ProductCamp SG #1 - Lean in Product Management

Presented at ProductCamp Singapore #1
Conversations driven so slides would only provide half the story
Sharing my experience with Lean thinking in two different organisations at iProperty (250+ people) & bellabox (20 people)

Great to hear feedback from participants in unconference sessions

Transcript

1. Lean in
   Product Management
   Presented at ProductCamp Singapore
   Saturday 28th September 2013
   Michael Ong @michaelon9
   

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2. @michaelon9
   I believe “change is the only constant”
   • 1999 - Freelance Web Design /
   Development leading to web hosting for
   SMEs
   • 2002 - Research & Development - A
   Robust Rule-based Event Management
   System for Call Data Records
   - Société Générale
   • 2003 - Network Engineer
   - NEC Solutions
   • 2004 - Full-Stack development
   - Palm & Windows Mobile
   - K.C. Dat, Nippon Express, Air Asia ,
   Singapore Zoo, Jurong Birdpark, Changi
   Airport Terminal 1 & 2, M1, Mapletree ...
   • 2005-2007 - Business Process Consulting
   - VISA International
   - Robert Bosch SEA
   • 2008 - Took a break in EVE Online
   - Internet Spaceships is serious business
   • 2009 - Portal Development
   - ST701, SPH, Online Classifieds
   • 2010 - Scrum Master
   - iProperty Singapore
   • 2012 - Mobile & UX Lead
   - iProperty Group
   • 2013 - Senior Product Manager
   - bellabox Australia & Singapore
   

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3. Before we begin, what type
   of organisation are you in?
   http://www.product-arts.com/resourcemain/articlemenu/1246-company-evolution-a-
   the-organizational-life-cycle
   

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4. Let’s define:
   what is ?
   • Maximize customer value while minimizing waste
   • Focus on Purpose, Process, People
   • What customer problems are we trying to solve?
   • What process do we use to ensure we solve the
   customer problems?
   • Who are the people actively engaged in the process of
   solving customer problems?
   http://www.lean.org/whatslean
   http://technorati.com/business/article/lean-saves-hospital-nearly-50-million//
   

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5. and ...
   What is Product Management?
   • The role of product management
   is to define, develop, deploy
   and maintain products that:
   • Provide more value than the
   competition
   • Help build a sustainable
   competitive advantage
   • Deliver financial benefit to
   the business
   http://www.slideshare.net/brainmates/what-is-product-management-4905498
   http://www.mindtheproduct.com/2011/10/what-exactly-is-a-product-manager/
   it’s hard to do product management well!
   

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6. If Lean aims to reduce Waste?
   Does this mean we can ditch
   requirements documents?!
   • First we need to understand why are
   requirements needed?
   • Requirements however often
   • Miss market & business drivers
   • Focus on features, NOT on Users
   accomplishing goals
   • Miss or having poorly defined
   Quality or Constraints of a
   product
   • Lack Market Validation
   http://smallbusiness.chron.com/shredder-technology-53301.html
   

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7. How does being Agile fit into the picture?
   http://agilemanifesto.org
   http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f48/characteristics-of-the-perfect-cat-85361-4.html
   Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
   Working software over comprehensive documentation
   Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
   Responding to change over following a plan
   

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8. Wait! What about UX?
   Let’s talk about Lean UX instead
   • Lean UX breaks the stalemate
   between the speed of Agile
   and the need for design in the
   product-development lifecycle
   • Foundations of Lean Startup,
   Design Thinking & Agile
   • It aims to bring the true
   nature of a product to light
   faster
   http://www.kickerstudio.com/2008/12/the-disciplines-of-user-experience/
   

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9. So how do we measure
   all this? Lean Analytics
   • Lean is a great way to build a business, but don’t
   forget to close the loop
   • Measure & Learn with the right metrics
   • A good metric is comparative, understandable, a
   ratio or a rate
   • A good metric changes the way you behave
   

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10. Putting it all together:
    Lean in Product Management
    This perhaps
    the most
    important
    

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11. Remember,
    it’s all about the Flow
    • Queues are the root cause of problems
    • Limit WIP (Associated usually with Kanban)
    • Large queues delay the feedback cycle -
    shorten it! (Scrum sprints are great for
    this)
    • Visible work product
    - increases communication and feedback
    http://blog.jackvinson.com/archives/2010/10/25/flow_in_product_development.html
    

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12. How do I get started?
    • Ask yourself, what does
    it take for Lean to
    become part of your
    company’s culture
    • Thinking Lean is not
    that obvious, it is a total
    perspective
    http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/CommonLeanQuestions.cfm
    http://www.knowlton.org.uk/index.php?id=23
    

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13. What to watch out for
    • Lean is not a tool for headcount reduction
    or mindless cost-cutting
    • Don’t forget the “why” of lean tools
    • Lean is difficult when beginning for the first
    time, limit the scope of your initial project
    • You will uncover new problems and greater
    challenges through this process, never relax
    in your efforts
    http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/CommonLeanQuestions.cfm
    

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14. Lean Tools I’m using
    

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16. Let’s share:
    What’s your experience with Lean in
    Product Management?
    http://www.mindtheproduct.com/2013/09/validate-or-die-using-validation-to-build-the-
    right-product/
    

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17. Take action:
    How do you think you can apply Lean
    Thinking to your area of work?
    http://www.mindtheproduct.com/2011/09/being-a-lean-product-manager/
    http://www.symbolbv.com/en/lean-manufacturing.html
    

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18. Great books to read
    

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19. Thank you
    Talk to @michaelon9 about Agile, Scrum, Lean UX, Mobile and better Products
    http://goodmoneying.com/financial-planning/are-you-working-towards-your-financial-freedom
    

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