PRODUCTHEAD
PRODUCTHEAD is my free curated newsletter of the best articles, videos and podcasts from product leaders and commentators all over the world. All neatly packaged up in a weekly email delivery for your reading, viewing and listening pleasure.
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Recent editions
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» Humility and authenticity go a long way in building trust » It is hard both to share data when expected, and to do so in a way that is trustworthy and acceptable to the public » “Nobody ever read a simple sentence and thought ‘well, that was too easy to understand.’” » With care it is possible to create valuable products with user data while maintaining trustworthiness
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» Create space for your engineering team, understand the ebbs and flows of work, and help them to avoid burn-out » Work to understand the technical complexities facing the engineering team » Engineers typically focus on a small number of large tasks » Product and engineering overlap: clarify who does what
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» Encourage continual scrutiny of your product’s central flaws — talk openly about the elephants in the room » Cognitive biases lead us away from rational thought and objective truth » Research and evidence help us to neutralise biases
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» A common language about research is vital for building a team’s capability » Customers are only reliable sources about their own experiences » The way we think about product is determined by the language we use
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» Focus helps to reduce cognitive load without losing sight of the underlying complexity — it is different to simplifying » The challenge of simplifying a complex legal process was to find simpler language that didn’t sacrifice essential points of law
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» Work continues after the project ends — plan for the ongoing support of your product » A support team deals with user queries, incidents and ongoing improvement of the product » Great user support is an expectation, not a nice-to-have » Feedback from user support can identify areas of product improvement
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» Treating symptoms may provide short-term relief but does not alter the status quo » Root cause analysis helps us to systematically prevent future issues or to repeat successes » Impact maps help to connect what we choose to build and why we choose to build it
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» In case you missed it: recap of the communication toolkit
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» To earn trust you need people to know what you’ve achieved » Weeknotes are a way to work in the open, reflect and attain a sense of achievement » Being trusted makes it easier for you to carve out the space your team needs to succeed
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» Celsys are going to start charging for software updates to their popular Clip Studio Paint product » The way Celsys communicated this to their users caused outrage — some of which was justified » Fog Creek found themselves trying to monetise their viral product Trello, which it had promised would be free forever » Fog Creek had first mover advantage on an easily copied product, which it exploited by a timely sale to Atlassian
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» In solving their own internal scaling problem, Amazon inadvertently created the building blocks for the AWS platform » Stripe’s founders didn’t shy away from tackling an unattractively difficult problem » Platforms connect different sides of a market, even if they have dramatically different needs and capabilities » Twilio’s founder prioritised the developers who’d implement his API, not the managers who’d pay for it
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» Every other team is allowed to be uncertain about the future — so should product » There are different types of question for strategy, opportunities and interventions » Avoid investments that are neither defense nor offense » What people say and how they really feel can often vary
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» Your users must value your product more than it would cost them to switch » An end-of-life policy sets out the process you will use to retire products for customers » Think about your users and customers’ technical and economic issues first » Retiring a product gracefully means making a plan
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» People more easily accept they’re not seeing the whole picture than being told they’re wrong » Don’t make people feel bad about their beliefs — be kind and connect with them » Research shows that we interpret words like “we believe” with differing confidence levels » There is often a lack of discipline when it comes to talking about uncertainty
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» Use empathy to appreciate the context, needs and pain points of your stakeholders » Understanding people’s social style helps you influence stakeholders more effectively » You can use different modes of persuasion to craft a more compelling argument » Picking the right time to make your point can amplify your persuasiveness
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» Each customer has their own unique journey to and through your product » Conversion funnel analysis with bar charts is a conscious choice to maximise precision over accuracy » Cart abandonment is an opportunity to engage with your users » Conversion rate is a quantitative springboard to qualitative insights
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» Story structure and the right content give your presenting more impact » Try to create presentations that captivate, not subdue » A perception audit helps narrow the gap between how you perceive yourself and how others see you » Good breathing technique when speaking both calms you and produces a better sound
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» A mind map is helpful for noting non-linear information » The Cornell note-taking method can be useful for learning » Sketchnotes allow more effective visual communication
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» What you write online is there to serve the users’ needs » Writing for the web = using short sentences » People read differently on the web than they do on paper » Tools exist to help make your writing easier to understand
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» Read a format that suits you best, whether physical or digital » As you read, ask yourself questions of the content to keep yourself engaged with it » Analytical reading allows you to understand, then accept or reject the key idea being presented » F-shaped reading occurs on web content because people are short on time or engagement