Zen of Program Managment

Microsoft’s Jobsblog features a very interesting overview of the role of a program manager at Microsoft together with some hints on how to be successful. The role of a program manager at Microsoft seems to be similiar to the product manager role at other companies. So this will also be an interesting read for product managers there.

The ‘zen’ of program management lies in connecting the customer and value proposition with an actual product or service. The program manager brings the team together to make this connection between aspirations and ends.

The goal of this paper is to provide deeper insight into the program management role and clearly identify what makes program managers unique and uniquely valuable. While this document focuses on the value of program management, this value is only realized within the context of the broader team. Teamwork is paramount, and no one role carries the team.

This paper covers the three major steps of the software product cycle, and the value that program managers bring to each step:

• Planning: Framing the Landscape
• Design: Defining the Solution
• Execution: Delivering on the Value Proposition

Read the whole article at Zen of PM : Microsoft JobsBlog.

Agile Product Management

Pragmatic Marketing published an interesting article about the role of product managers in agile teams:

When you adopt agile development methods, you encounter new concepts, new artifacts, new planning methods, and new roles and relationships. It seems that agile teams do everything in a new way. And, as you attempt to integrate agile into your existing systems, you’ll also attempt to map these new concepts to your old, familiar concepts. Requirements are now stories; iterations are now sprints. And a product manager is now called a Product Owner… right?
Wrong!

Meeting Player’s Expectations

Owen Goss, the developer of Dapple, an iPhone puzzle game, analyzes the feedback he got from his users, and discusses some possible solutions on how to improve:

As the designer of the game, it’s hard when people don’t like the game. I realise that not everyone likes every game; that’s obvious. However, Dapple seems to be lacking traction in the two demographics that I thought it would have the best chance in: hardcore puzzle gamers, and casual gamers. So, I want to look at where Dapple isn’t succeeding as well as I thought it would, in the hopes that I can learn from this for my next game.

…

Dapple is a game that plays like a hardcore puzzle game, but that looks like a light casual game. I think one of the problems I’m having with the game is one of perception. Hardcore puzzle game players dismiss it immediately because it looks like a casual game. Casual gamers download the Lite version and when they don’t “get it” immediately, they stop playing out of frustration.

…

I think the problem is that the average person who downloads a game for their iPhone is looking for something they can grok instantly. Dapple is a game that, once you “get” it, can be played in very short bursts and is ideally suited for the iPhone in that regard. However, it can’t be grokked instantly, and I think that’s the biggest design flaw with the game.

Read the full post at Streaming Colour Studios » Blog Archive » Dapple’s Identity Crisis.

The Pragmatic Marketer Volume 7 Issue 2

A new issue of the The Pragmatic Marketer digital magazine is available here.

It has some interesting articles and is worth a read. Here is the contents:

• End Boring Marketing Now
  Creating a World Wide Rave, in which other people help to tell your story, is a way to drive action. You can create the triggers that get millions of people to tell your stories and spread your ideas. But first, you’ve got to lose control.

  Some interesting quotes:

Creating a World Wide Rave, in which other people help to tell your story, is a way to drive action. One person sends it to another, then that person sends it to yet another, and on and on. Each link in the chain exposes your story to someone new, someone you never had to contact yourself! It’s like when you’re at a sporting event or concert in a large stadium and somebody starts “the wave.” Isn’t it amazing that just one person with an idea can convince a group of 50,000 people to join in? Well, you can start a similar wave of interest online, a World Wide Rave. You can create the triggers that get millions of people to tell your stories and spread your ideas.

…

For your ideas to spread and rise to the status of a World Wide Rave, you’ve got to give up control. Make your information on the Web totally free for people to access, with absolutely no virtual strings attached: no electronic gates, no registration requirements, and no email address verification necessary.

…

You need to think in terms of spreading ideas, not generating leads. A World Wide Rave gets the word out to thousands or even millions of potential customers. But only if you make your information easy to find and consume.

• Book Review: World Wide Rave by David Meerman Scott

• How to Turn Sales Engineers into Your Biggest Fans
  Here are some tips not only for a successful working relationship, but also the fundamental activities that will turn Sales Engineers into the Product Manager’s biggest fans.

• Goals, Readiness and Constraints: The Three Dimensions of Product Launch
  Many companies mistakenly believe their product will sell itself and overcome any adversity. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. A successful product launch requires skill, experience, market knowledge, and a process.

• I Know Nothing about Product Naming (but that Doesn’t Stop Me from Doing It!)
  As a marketer for a new product, naming is something you may have to do even though you know nothing about it. There isn’t a magic formula for creating a good product name, but a well-considered, rational process for picking the least awful name out of all of the possible awful names out there is better than anyone’s gut feel – and, frankly, the best you can do.

Consider your market window as part of your product strategy

If you want to be a bad product manager, start developing a product and release it as soon as possible. If you’ve got a good idea for a product, why wait? You need to get it defined, get it developed as quickly as you can, and then release it right away, without any delay. Everyone knows that the first product to market usually wins, and the sooner it’s released, the quicker you’ll be profitable.

If you want to be a good product manager, consider your market window as part of your product strategy.

Read on…

via Consider your market window as part of your product strategy : How To Be A Good Product Manager: Product management tips.