Over the years, I’ve told variations of this story many times: being a product champion is a lot like being a parent.  We love our products, make multi-year commitments to their development, hide their shortcomings, and look out for their best long-term interests while other organizations live in the moment.  We groom our products for good mergers later in life — and may be heartbroken by market indifference or eventual end-of-life.

Not everyone wants to raise children or enterprise software.  Consider the following observations before volunteering for high-tech parenthood… Continue reading →