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Go Social! it’s the next thing for your… [fill blank here]

November 19, 2011 by Uri Gilad

Social netoworks

A few social networks

Do you have a social strategy for your product?

“The world is becoming more social!” “users want to interact with peers!” “it’s the new age of web 2.o!” – if these topics have been circulating the watercooler, beware.

Before jumping in and adding that “person” entity, implementing a “feed”, allowing people to put each other in “circles” and post on “walls” – lets pause for a sec:

There is only one Facebook, there is only one twitter, and one shubiduba (or whatever the next thing will be). You can aspire to  become the next social app: but keep in mind that is a goal in itself. If your goal is a new level of engagement or attracting more users – lets consider. We have quite enough of “social” apps, and you don’t have to take my word for it – others say it better.

Consider first what you want to accomplish – usually it is not taking ownership of the users social graph. Quite likely, the user will not be very agreeable to importing it to your site without significant motivation. Case in point – Apple iTunes Ping - not a huge success..

Better discoverability, however, has a lower threshold and can be accomplished by tying into the user’s existing Facebook, twitter, google+, yammer or whatever other social apps. That way, users will win (getting the feedback of their peers) and you will gain access to the social graph, without needing to enter the battle to own it.

Ratings and comments on user content can also be accomplished either as an integration or internally – consider the pros and cons of either. Owning “comments” has the implication of jailing the commenters to your site – you may want this the other way around – publishing content to outsiders – allowing outsiders a sneak peek - and a subscribe button.

So before you jump ahead and develop your own feed – consider integrating with the assets the user already has, even if they are owned by external parties.

Posted in Not so silly features, Practical product management, product management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

When to takeoff with a new product

November 11, 2011 by Uri Gilad

The Endeavor Lifts Off

This post is instigated by Adobe discontinuing mobile Flash. With this move, Adobe did one of the bravest, most difficult moves a company can do: venturing away from a safe market and into an uncharted future. It is also clear this move affects every one - it will dictate how video and all other rich content will be consumed on the mobile web.

There are many reasons why flash failed, and many opportunities going forward with new technology. Lets focus on the innate conflict  relevant in other cases as well: the break with backward compatibility and an existing customer base in order to move forward with a new technology.

One of the issues faced by Adobe was the fact that there were many Flash Players in the wild, and Adobe had to maintain backward compatibility. In my mind, this held them up from offering new technologies  (e.g. GPU access) to all platforms, and that held the platform back.

When looking at a mature product, with a large installed base, and deciding on new features, you have to keep the same lesson learned in mind: “do I make another ‘add-on’ to my product, or is it time to break away and consider something new”. For example:

  • Do you really need the mobile version to offer the same functionality as the desktop version? are these the same use cases?
  • Do users consume content the same way on phones, tables, PCs and television? is it a “one app to rule them all” game, or is it a different flavor for each platform?
  • Do different verticals need the same UI/UX, or does each of your verticals care about different aspects, maybe offer different products to them, maybe even integrate with their existing platform, and not force them to learn a new paradigm
Each of these strategic questions will dictate how your product would look going forward, so take care to ponder them. There is no single answer to these questions, but keeping them in mind, and knowing when to break away and begin something new, will keep you honest, focused and away from maintaining a product so complex and monolithic it is indecipherable even to power users.

Posted in Practical product management, product management | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

The hidden costs of the installer package

October 8, 2011 by Uri Gilad

Server Rack by Kusumsiri, on Flickr

Server Rack by Kusumsiri, on Flickr

So you have a successful SaaS business, and you come across that first customer who has a unique security need, demanding an “On Premise” version of your product. Before you start off that path, a few important things to consider:

You may say that today’s world is shifting towards SaaS, and you may point at SalesForce.com as the flag bearer, saying that if companies trust the cloud with sensitive data such as their leads, contracts and customer database, that On Premise is a thing of the past. Well, surprisingly, even the mighty SalesForce maintains an On Premise version (and they seem unhappy about the cost).

Having an On-Premise solution is much more than the sum of the parts: Sure, you can package the software today running in your datacenter, slap on an installer, and you are done. Or are you really?

A few of my past companies were “pure” On Premise companies, in the security area. I recall how the person in charge of hotfixes in Check Point is allowed to bring the entire R&D to a halt for when an urgent security-related patch for a release dated three years back is needed. In fact, every R&D plan included time allotted to developing cumulative hot fixes. The organization dedicated to packaging these (apart from the usual R&D) was sizable, and included dedicated QA.

Each instance of that On Premise package actually incurs debt. Debt in the form of customers expecting upgrades. Most SaaS companies update their software very frequently, but those updates are different from the world of On Premise customers. Consider cumulative patches, support for several past major releases, zero-downtime upgrades, monitoring and administration, training for support personnel – these imply a huge investment in creating operations and R&D organizations.

On thing that worked well for many companies is the appliance idea. Most software began as an installer package. Packaging in a big beige (or black) box actually works better, since you can control the entire configuration of the machine, including RAM/Disk/Motherboard and even the make of the network interfaces – avoiding driver hell. Nowadays, with the virtual appliance, there is no need to support a complex shipping operation.

So, what to do?

  • Make sure that customers have an inventive to buy the SaaS package. Pricing is everything.
  • Communicate the expected upgrade/patch cycle.
  • Communicate the investment the customer must make in terms of manpower to support the shiny new server(s) in their data center. You can charge for “support services” but remember to require remote access.
  • Work as hard as possible on a standard package, preferably an appliance. Having a standard solution means standardized upgrades, easier installations and less overhead.
  • Remember the hidden costs, prepare for them and build the proper organizations to properly bear these costs.
Finally, continue investing in those features that allow customers to opt-in to SaaS. For example, hybrid solutions working partly in the cloud and on premise. Narrowing down on these, and eliminating customer resistance, will make sure the future remains, well, cloudy.

Posted in Practical product management, product management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The product owner

September 25, 2011 by Uri Gilad

Many publications about product management mention the concept that “the product manager is the CEO for the product” – but what does that mean, in practical terms?

Product Owner

Product Owner

For many organizations, most especially ones that are project driven, or just any company with customers ;-)    – the product manager becomes the epicenter for many decisions regarding the product, much like the CEO with regards to decisions at the company level. The product manager assumes all responsibility for feature completeness (and sometimes, timely delivery) and often has to struggle for funding (R&D time) sales (getting management to agree on a feature) – much like a CEO.

Much like “feature ownership” described by my good friend Ophir, ownership implies passion, excitement and a burning desire to make sure all ends are met. What I want, nay – need, from a product manager is that glint in the eye when he speaks about the product, that detailed understanding that comes only from intimate knowledge and keeping in mind, against the odds (external influences such as customers, time constraints) all those little bits that make a product complete.

How do you foster ownership in a product team member?

First, cater to their interest – entitle the product manager with not only the responsibility but the authority to make these decisions. Make sure that the product manager is never surprised – no requirements should pass from the business to the  developers without the PM being aware. Further, the PM should be able to suggest to company executives as well as customers to wait for a different release, or a different solution. Empowering is the side of responsibility that makes it stick – you don’t want someone to blame, you want someone to take ownership. Make sure the product manager is able to define the roadmap (in line with the guidelines set by the business).

Getting good product owners, means having someone in the company whose entire focus is the product – making it whole and not just a set of requested features. How many of these are there in the company – truly?

Tune in for my next post – how product ownership drives innovation

Posted in Management, product management, team building | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

Is Facebook in “coding hell”? – when to rewrite your code from scratch

July 14, 2011 by Uri Gilad

Stupid Computer!!!

It happens constantly, all over the world. An application is out there, usually making money, with an unassuming roadmap of features. Suddenly, there's a commotion in the engineering dept. A dev rushes in: "the code is useless! we can't find our way in this spaghetti soup! we need to rewrite!"

It’s a constant temptation, in software, to rewrite from scratch. The empty screen of the IDE calls out for every creative person. However, is it always worth it?

I recently read a provocative article on gigaom, where the same sensationalist claims are repeated: “Facebook trapped in MySQL ‘fate worse than death’” etc. etc. In reality, it seems Facebook is happy to support mysql, enhance it for their needs, and even maintain an open knowledge base of their experiences. If they can reach 750 Million subscribers, I guess that the application is very (very!) robust.

The key thing, that most people forget when coming to recode, is that the “spaghetti” is usually chock full of hard lessons learned: edge cases, weird configurations, support for some specific customer deals, etc. Removing those (and no, they will never be documented well) will cost those hard-earned lessons – which will have to be relearned.

There are, on the other side, good things to be said about re-coding once the requirements is clearer, but bear in mind that careful documentation of the existing assests is mandatory. And maybe, just maybe – proceed with caution? baby steps.. refactor only specific modules, and always, always, contain the scope of the project.

Posted in Management, Practical product management | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

The iPhone box – or why packaging is so important to product management

June 11, 2011 by Uri Gilad

Whether you love it or not, the apple iPhone is a device where a lot of thought went into design. Including packaging:

Packaging for the iPhone 4 - an epitome of attention to detail

Packaging for the iPhone 4

This is why, when I got the device, I was surprised at the way the (forever nameless, unless you have sharp eyesight) telco decided to package it:

iPhone 4 box, you're not doing it right

iPhone 4 box, you're not doing it right

Starting by covering the image of the product itself with a radiation and roaming charges warning (4) through covering the apple logo with a bar-code label, applying an unnecessary sticker to keep the box shut(2) and topping it all off with a scary RFID sticker shaped like an orange eye with a foreboding dark pupil(1).

Apple will probably spank these folk, but the point is more general and applies to your product management efforts: When launching any kind of product, make sure to give thought to packaging.

In software products, this means that not only the downloadable should be there, but also consider what happens after download: the instructions, the support methods, the quick start guide – the works. Make sure customers know the benefits if it is an upgrade, and how to get access to those benefits.

In SaaS, make sure to communicate new capabilities not just by email, but by visibly highlighting the change. Some people will figure it out, but you want them to actually use your product. Moreover, you want them to use it right.

Examples to doing this right are abundant, I find the best practices are:

  • Making the installation part painless (a non-issue in SaaS) – this includes not only having a downloadable, but providing a downloader for big packages, or maybe an Amazon AMI, if relevant.
  • Highlighting the new stuff : a what’s new pop-up is always nice, actually providing some animation to instruct people along is even cooler.
  • Monitoring afterwards – make sure people actually use the capabilities, and if not, try to understand why.
As for me – the wife is happy with the new toy and I am using the best in breed smartphone available today :)

Posted in Practical product management, product management | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Make sure there’s a sign clearly marked “Exit”

May 27, 2011 by Uri Gilad

Exit-via-Entrance-Poor-Signage-at-Singapore-Biennale-Old-Kallang-Airport

Most places have clear regulations about how and where exit signs should be posted.(and apparently, there’s a company for that, too). The same should apply to your SaaS subscribers: you should not be vague about how people can unsubscribe.

Hubris aside, some people will pay for a term, and then decide the subscription is not for them. For those people, be kind and clearly mark the way to gracefully depart. It makes sense and is good business to be fair and treat your customers with respect by allowing them to painlessly unsubscribe. This should be, of course, governed by easy to understand terms. For example, you pay in advance for one month, cancelling before the month is out incurs the full charge, and you can use the service until the month ends.

Case in point: LinkedIn.

Now, I love LinkedIn, they really nailed down how to make social networks useful and nicely monetized it. I am also an avid user.

I recently subscribed to a premium account. After a month, I decided to revert back to my free subscription. So, I headed over to the account settings:

Uri Gilad LinkedIn settings

Uri Gilad LinkedIn settings

Can you spot the unsubscribe button? There’s a golden “upgrade button”, which is fine, but no unsubscribe. After reading the entire page (lots of text!) I found the close your account link. I don’t want to close my account, and I was leery of clicking that link – but I went ahead anyway. Apparently, this takes you to a place where you can email LinkedIn support requesting to revert back to basic. They promised a 24-hour turnout and within 7 hours my account was reverted.

But still, do you really want your customers to go through all that angst?

My recommendation is to include that big, chunky, unsubscribe button in a visible place instead.

Posted in Silly Features | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Tools of the trade (and other software)

May 8, 2011 by Uri Gilad

Pictured: an old laptop

Pictured: an old laptop

I am currently relocating to a new PC, always a good opportunity to start fresh with software. Below is a list of the software I deem necessary for my everyday work and some recommendations.

It used to be that a refresh like this was required every once in a while (remember “reformatting your hard drive”?). With more sophisticated operating systems (Mac OS or Windows 7) and me being more careful to use virtualization for one-off software installs, it’s easier. These days,  I perform a refresh like this only when moving to a new computer.

Interesting conclusions from looking at my top 10 list below:

  • Microsoft Office still has no replacement. In a world where Mac, Linux and online solutions are gathering market share, it is somewhat surprising.
  • a new productivity item for me is Balsamiq mockups – a wonderful product from a great little company.
  • 8/10 are freeware. Seems like a victory for that business model.
  • In a world where people are talking about HTML5 as a standard, I still need three different browsers.

What’s on my list?

  • Balsamiq mockups for desktop: (commercial, $79) an invaluable Product Management tool: get UI mockups up and running in minutes, in enough detail to deliver your message to the development team, but not too much details to distract from the core meaning.
  • Screenpresso: (free) excellent for taking screenshots and highlighting the important parts.
  • Notepad++: (free) because, at the end of the day, we all look at configuration files/code-snippets/etc – we need that one editor that can handle it all and do comparisons/syntax highlighting, even if we don’t (read: shouldn’t) write code.
  • Microsoft office: Mainly word and excel(very expensive): unfortunately, even with the wide adoption of the excellent google docs (which have revolutionized collaboration, especially on spreadsheets), Microsoft office is still the most feature rich, widely accepted standard for creating and editing documents, and excel – with it’s pivot tables – it an invaluable data analysis tool. Microsoft have earned my respect with these.
  • paint.net: (free) a marvelous application which enables me to do most of what a PM needs to do in the field of screenshot manipulation, from resizing to recoloring to layers. Beyond this, your next stop is Photoshop.
  • virtualbox: (free) because you need a walled playground to test your applications, and it’s very useful to be able to return to a snapshot. VMware has been my friend so far, but virtualbox is free.
  • ccleaner: (free) PCs get filled with “leftovers” over time, ccleaner has proven very effective at reclaiming that free space.
  • The surprisingly old (free) deskpins product, combined with setting windows to “focus follows mouse“. This is a techie one, but it enables me to more efficiently use limited screen real estate to edit a document while viewing another document as well.
  • phrase express: (has a free version) a powerful text replacer, not only it fixes my typos (no matter what application I am on), it also has powerful macros.
  • Browser extensions (I don’t use IE): firebug – mainly to create web page mockups(but it has so much more), click and clean – to maintain my privacy.
  • 7zip: (free) – powerful compression utility, without the fuss.
Also: honorable mention goes to Sysinternals Suite, VLC, Picasa, HandBrake, MediaMonkey, and Dropbox.

Posted in Practical product management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Customers – who are these people?

May 4, 2011 by Uri Gilad

dockheads

I have talked about how to track customers, measure them and grade them.

But who are they?

You should strive to have, in a document, a description of the various people using your product. This document becomes invaluable when trying to spec out new capabilities in your product.

Commonly, customer personas are used to “allow the team to filter out personal quirks and focus on motivations and behaviors typical of a broad range of users, while still relating to users as individuals.” (source here). It is important to understand, even on the surface level, the type of person who will use your product, and derive from that what’s important for that person.

For instance: how technical are the customers of “feature A” ?

  • If they are tech-savvy sysadmins, they will appreciate functionality such as batch operations controlled by a .csv file.
  • But, if they are (random example based on truth :-) )graphic designer or rich content creators, they will be more appreciative functionality that is less techie and better designed for ease of use.
  • The busy users (executives..) will not want to spend time learning your product, and will push for a one page summary (or less :) )
A product (once it arrives at a certain level of complexity) will have multiple different roles accessing it. Invest the effort, build the personas, and use them to create different levels of access for your product. It will serve your users well. The examples above will benefit from content tailored to their needs. Keep in mind the questions similar to the following (and more, depending on the personas):
  • Are they tech-savvy users or just users?
  • Are they executives (interested in the bottom line) or  admins (interested in the line report)
  • Are they looking to use once, or are they accessing your product every day to do routine tasks?
Even a product already designed with multiple different roles accessing it, can have multiple different user levels (“simplified mode”, “expert mode”). Try and enjoy!

Posted in Practical product management, product management, product tools, understanding customers | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Your value to customers can be measured

April 23, 2011 by Uri Gilad

Measuring usage

When you first bring out a product into the world, you also have an assumption of how people would actually use it. Checking in on that assumption from time to time helps validate it. More importantly, it may expose new markets for your product.

Tracking the performance of your customers (as opposed to the performance of your product) is an interesting exercise:

  • It can reveal startling truths about how people use your product: for example, we found out that taking a snapshot in CloudShare ProPlus, for backup purposes, has it’s own value, beyond sharing an IT environment. Maybe there is a new product there?
  • It can reveal mis-used or under-utilized features, such as this great story about the twitter “reply” feature (disclaimer: that’s the first I heard about this feature as well).
  • It can be used to keep tabs on how usable your product is. Tracking how much time it takes a customer to get from “new account” to “sophisticated user” can speak volumes about your ability to keep your customers informed and communicate the value of your product.
LinkedIn has an interesting solution where they are very transparent about this process: Every new LinkedIn user has a box, on the top right of their profile editor, where LinkedIn explains where you are in the process of profile creation and what would get you to the next level faster.
LinkedIn profile completeness gauge

LinkedIn profile completeness gauge

P.S: This is not unique to LinkedIn.

The habit of measuring the success of your product by looking into how advanced users are in using it, and striving to improve in that area, can keep you focused on core value. Some features, which look really nice on a product brochure, are used by few customers, and should perhaps be outsourced or moved to maintenance mode.

Posted in Customer Feedback, Not so silly features, Practical product management, product management | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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