Using references to talk to your prospects and endorse your software product can be the most effective way to close a sale and cut the length of the sales cycle. They reassure your prospect that his or her impending decision isn't too risky. For large purchases of business software, references are the equivalent of the ...
29Mar 2007
07002 The Four Phases of Implementation
In today's issue I'm going to write about something that is near and dear to my heart, something that I have found tremendously helpful working with customers to implement new software and working on my own and with teammates to make important things happen. It's a way to understand the psychological stages which you - ...
15Mar 2007
07001 Ten Myths About Software Requirements
Again and again, I see organizations struggle with requirements, that component of making software where the needs and desires for new and changed capabilities are defined and handed to Development to build into the product. The challenges stem from one or more important misconceptions about requirements. These misconceptions in turn prevent the team in various ...
15Dec 2006
06019 Pretty Please: A Product Manager’s Wish List
With the holiday season upon us, I can't help but think about what every Product Manager needs and wishes for in order to watch their product succeed and to flourish in their career. Watching your product succeed provides plenty of gratification, and the success of the product rubs off on the Product Manager. Such wishes as ...
01Dec 2006
06018 Lead By Example: Building Thought Leadership Into Your Product
Companies strive hard to create new software products that address an unfilled need in the market. When a product hits the mark, it enjoys success, and if it goes beyond innovative to transformational, it becomes an unqualified success. Just about every company and Product Manager hopes for such a product, one that brings in customer ...
03Nov 2006
06017 No Job Too Big: Cutting Your Job Down to Size
We've all heard of the "No job too small" attitude, where a person considers nothing beneath them or too trivial to tackle as part of getting their overall job accomplished. Well, it seems to me that Product Managers have to deal with a very different challenge, the "No job too big" issue, where it seems ...
20Oct 2006
06016 More Performance Anxiety: More About Performance
The previous article on Improving Product Performance must have hit home, because I received more responses to it than any other issue. This reinforces my belief that product performance is an area where there is very little guidance out there. Not only do developers struggle with performance and scalability, often flying blind, but it spills over ...
29Sep 2006
06015 Performance Anxiety: Improving Product Performance
One aspect of a software product which every company that develops software struggles with, all with very little outside guidance and standards for support, is product performance. A user's impression of how fast your product moves from screen to screen, how quickly it calls up lists of records, how seamlessly it performs tasks when you ...
30Jun 2006
06011 ROI and ROR: Return on Requirements (03039)
This article is a reprint of an oldie but goodie about Requirements. It will help you measure the expected return from Requirements so that you can reconcile competing needs and prioritize new capabilities for your product. Read 03039 ROI and ROR: Return on Requirements for ideas on how to prioritize requirements.
16Jun 2006
06010 Make Your Product Succeed: What Will It Take?
As a Product Manager, your scope of responsibilities calls upon you to get involved across the board in all aspects of the product. There's plenty of work to be done for product requirements, Marketing, Sales, Development, and Professional Services. In order to be effective as a Product Manager, you need to identify those areas in your ...