Prof. Kumar Sarangee of Santa Clara’s Leavey School of Business invited Rich Mironov for a guest lecture on Product Market Planning and Strategy class. This talk included a quick overview of what product managers are (what they do), how this fits into the overall business of creating technology, and how to think about pricing software and roadmapping. Continue reading
Tag Archives: product management
How Engineering Can Work Better with Product Management
As a break from stealth start-up work, I led a discussion for SDForum’s Engineering Leadership SIG on “How Engineering Can Work Better with Product Management.” This was a VERY spirited discussion…
We gathered some (good and bad) experiences from attendees about their interactions with product management, tried to define what the PM role is, and shared some thoughts on how to cooperate better for great products and organizations. Lots of questions about how to get into product management, and why people would stay in such a role! Continue reading
‘Getting Promoted’ Talk at SV ProdCamp
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This year’s Silicon Valley Product Camp (the fourth!) drew the largest crowd ever of product managers and product marketers to share, network, learn and have fun! Estimated at almost 600 and hosted at eBay’s Paypal/San Jose location, it pulled attendees from around the continent for nearly 40 sessions. It also included a job fair with a dozen local companies. I was honored to be emcee and event coordinator emeritus, having passed PCamp management to new leadership.
I ran a session on Understanding the Next Job Up and Getting Promoted…
Success at Each PM Level (Webinar)
I presented a guest webinar for Accept Software about the distinct roles/challenges at different levels of the product management organization (individual PM, director, VP).
You can replay the entire webinar here (registration required), hosted by Hari Candadai. Continue reading
Does Your Product Suck?
It’s been a tough week on the technical front, with a variety of products failing to perform their core functions for me. Which prompts a somewhat emotional question for those of us who oversee products (or services) for a living:
Does your product suck? Does it #fail to do the one thing that customers buy it for?
Skills You Need to Succeed as a PM (SVPMA Panel)
SVPMA marked its 10-year anniversary with a panel discussion on the key role that product managers play in today’s organizations and the skills PMs need to succeed in the next decade. 120+ attended.
What: “Skills You Need to Succeed as a Product Manager in the Next Decade”
Panel: Rich Mironov (moderator), Tom Grant, Greg Cohen, Christina Noren, Ivan Chalif
When: Wednesday, December 1st, 6:30pm – 9pm
Where: TechMart, Santa Clara
This turned into a spirited discussion among the panelists and assembled PMs/PMMs with questions on their minds. 
Continue reading
How Agile Changes (and Doesn't Change) What Product Managers Do
Rich Mironov led a November 18th session on agile product management for the Norcal BMA.
What: “How Agile Changes (and Doesn’t Change) What Product Managers Do”
Who: Norcal BMA (Northern California Business Marketing Association)
When: Nov 18th, 830AM – 10AM
Where: Scott’s Seafood, Palo Alto CA
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Santa Clara MBA Lecture on PM and NPD
Prof. Kumar Sarangee of Santa Clara’s Leavey School of Business invited Rich Mironov to be a guest lecturer for his Product Market Planning and Strategy class. SCU’s Evening MBA program attracts some of the brightest students from the Valley, with a tradition of providing leadership back to technology companies. Continue reading
Magical Thinking and the Zero-Sum Roadmap
Recent conversations at several clients highlight an often-repeated set of magical 
thinking: beliefs by internal clients that development resources are infinite, and beliefs by product managers that prioritization can convince anyone otherwise. Both are wrong, but seductive. Here goes…
The starting point for this conversation is the typical product roadmap: crammed full of prioritized work and heavily negotiated with the development team. Almost every optional item has been postponed, and there’s still some risk of delay. This is a product plan with no “white space,” no large chunks of unallocated engineering capacity, no slop or slush funds or hidden treasure. Continue reading
Three Product Challenges for Early-Stage Entrepreneurs
Rich Mironov led a clinic on product management concepts for very early-stage start-ups (1 to 3 employees), hosted by Agile Entrepreneurs.