesside ja metoodikate abil kiirem ja sujuvam, aga samal ajal ei panustata eriti sellesse, et coachida tootjuhte? Et nad teeksid paremaid ja kliendikesksemaid otsuseid selle kohta, mida üldse arendada?

We explore what makes some product and sales teams' relationship work as a partnership and why others are doomed, no matter how hard we try. We also touch on what the fudge is all that product-led vs sales-led talk about?

You know the conventional wisdom: track your competitors' every move, treat them like enemies, and rush to match their features before they "steal" your customers. But what if we've been getting it all wrong?

When did we accept that enterprise software needs: 1. A dedicated support department; 2. 6 months of training; 3. 'Expert users' who gatekeep features? Yet here we are, celebrating these as normal, with our users nodding along.

Do Product Manager Job ads even make sense?

The debate surrounding the Product Manager (PM) and Product Owner (PO) roles is both nuanced and quite heated. With so many opinions and perspectives already out there, stepping into this conversation feels necessary, but a bit daunting. 

Smith räägib neljast mustrist, kuidas ärevus meie igapäevastes tegemistes, sh töökeskkonnas avaldub. Üllatus ja samas ka mitte oli näiteks ületöötamine kui ärevuse sümptom arvestades sellega, kui tihti seda töökultuuris ülistatakse. Tõttöelda ma ise ka ülistasin - kuni läbi põlesin.

I often get asked whether all Project Managers should now be retrained as Product Managers or be replaced by them. In my view, these roles are not actually competing. On the contrary, they are very different, each with its own time and place.

Kuigi mult küsitakse tihti, et kas kõik Projektijuhid peaks nüüd Tootejuhtideks ümber koolitama või vahetama, siis ma ise arvan, et need ei ole tegelikult konkureerivad rollid. Vastupidi, need rollid on väga erinevad ja kummalgi on oma aeg ja koht.

There are three types of companies based on PM influence: PM-dominated, PM-guided, and PM-serviced. Which is yours?

I love discovery the most, in Product Management. There are buts and ifs, though.

Have you noticed how many Agile Coaches there are compared to Product Coaches? Why do companies focus so much on achieving faster and smoother development with Agile, but don’t pay as much attention to Coaching Product Managers towards making better, more customer-centric decisions on what to develop in the first place?

Tootejuhtimise erinevad aspektid, lihtsas keeles.

Although the problems with product teams seem obvious at first, they often stem from deeper underlying issues that need addressing for the product management discipline to thrive.

I've been fascinated by what distinguishes successful product managers from those who struggle. Surrounded by a highly skilled community of Product Managers, I initially believed success depended on a mix of knowledge and hard skills - things like curiosity, a customer-focused approach, agile methodologies, and the ability to innovate while prioritizing business outcomes. However, I soon realized that skills alone weren't sufficient for success.