http://www.darryl.net/w The Impact of Product Management Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:55:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en There are many ways to warn customers about issues with your product. "Known Bugs" for software, age recommendations for kids toys, or "uncommon side effects" for drugs. All are designed to minimized concern for the unaffected majority, while providing key information for the affected minority. This warning: "SEE NEW ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2010/08/11/warning-labels-on-your-product/ I was chatting with my friend Chris Harrick a few weekends ago about B2B vs. B2C. He has been working at SugarCRM for a while (B2B) while I was at PlayFirst (B2C) before joining RightScale (B2B). He had a few good B2B tips from his experience there, but ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2009/10/07/the-most-recent-customer-effect/ Camping July 4 2009 - Calaveras Originally uploaded by Remedii. "Daddy - when do I get to roast marshmallows over the fire like the big boys? This baby yogurt is getting old." http://www.darryl.net/w/2009/07/09/camping-july-4-2009-big-trees/ Our new CEO at PlayFirst recently introduced a concept that I'll keep in my swiss army knife of product tools: the start/stop list. Basically, you and others in the organization write down projects you would like to stop and other things you would like to start doing. Then you compare ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2009/06/26/using-start-stop-list-keep-your-product-from-becoming-stupid/ Dear technology-inclined humans, With the advent of technologies like RightScale and Amazon's EC2, system administrators should really care less where their machines are located. They should put a few "servers" on the west coast, a few on the east coast, and hey, why not Europe? So here's my request: please place all ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2009/05/16/carbon-neutral-data-centers/ In reading that Citibank needs an extra $10 Bil in this weekend's WSJ, I was reminded of the power of switching costs. It occurred to me that I would rather stay with the bank through some government takeover than to try to extract myself from the web of ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2009/05/03/better-products-more-powerful-switching-costs/ Recently, I've noticed how often my Apple iPhone decides not to ring, but merely notifies me that I have new voicemail. There I am on a busy sidewalk, waiting for a call that I know is coming, holding my cellphone in the air while a passerby gives me one of ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2009/05/01/turn-a-bug-into-a-feature-iphone-straight-to-voicemail/ Edge cases are typically deprioritized by product managers - there is usually little gain for the amount of work necessary to meticulously handle every case. After all, that's what customer service is for: to hold the hand of the customer through those dark times when software is not responding. ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2008/08/13/exceptions-are-the-pain-not-the-rule/ I was driving to work this morning and talking on the phone. A pretty regular occurrence. Another pretty regular occurrence for me: Cingular's network dropping my call. In my opinion, Sprint dropped my call far less than Cingular. So how can Cingular's tag line be "fewest ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2007/11/14/can-your-product-back-up-your-marketing/ This GigaOM show with Max Levchin (founder of Slide) has some good insights on why this Facebook app boom will continue for some time. A few key points I'd like to elaborate on: Other networks will open up their platforms. Both MySpace and LinkedIn have indicated they will open their platforms. ... http://www.darryl.net/w/2007/10/25/why-facebook-cant-shut-down-100-ad-revenue-for-app-developers/