Article archives

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

You can also view the PRODUCTHEAD newsletter archive.

  • Pre-empting customer churn

    Pre-empting customer churn

    How much would you invest to prevent a mass customer exodus? Everything Everywhere, the merged T-Mobile / Orange behemoth, was happy to spend £150 per customer to shore up its customer base following the post-merger restructuring. What did it gain? A reduction in monthly churn from 1.7% to 1.3%, significant given their customers number well…

  • What should product managers keep an eye on in 2011?

    What should product managers keep an eye on in 2011?

    What should product managers keep an eye on in 2011?

  • 7 guiding principles for product install / upgrade usability

    7 guiding principles for product install / upgrade usability

    I was discussing recently the importance of getting a product installation or upgrade process right for customers. Here are some guiding principles from a usability perspective that you may wish to consider when defining your product’s requirements.

  • Easier product forecasting

    Easier product forecasting

    Do you find it difficult to set appropriate financial targets for your product?

  • 33 cut-out-and-keep usability requirements for your product

    33 cut-out-and-keep usability requirements for your product

    I strongly believe that all software companies should have a manifesto or a set of guidelines for usability.

  • DIY Eco Linux Fileserver (part 2)

    DIY Eco Linux Fileserver (part 2)

    Earlier this month, I was attempting to appease my wife by reducing my server’s power consumption physical footprint. In this follow-up, I’ll give you an update on how I got on and pass on a few tips if you’re planning to do the same. Normal I Manage Products service will be resumed in the next…

  • DIY Eco Linux Fileserver (part 1)

    DIY Eco Linux Fileserver (part 1)

    Every now and again, I undertake a DIY tech project. I think it’s because I’m a geek at heart and I like to think to myself a little smugly, “still got it”. This time the brief actually came from my lovely wife: shrink the physical footprint and electricity consumption of the servers running 24/7 in…

  • The thorny issue of pricing

    The thorny issue of pricing

    Ah, pricing. Always a thorny topic for product managers as it’s one those more subjective areas of the job. I’d love to have some kind of oracular spreadsheet that foresees how much customers would be willing to pay for my new product. Ironically, I would pay good money for such a thing…

  • The problem with successful products

    The problem with successful products

    A product manager who thinks they’ve got an easy ride because their product is a cash cow is probably missing the point. While failing or unpopular products have a more obvious set of problems to tackle, successful ones have a different set of arguably trickier problems

  • Why aren’t sales selling my new product?

    Why aren’t sales selling my new product?

    There are many reasons why Sales may be holding back on your new product. As we all know, Salespeople are by nature shy, retiring types, who need constant reassurance. You need to encourage and nurture them, delicate little flowers that they are. Or at the very least, restrain the urge to run screaming at them…

  • Ill communication

    Ill communication

    Ah, emails. How did we manage without them? Personally, I think quite well. Now we appear to be unable to tear ourselves away from them. They taunt us in our inbox, begging for attention. They follow us on our mobile devices, so there is no respite. Most importantly, they’re categorically not suited to all situations.…

  • “Why the heck should I upgrade?” – 4 things you’re probably missing

    “Why the heck should I upgrade?” – 4 things you’re probably missing

    You expend a lot of effort getting people to buy your product and they’re happy with it. Time passes. You then go back to your satisfied customers and tell them what they have is now mediocre, so they have to move onto your latest and greatest product version. You see this everywhere, from washing powders…

  • Positive procrastination

    Positive procrastination

    

Everyone but the most tirelessly(and tiresome) self-motivated has at one point or another procrastinated in the face of some worthy activity. I think I’ve found a way to use procrastination for profit and gain; read on to see whether I have…

  • 4 key ways to spot a successful product manager

    4 key ways to spot a successful product manager

    As a product manager, how do you know you’re doing your job well? This article outlines the problem with traditional metrics for product managers and offers some better alternatives for measuring success: communication, ideas, roadmapping, launch and end-of-life.

  • Context is everything

    Context is everything

    Your developers may be happiest when they’re hacking gnarly code, leaving you to get on with engaging with the market, but this doesn’t mean you can ignore their need for context – the ‘why’ of their project.

  • Hello. I’m new.

    Hello. I’m new.

    I remember once starting a product manager job where it took me two hours to establish where my desk was. On the plus side, I gained a valuable insight into how NOT to manage a new starter. Here are three basic lessons I’ve learned, so that hopefully you won’t be the subject of a similar…

  • Questions you need to be asking

    Questions you need to be asking

    There are many questions you need to be asking to determine the best course of action or to analyse underlying motivations. Of them, I use the following three questions most often: 1. So what? 2. Why? 3. What’s stopping us?

  • Pay attention to local requirements

    Pay attention to local requirements

    If you want to succeed in global markets with a ‘one size fits all’ approach, you may want to reconsider that strategy. Pay as much attention, if not more, to getting the local details right.

  • By way of an introduction

    Why write a blog? Up until recently if someone had suggested that I start writing a blog I would most likely have unfurled my ‘To Do’ list with a flourish, watched the unrolling end bounce off the floor and gestured vaguely into the distance. So what’s changed?