Article archives

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

You can also view the PRODUCTHEAD newsletter archive.

  • How UK government digital services gather and use evidence

    How UK government digital services gather and use evidence

    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 how UK government digital services gather and use evidence.

  • How closely aligned should product organisations be with marketing and personas?

    How closely aligned should product organisations be with marketing and personas?

    Here’s another question I was asked recently: If you’re concerned about buyer needs and their objectives, how closely aligned do you suggest product organisations be with marketing and with the persona development to ensure they are creating a solution that does meet those needs in the market? Here’s my answer:

  • Why we can’t help jumping to conclusions

    Why we can’t help jumping to conclusions

    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 why we can’t help jumping to conclusions.

  • How much evidence is sufficient for decision-making?

    How much evidence is sufficient for decision-making?

    I was recently asked this question: Do you have a rule of thumb for deciding how much evidence is sufficient for decision making? I often see decisions made on the basis of a sample of one. Here’s my answer:

  • Expensive and risky assumptions (and why you should check them)

    Expensive and risky assumptions (and why you should check them)

    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 expensive and risky assumptions (and why you should check them).

  • How do I get my waterfall organisation to be more agile?

    How do I get my waterfall organisation to be more agile?

    I was recently asked this question: How would you recommend working with organisations who are used to a traditional / waterfall approach, transition towards agile / iterative development? Here’s my response:

  • How do I distil users’ wish lists of requirements to a core handful?

    How do I distil users’ wish lists of requirements to a core handful?

    I was recently asked this question: Can you make suggestions of how best to distil users’ wish lists of requirements/outcomes to a core handful that will encompass most people’s problems? Here’s my answer:

  • 55: How to beat writer’s block

    55: How to beat writer’s block

    I share my tips for beating writer’s block. In an article I used to beat writer’s block. How meta.

  • Building a product community in government

    Building a product community in government

    We have many product-minded people in the Government Digital Service (GDS) and across government, but we’re only just beginning to operate as a product community. I’m currently helping GDS out and have written a post for their blog on how we’re beginning to improve things.

  • 54: How to stop common B2B dysfunctions in the product team

    54: How to stop common B2B dysfunctions in the product team

    There are several common dysfunctions plaguing product teams in B2B companies the world over. How can you stop them? Read on for suggestions.

  • 53: THIS is what product-market fit looks like

    53: THIS is what product-market fit looks like

    Product-market fit is one of those concepts that seems relatively straightforward in theory but ends up being elusive in practice. But what does product-market fit actually look like when you get there?

  • 52: It only takes one bottleneck

    52: It only takes one bottleneck

    On my arrival in Australia I was initially impressed by the slick service design of their automated SmartGate immigration process. Until I found myself back to having to fill in declaration cards with a pen, that is.

  • The £20 bottle of Blue Nun

    The £20 bottle of Blue Nun

    To all wannabe e-commerce entrepreneurs: you no longer have any excuse. It’s possible to fire up an MVP for a wine delivery business in under an hour using just a mobile phone. Read how… Congratulations on your first purchase @finventing! Enjoy your upgrade pic.twitter.com/mWQ5Ga16Cl — Bringmewine (@webringyouwine) January 13, 2016 Get articles when they’re published…

  • 3 ways to build a better sales team

    3 ways to build a better sales team

    More often than not the relationship between product management and the sales team frustrates both sides. Here are three ways to build a better sales team.

  • How to show your team the benefits of experimentation

    How to show your team the benefits of experimentation

    This is a little post about some ways to convince a reluctant development team that experimentation is A Good Thing.

  • 51: Assemble the right product team

    51: Assemble the right product team

    Government digital teams have a way to ensure their digital services and products are created in the right way.

  • Getting better at public speaking

    Getting better at public speaking

    I’m currently working to improve my public speaking, and I recently gave a talk on Digital Justice at Product Management Festival in Zurich.

  • 6 simple rules of product management

    6 simple rules of product management

    6 simple rules of product management to introduce everyone else in the organisation to the concept.

  • 50: A novice’s introduction to service design for product managers

    50: A novice’s introduction to service design for product managers

    I’m no expert on service design, but it’s an area I’m curious to learn more about. This is a novice’s introduction to service design for product managers.

  • 49: How to prioritise your product portfolio

    49: How to prioritise your product portfolio

    If you were to inherit a large product portfolio, some of which hadn’t been updated in years, how would you prioritise which ones to work on? This article explains how.

  • 48: Mac or PC? You don’t have to pick a side

    48: Mac or PC? You don’t have to pick a side

    Remember how jarring change can be for people and actively work to soften the impact for them.

  • Interview with Wade Danielson of The Entrepreneurs Library

    I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Wade Danielson, founder and host of the Entrepreneurs Library. Take a listen or read the full transcript.

  • I’m about to launch a website. Any advice?

    I’m about to launch a website. Any advice?

    “I’m about to launch a website selling scotch whisky. Can you offer any advice?”

  • Becoming a product manager at Ministry of Justice Digital

    Becoming a product manager at Ministry of Justice Digital

    Fancy a job as a product manager? Do you see yourself working in a hot start-up with a small, tight-knit team of specialists? I’ll bet you never considered the Ministry of Justice as an option. You’re missing a trick – let me explain why.

  • Want a free copy of The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management?

    Want a free copy of The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management?

    After my general giddiness the other week, I can reassure everyone that I have regained a modicum of the reserve for which Brits are better known :-) If you’d like the chance to get hold of a free copy of The Practitioner’s Guide to Product Management, the publisher Piatkus is running a giveaway, so pop…

  • What’s it like working as a product manager at a startup?

    What’s it like working as a product manager at a startup?

    “Could give me some insight into your day-to-day duties and what the role might entail when working as a product manager at a startup?”

  • The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management – a best seller and selling out fast!

    The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management – a best seller and selling out fast!

    The day after its launch, The Practitioner’s Guide to Product Management became a best seller.

  • The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management – out tomorrow

    The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management – out tomorrow

    As you may be aware, I’ve written a book called The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management. It’s really a collection of stories from my own experience and others’ about how NOT to manage products. So if you just follow my Golden Rule (to ignore or do the opposite of everything I suggest), then you’ll be…

  • 47: How I learned to stop hating job interviews

    47: How I learned to stop hating job interviews

    I’ve never enjoyed job interviews. The inane questions annoy me most.

  • 46: How to qualify yourself for a product management job

    46: How to qualify yourself for a product management job

    What do you need to learn if you want to qualify for a job as a product manager?

  • 45: Three ways you’re DEFINITELY doing MVPs wrong

    45: Three ways you’re DEFINITELY doing MVPs wrong

    If one were to heft a half-brick down Old Street in London, there would be high probability of hitting someone currently engaged in building a minimum viable product (MVP) of some sort or another. There’s also almost as high a probability that they’re doing it wrong. Allow me to explain.

  • Analytics and decision-making on Mind the Product

    Analytics and decision-making on Mind the Product

    If you’d have told me that August’s ProductTank London on analytics and decision-making would be one of the most risqué to-date, I’d have struggled to believe you. Take a look at the recap I wrote over on Mind the Product’s blog.

  • Should the product manager and product owner be the same person?

    Should the product manager and product owner be the same person?

    I recently read the question on the difference between the product manager and product owner on Quora and ended up sharing my opinion – at length. So I’ve decided to publish it here for posterity. Needless to say, there are other answers and other opinions, all equally valid.

  • 44: A good picture can save 1,000 words

    44: A good picture can save 1,000 words

    For those of us who are artistically challenged (read: crap at drawing), it can be daunting to contemplate the use of pictures over text to make a point. I’m a perfect case in point.

  • 39-43: Four more things I’ve learned about product management

    39-43: Four more things I’ve learned about product management

    A post in which Jock starts to think he’s Gwyneth Paltrow.

  • 38: Product managers learn by doing

    38: Product managers learn by doing

    You can learn all the theory you like, but at some point you just have to stop thinking about what the answer might be and dive in to find out. Product managers learn by doing.

  • 37: Unexpected delights – a geek’s guide to the Kano model

    37: Unexpected delights – a geek’s guide to the Kano model

    This is the story of why I’m going to be disappointed with 99% of all airlines for the foreseeable future. A guide to the Kano model.

  • Back(log) to the Future – story arcs, roadmaps and product themes

    Back(log) to the Future – story arcs, roadmaps and product themes

    Last time I published an article explaining why I thought roadmaps were a little like DVD box sets. DonorDrive product manager Kasey Marcum (@kaseymarcum) asked in the comments: “Always enjoy your posts, Jock! I really love the high level idea of this. What does this actually look like in the wild?” Imagine your roadmap and…

  • 36: Product roadmaps are like DVD box sets

    36: Product roadmaps are like DVD box sets

    Curating the product roadmap is one of the most typical responsibilities of a product manager. But have you ever thought about why you bother with them in the first place and how you could make them more effective?

  • 35: Product management skills to pay the bills

    35: Product management skills to pay the bills

    So you want to become a product manager? Good for you! But how do you know you’re ready to move into a product management job? Here are some suggestions to start you on the right track.

  • Happy Christmas + where I’ve been hiding

    Happy Christmas + where I’ve been hiding

    To all the readers of this humble product management blog: may I wish you all a happy Christmas and all the very best for 2014! Thank you for reading, commenting and sharing the various articles I’ve written in 2013; I’m very grateful for your support. You may have noticed that the rate of posts has…

  • 34: Pick your battles

    34: Pick your battles

    Recently Unilever challenged Procter & Gamble to prove their advertising claim that P&G’s Fairy brand of washing-up liquid lasted twice as long as Unilever’s Persil brand. The result that followed provides a great lesson for deciding how to pick your battles.

  • Cycles within cycles

    Cycles within cycles

    This week, we’ve been looking at two different lifecycles: the product lifecycle and the development lifecycle – cycles within cycles!

  • Needs, features and benefits

    Needs, features and benefits

    One of the challenges of being a product manager is that it’s sometimes difficult to read between the lines of what your (potential) customers want in order to determine what they actually need. This article explains how to identify and differentiate between needs, features and benefits.

  • Blast from the past

    Blast from the past

    Three years ago today I published my first article on I Manage Products.  While a fair amount’s changed since then, I’d like to think that some things remain the same. My writing style, for one, hasn’t really improved in three years.  I don’t think my sense of humour has matured either.  Still, we can’t expect…

  • 33: The “Field Of Dreams” is fiction

    33: The “Field Of Dreams” is fiction

    This is not “Field Of Dreams” and you’re not Kevin Costner. If you build it, the users will not come – unless they have a strong motivation to do so.

  • Win-win-win with Wigwamm – an interview with Rayhan Rafiq Omar

    Win-win-win with Wigwamm – an interview with Rayhan Rafiq Omar

    A London startup is attempting to disrupt the local property rentals market in a way that benefits tenants, landlords and property agents equally – a win-win-win scenario, you might say. Jock Busuttil finds out more from the man in the Wigwamm, Rayhan Rafiq Omar.

  • 32: Be flexible

    32: Be flexible

    I’ve just kicked off another project through my firm, Product People Limited. With the inevitable flurry of project start-up activity, a couple of basic tasks have reminded me how important it is for product managers to be flexible, whenever possible.

  • 31: Learn to enjoy networking

    31: Learn to enjoy networking

    Business networking used to hold about as much appeal for me as speed-dating with alligators. It was only later that I came to tolerate it, even enjoy it, but only after I learned to think about it differently. If the prospect of a room of people at an event fills you with dread, read on,…

  • What you should expect when recruiting a product manager

    What you should expect when recruiting a product manager

    After my slightly frivolous post last time, I wanted to follow up with a more practical article intended for people wanting to hire a product manager and, by the same token, those of you wanting to step into that role.