The Clever PM

Tips, tricks, and hacks that help you to be a better, more clever, Product Manager.

Product Manager or Product Owner – What’s the Difference?

by

In the search for a Product Management role, many people become confused by the deceptively similar descriptions, expectations, and requirements that they find for Product Owner and Product Manager roles in various organizations. I’m sorry to say, this is another reflection of the inability of our Product Management culture and discipline to adopt a clear standard for what a Product Manager is and what a Product Manager does.  The roles are similar enough that there’s an easy and excusable amount of confusion, but they are also different enough that it’s important to discuss these differences, why they exist, and what they really mean for a person seeking a “true” Product Management (or Product Owner) role.

To be honest, I could have chosen any number of seeming homonyms for Product Management — there’s Business Analyst, Program Manager, Product Leader, Product Designer, and many, many more.  But the problem with picking any of those other terms is that they’re just as amorphous and nebulous as “Product Management” is.  Thankfully, that’s not the case with the term “Product Owner” which has some clear definitions and expectations thanks to its close relationship with Scrum/Agile development practices.

[Read more…]

You’re not Agile Unless You’re “agile”…

by

Probably the single most common question that I run into nowadays is which process is the “best” one to be Agile, with a capital “A”. And people are often surprised when I tell them there’s no right or wrong answer here, but that they’re focusing on the wrong thing if they’re trying to be Agile before they’re agile.

I know, that sounds confusing, but the world of Agile often is confusing to people who are new to it. There are any number of up-and-coming development practices and project management practices that one can use to achieve the goal of being Agile, with a capital “A”. But, the simple fact is that none of these matter unless you’ve fully embraced being agile with a lower-case “a”.

[Read more…]

Accept Ambiguity — Then Drive it Out

by

I’ve worked in a lot of companies where the direction or vision that we were shooting for was in question or even in transition.  And, when that happens, the natural result is a lot of chaos and uncertainty.  I recall in one very contentious meeting regarding a new direction one company was taking, a very smart man in the room spoke up and said these words:

“We have to embrace ambiguity and drive it out where we can.”

This has, in many ways, become a bit of a mantra for me, as the whole concept of Agile development has built in to it this very concept.  You define what you know is important, when you know that it’s important, and you move forward.  This really is simply another way of rephrasing the common aphorism of “Fail Fast, Fail Early, and Fail Often.”

[Read more…]