Article archives

Here you can find links to all the articles published on this website.

You can also view the PRODUCTHEAD newsletter archive.

  • 78: How to start a new product manager job

    78: How to start a new product manager job

    Starting a new product manager job can be daunting, particularly if you don’t change jobs very often. I work freelance, so I find myself in a new organisation roughly every 3-6 months. Let me share with you my tips for your first few months in a new role.

  • What technical skills do I need to be a product manager?

    What technical skills do I need to be a product manager?

    “I was looking for inspiration and guidance as I am searching for a career change and Product Management/ Project Management are my areas of interest. I was looking to understand if in such roles technical skills are required.”

  • 77: The only article you’ll ever need on prioritization

    77: The only article you’ll ever need on prioritization

    When faced with all the things you could and should be doing, it can be tremendously hard to decide which to do, let alone which to do first.

  • What lessons from antiquity would you apply to product management?

    What lessons from antiquity would you apply to product management?

    “So this this might seem a bit odd, but are there any lessons from antiquity given your background in Classics that one might apply to product management in the year 2020?”

  • 76: Manage the whole product

    76: Manage the whole product

    A whole product is often a complex combination of several products and services. Some you create yourself, some are created by others. You’re responsible for the whole lot, even if they’re not all directly in your control.

  • What’s the difference between a product manager and a business analyst?

    What’s the difference between a product manager and a business analyst?

    “Hi Jock, What’s the difference between a product manager and a business analyst?”

  • 75: The dirty little secrets of decision making

    75: The dirty little secrets of decision making

    I’ve been thinking about decision making. What makes one decision better than another?

  • Misunderstood metaphors: Product manager as conductor

    Misunderstood metaphors: Product manager as conductor

    Product managers are sometimes referred to as the conductor of the orchestra. Some people think that the conductor’s job is to direct the players, to lead them through the music. That would be to misunderstand the relationship. Instead, here’s a different take.

  • Voxgig Fireside for professional speakers

    Voxgig Fireside for professional speakers

    In Voxgig’s Fireside podcast for professional speakers, I reveal how I turned my flair for product management into a speaking career, and how I set up a home studio for live streaming using an old television.

  • 74: The black art of content design

    74: The black art of content design

    This week I learnt the phrase ‘black art’ comes from the world of printing presses. So I delved deeper into the world of content design. Eventually I found a product management angle.

  • 73: You wouldn’t drive blindfolded – why you need user research

    73: You wouldn’t drive blindfolded – why you need user research

    At best, organisations do a bit of user research up front and no more, then set off on their journey to create the product – they might as well have a blindfold on.

  • How do I make my product manager CV stand out?

    How do I make my product manager CV stand out?

    “I am currently looking for a new PM role but there is so much competition because of the pandemic. Do you have any suggestions on how to stand out as a PM in these turbulent times?”

  • How to measure product management – ProductBeats talk

    How to measure product management – ProductBeats talk

    My talk about how to measure product management on Tolpagorni’s ProductBeats weekly webinar series.

  • 72: All the world’s a stage – how to launch a product

    72: All the world’s a stage – how to launch a product

    The other day, I was asked how to launch a product successfully. Two competing responses sprang to mind: the way I would have answered a couple of decades ago and the way I actually suggested.

  • What’s the best way to focus teams on outcomes not outputs?

    What’s the best way to focus teams on outcomes not outputs?

    What’s the best way to help agile teams move away from feature delivery to focus on outcome over output?

  • What’s the name for ‘continuing to find product-market fit’?

    What’s the name for ‘continuing to find product-market fit’?

    Do you have a name for continuing to find/refine product-market fit? Or is product-market fit something you find once and then ignore after you found it?

  • Reading aloud

    Reading aloud

    I’m trying to make my blog and other websites as accessible as possible. This has led me to all sorts of questions that I need your help to answer.

  • 71: The PMO strikes back

    71: The PMO strikes back

    Okay, okay, so maybe likening the Project Management Office (PMO) to the Empire hunting down the Rebel Alliance is perhaps a teensy bit combative. But it’s how I feel sometimes. Just don’t let my desire for a weak pun give you the wrong impression. Let me explain.

  • 70: You need a delivery manager on your team

    70: You need a delivery manager on your team

    In the UK government digital teams, you don’t see project managers or even Scrum masters. Why? Because they have delivery managers instead. In this article, I’m going to convince you why you need delivery managers on your teams.

  • May you live in interesting times

    May you live in interesting times

    Not an article about product management per se, but a justification (to myself, if anything) for continuing to write not-entirely-serious articles about product management in the middle of a really-quite-serious global pandemic.

  • 69: It matters what you say and what you do

    69: It matters what you say and what you do

    I perhaps naïvely assume that a company’s stated product vision and corporate mission are what the organisation is actively working towards. Disappointingly, this is not always the case.

  • 68: 4 common user persona mistakes

    68: 4 common user persona mistakes

    More often than not, user personas are just a laborious way to decorate the walls. Are you making these common mistakes?

  • 67: Why cake is important for product leaders

    67: Why cake is important for product leaders

    Building or changing a product culture in your organisation isn’t just about having the right ingredients, it’s about knowing how to combine them successfully.

  • 66: Show the thing

    66: Show the thing

    ‘Show the thing’ sessions encourage a culture of openness, of sharing information. They create opportunities for peers to learn from each other, thus multiplying the value of the thing created or learned that someone shows.

  • Learning Product Leadership with Jock Busuttil on Ross Webb’s Product Team Success podcast

    Learning Product Leadership with Jock Busuttil on Ross Webb’s Product Team Success podcast

    I’ve just been on Ross Webb’s new Product Team Success podcast talking about learning product leadership. We cover plenty of ground, have a listen.

  • What exactly is a freelance head of product? (Interview for Working Products conference)

    What exactly is a freelance head of product? (Interview for Working Products conference)

    3 questions and answers: What exactly is a “Freelance Head of Product”? What is a great product? What are the key criteria for a great team?

  • What makes a good UX designer? (from a product manager’s point of view)

    What makes a good UX designer? (from a product manager’s point of view)

    Hi Jock, what makes a good UX Designer from the perspective of a product manager?

  • Can I pick your brain about product roadmaps?

    Can I pick your brain about product roadmaps?

    “Hey Jock, I would love to pick your brain about product roadmaps.”

  • 65: The secrets of meaningful product roadmaps (redux)

    65: The secrets of meaningful product roadmaps (redux)

    Product managers often struggle to keep on top of their product roadmap. I recently gave this talk on the secrets of meaningful product roadmaps at Landing Festival Berlin to explain where people often get lost.

  • Should I take a different role before applying to become a product manager?

    Should I take a different role before applying to become a product manager?

    Hi Jock, I’m an entrepreneur, product/program manager and hardcore gamer. I’m facing a dilemma in my career’s direction.

  • What skills do I need to be a freelance product manager?

    What skills do I need to be a freelance product manager?

    People ask me from time to time about how they can get into freelance product management. Here’s a recent question: Hi Jock, I’ve been working as a product manager for 5 years now. I worked in different industries (financial, loyalty, media, fintech) and now I am starting to manage a team of product managers and…

  • 64: Good product management

    64: Good product management

    What does it mean to be a good product manager in 2018? It’s not just about being agile and creating products users need – we need to be more human.

  • How do I make myself more suitable for a senior product role in UK government?

    How do I make myself more suitable for a senior product role in UK government?

    Here’s a question I’ve been asked recently: Hi Jock, I’d appreciate your advice on working for the GDS and different ministries. I have recently applied for senior positions (Deputy Director and Head of Product) at GDS and another UK government department. On both occasions I was told that while I had the skills, my previous…

  • I need a product manager with specific experience, can you help?

    I need a product manager with specific experience, can you help?

    Good product managers are agnostic of technologies (and markets).

  • 63: The whole agile thing

    63: The whole agile thing

    “Agile” is a term that has been abused by organisations to such an extent that its original meaning is all but forgotten. Here’s a reminder of what it should mean.

  • How on earth am I going to start managing a second product?

    How on earth am I going to start managing a second product?

    “How on earth am I going to start managing a second product?”

  • 62: How to measure product manager performance

    62: How to measure product manager performance

    A real-life case study for measuring the performance of a team of product managers, with examples to download

  • 61: The 16 most important technical skills every product manager needs

    61: The 16 most important technical skills every product manager needs

    In addition to the ‘soft’ skills I discussed in the last post, a good product manager also needs ‘hard’ skills (product management techniques). Read on for my list of the 16 most important technical skills a product manager needs.

  • 60: The 12 most important soft skills every product manager needs

    60: The 12 most important soft skills every product manager needs

    I’m often asked what skills a product manager needs. In my view at least, a good product manager needs both ‘soft’ skills (emotional intelligence) and ‘hard’ skills (product management techniques). Read on for my list of the 12 soft skills every product manager needs.

  • 59: Find the tipping point in your user research

    59: Find the tipping point in your user research

    The more closely we examined the problem, the more complicated it became. When this happens to you, it can feel overwhelming. Don’t quit your research too soon.

  • How did you get into product management?

    How did you get into product management?

    This is an interview I did a little while ago with a user experience author living on the US East Coast. She was interested in moving into freelance product management.

  • What’s the one thing retailers are doing wrong in ecommerce?

    What’s the one thing retailers are doing wrong in ecommerce?

    When it comes to the ecommerce checkout process, what’s one thing that retailers are doing wrong? What’s one thing they’re doing right?

  • 58: What Eurovision taught me about product management

    58: What Eurovision taught me about product management

    For a glitzy song contest, Eurovision has a lot to answer for. There is a product management angle to this post. Eventually.

  • 57: Cut through red tape

    57: Cut through red tape

    If bureaucracy and organisational inertia frustrate you, read on.

  • How do you keep user needs front and centre?

    How do you keep user needs front and centre?

    I was recently asked this question: How do you keep user needs at the centre of your product management process? Read on for my answer.

  • The secret behind meaningful product roadmaps

    The secret behind meaningful product roadmaps

    I gave a talk recently about how I’ve been using data and analytics to guide my decisions in product management. I’ve edited the transcript a little and split it into bite-size parts for your entertainment. This final bit tells the secret behind meaningful product roadmaps.

  • 56: The coffee shop problem

    56: The coffee shop problem

    How much of a problem is it if something similar to your shiny new product idea already exists on the market?

  • The benefits of open and transparent data

    The benefits of open and transparent data

    I gave a talk recently about how I’ve been using data and analytics to guide my decisions in product management. I’ve edited the transcript a little and split it into bite-size parts for your entertainment. This bit is about the benefits of open and transparent data.

  • What sources of information should people use to build products?

    What sources of information should people use to build products?

    Here’s a question I was asked recently: What sources of information do you suggest folks building their product plans today rely on, so that they can get the evidence they need to build the product that will meet the needs of end users? Here’s my answer:

  • What user trends do you see?

    What user trends do you see?

    “Are you seeing any key trends from the user perspective that companies need to be thinking about at the aggregate level?”

  • What kinds of questions should I be asking in discovery?

    What kinds of questions should I be asking in discovery?

    I was recently asked this question: During the problem exploration phase, what kinds of questions should I be asking and how do I go from 1000 problems to the core problems that will unlock the solution? Read on for my answer: