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
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
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
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//
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!
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
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
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/
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
10. Putting it all together: Lean in Product Management This perhaps the most important
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
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
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
14. Lean Tools I’m using
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/
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
18. Great books to read
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