Is there a date when it is not cool to do this type of post anymore? I think I am well past it. Heck I even did a top 5 post this week too. I figure I am roughly a month behind schedule anyway, so it all passes as acceptable in my books.
To provide some historical context to this post, here is a link to my 2008 predictions and my declaration that 2009 would be the year of the product manager. I have been inconsistent with my blog post titles, but the gist was about the same.
This past year was an interesting year from my perspective. Here are some thoughts on why I think it was interesting.
Agile
Everyone is still talking about Agile and no one has a clue what to do with it. Quite frankly, I am tired of talking about Agile. That being said, it is a BIG problem in the industry today. To be fair to the product management people, your R&D teams have hi-jacked it to the point where it is barely recognizable as Agile any more and you are doomed. How was that for an in-your-face comment? I suggest you become familiar with the Agile smells and suggest they start taking up regular retrospectives to improve. Agile can work and is a good thing, if done properly. Please start to suggest that the teams get help. I know people if you need people.
Product Management Community
This is one of the things I am most proud of, as a regular contributor, promoter and evangelist of all things considered product management socials. First the ProductCamps were a huge success all over the world. Austin has hosted three, Amsterdam was the first outside of North America and we have 5 already scheduled for 2010. Next, the number of product management blogs has grown again with a few mainstays that continue to produce new and relevant content and a few newbies that are challenging the others to stay current and fresh. Lastly, Twitter. You know I am a big fan and this medium has single handedly exploded the amount of collaboration between like-minded product managers. It is so easy to reach out and connect with other product managers, ask questions, and share experiences. if you are not there yet, why not?
Product Management Potpourri
Is it just me or is life as a product manager about the same as it was 4 years ago? I have met 1000s of product managers in the past four years and it seemed they are struggling with the same problems in 2009 as they were in 2006. Will it just take more time to make it better? I am sure, since you are reading this, that you are in the top 20% of product managers that are engaged and trying to make it better. I suspect the remaining 80% are still working the same processes and doing the same things they were in the past. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure that most of those 80% love their job. Imagine how great it would be if you were actually doing the things they liked about the job – talking to Customers, roadmapping and general strategy work. I guess I thought some of the financial constraints over the past year would have accelerated the adoption of product management best practices.
That is the extent of my reflections for the past year. Overall, I think it was a positive year with the Agile push being positive (despite there being lots of room for improvement) and the product management community that has grown leaps and bounds. There are lots of positive movements that any product management team can grab a hold of one and build upon it.
On a positive note, I hope you appreciate the fact that I didn’t brand this the decade of the product manager (I know i did that last year, but a whole decade?) or declare a need for product management 3.0 principles or a need for Kanban Product Management.
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