PRODUCTHEAD: Coding in the open
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
i am citizen product #
every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to
tl;dr
A common misconception is that openly sharing code presents security risks
Keeping code open clarifies ownership and can avoid vendor lock-in
hello
As part of a recent talk I gave, I touched on the topic of coding in the open. Part of a broader design principle (“Make things open: it makes things better”), coding in the open is just one of several ways the UK government’s digital services encourage transparency and reuse, rather than reinventing the wheel over and over.
Incidentally, ‘digital services’ is not a typo — there are many more teams across central and local UK government following the lead of the better-known Government Digital Service. This is why reusing and remixing code, designs and service patterns is particularly valuable.
I’ll be taking a deep dive into the benefits of coding in the open for public and private sector organisations in a forthcoming article on I Manage Products. I also explore how developing an open source product can in certain circumstances be a massive strategic advantage for traditionally closed source companies.
Keep an eye out for it on the website, or subscribe to I Manage Products to have the article delivered straight to your inbox.
For you this week #
To whet your appetite in the meantime, this week I’d like to share with you articles from my former colleagues at Ministry of Justice Digital & Technology Dave Rogers and Steve Marshall, and from Anna Shipman, formerly of GDS, now CTO of Kooth.
Speak to you soon,
Jock
what to think about this week
Why we code in the open
At the Ministry of Justice, we code in the open, by default. This means whenever we write software, we make our source code available to anyone and everyone.
[Dave Rogers & Steve Marshall / Ministry of Justice Digital & Technology]
The benefits of coding in the open
For any service to be put in front of the public, it has to meet the Digital Service Standard, a set of 18 criteria. One of the criteria is that all new source code is made open and published under an open source licence. This goes hand in hand with our tenth design principle: make things open: it makes things better.
There’s more to it than the benefit of code reuse
[Anna Shipman / Government Digital Service]
recent posts
The power of open
4 valuable product and culture lessons from the UK’s government digital teams. This was a talk I gave for Product People in September 2024. Video and transcript available.
[I Manage Products]
What to expect from your face-to-face product manager interview
Your product manager interview is as much about you getting to know your interviewers as it is the other way around. Here’s what you can expect along with my tips for standing out from the crowd.
Go a bit meta and challenge the premise of the exercise
[I Manage Products]
Moving up to a CPO or VP Product role
Stepping up to a Chief Product Officer (CPO) or VP Product role doesn’t so much change what you do. Rather it amplifies everything. This guide lets you know what to expect.
Liberating and terrifying in equal measure
[I Manage Products]
can we help you?
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PRODUCTHEAD is a newsletter for product people of all varieties, and is lovingly crafted from a freshly swept chimney.
Read more from Jock
The Practitioner's Guide To Product Management
by Jock Busuttil
“I wish this book was published when I started out in product management. It gives a really wonderful overview of what product management is and involves on a day to day basis.”
— Keji Adedeji, product leader & coach
Jock Busuttil is a product management and leadership coach, product leader and author. He has spent over two decades working with technology companies to improve their product management practices, from startups to multinationals. In 2012 Jock founded Product People Limited, which provides product management consultancy, coaching and training. Its clients include BBC, University of Cambridge, Ometria, Prolific and the UK’s Ministry of Justice and Government Digital Service (GDS). Jock holds a master’s degree in Classics from the University of Cambridge. He is the author of the popular book The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management, which was published in January 2015 by Grand Central Publishing in the US and Piatkus in the UK. He writes the blog I Manage Products and weekly product management newsletter PRODUCTHEAD. You can find him on Mastodon, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.