PRODUCTHEAD: Ethical product management
PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
ok product
tl;dr
Product managers must understand the impact of their products on society as a whole
Now is the time to push for broader product management accountability
No company, individual or set of activities, yet provides a clear-cut example of ethical best practice
What we build must not be at the cost of another group’s needs
Nothing in traditional product training prepares you for making ethical decisions
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hello
I was interviewed by Paul Booth for a forthcoming episode of his forthcoming Product Stories podcast and we ended up talking about ethics in product management.
History provides us with plenty of tragic examples of the unintended consequences of poorly thought-out products or backfiring marketing campaigns.
As product managers, we make choices about the design, business model and marketing of our products. This means we’re responsible for the implications of those choices also.
So what can we do in practice to consider the consequences of our product, unintended or otherwise? To get you started, I’ve pulled together some helpful content on ethical product management.
Speak to you soon,
Jock
what to think about this week
Let’s Resolve to Create Humane Products
Fellow product managers and product leaders: have you ever had a moment when you’ve asked yourself, “am I really doing good with my product?”
Why don’t we ask ourselves a simple question when we create our products and services: are they humane?
[SCOTT COLFER / MIND THE PRODUCT]
Product Consequences and a Product Code of Ethics?
I’ve been thinking about tech products that are doing harm in the world – intentionally or otherwise. And whether a code of ethics or other agreement among product leaders/product managers would be helpful.
[RICH MIRONOV]
Product Management Coaching
Whether you’re new to product management or have been a product manager for years, a coaching session can help you to step up your career.
We’ve coached people wanting to get into product management, product people with nobody in their organisation to manage them, and experienced product managers preparing to apply for a promotion.
We can help you prepare for your product manager interview, including mock interviews.
A proportion of the fees from every coaching session is donated to charity. Just reply to this email if you’re interested in finding out more.
How To Make Ethical Choices When Developing Software
There are some questions about the practice of “ethical product development” that I’m asked all the time from folks actively working on products. For example, how do you define an “ethical” product? Or who should lead ethical product development? And, can you really make a difference from inside an organisation?
[PAVANI REDDY / MIND THE PRODUCT]
Human-Centered Products
Everybody is trying to create products that make people’s lives better. However, by simply focusing on metrics, rather than the humans behind them, we risk making bad decisions that have unintended consequences for people and society. Kim Goodwin elaborates in this video of her talk.
[KIM GOODWIN / MIND THE PRODUCT]
A Code of Ethics for Product Managers?
We’re all about getting things done. The right things done. But “right” means more than optimal, more than product-market fit or market share or profitability. Sometimes it’s the difference between right and wrong.
[PHIL WOLFF / PRODUCT HOSPICE]
recent posts
Good product management
New technologies have presented product managers with yet another new challenge to add to the growing list: how to create products that are not only successful but also ethical.
[I MANAGE PRODUCTS]
The product leader’s guide to interviewing
Because I tend to help organisations build up their product team from scratch, I’m often involved in the interviewing and hiring process, so I’d like to share with you my product leader’s guide to interviewing product managers.
Countering unconscious bias in recruiting
[I MANAGE PRODUCTS]
Mission to Mars
Imagine you’ve just been told that you’ll be a member of the team responsible for the first manned mission to Mars.
Now imagine someone asks you how much the mission’s going to cost. The whole thing. There and back. By close of business on Thursday.
[I MANAGE PRODUCTS]
The neverending quest for product-market fit
Often the biggest barrier to your product’s widespread adoption is going to be whether it reaches product-market fit early on. Even if you do, you’re wrong if you think you never need to worry about product-market fit again.
[I MANAGE PRODUCTS]
upcoming talks and events
5th May 2021, 16:00 GMT
Threads
Online product management round table discussion (topic TBC)
Tickets
can we help you?
Product People is a product management services company. We can help you through consultancy, training and coaching. Just contact us if you need our help!
Helping people build better products, more successfully, since 2012.
PRODUCTHEAD is a newsletter for product people of all varieties, and is lovingly crafted from unexpected wins.
Read more from Jock
The Practitioner's Guide To Product Management
by Jock Busuttil
“This is a great book for Product Managers or those considering a career in Product Management.”
— Lyndsay Denton
Jock Busuttil is a freelance head of product, product management coach 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, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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