An analysis of the Product Management job market — Introduction Have a quick glance at many of the online job postings for product management positions. There are seemingly endless variations and inconsistencies, but it is possible to uncover the trends and realize the primary types of product management jobs with the proper understanding. This review provides a brief analysis of…

A review of the four distinct schools of thought that have emerged in product management — Introduction This review outlines the four distinct schools of thought that have emerged in product management. CEO of the Product The Generalization approach to product management views product management as multidisciplinary and multifaceted and responsible for nearly anything and everything related to the product.

An account of the 1993 Fairford incident and a classic example of enduring product management — Introduction On the evening of July 24, 1993, Michael Buerk, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) television newsreader on assignment laconically reported: “Two Russian jets have crashed at an air display in Gloucester. The single-seat MiG-29 fighters collided in front of a crowd of a quarter of a million people at Fairford…

The state of product management in the next calendar year — Introduction Product management has come a long way in the last decade, but there have been many setbacks. There is more interest and awareness in product management than ever before. But the product world has also become an increasingly chaotic domain. There are many human and commercial motivations at play, influencing…

A manifesto for product management, reflecting the Blackblot PMTK Methodology™ core values and principles. — PMTK Product Management Concepts Product Management — “Market-focused corporate activity that uncovers potentially profitable market problems and communicates them in the proper format to the company’s product developers who then specify and build solutions to those problems.” Product Manager — “Market expert who seeks potentially profitable market problems and describes them to product developers.”

A review of team models in business and their application. — Introduction This review explores the background and use of different team models in business and their applications. Organizational Restructuring Business executives are always looking for better ways to improve how their companies are managed in an effort to achieve business objectives. One way is company organizational restructuring, aka company reorganizations or “reorg”.

A compatibility review of PMTK® and Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS®) — Introduction This review explores the compatibility of the Blackblot Product Manager’s Toolkit® (PMTK), a market-driven product management methodology, with the product management function in Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS®), a software development method. LeSS Background LeSS originated in 2005 and emerged out of work by Craig Larman and Bas Vodde at Nokia Siemens Networks to…

A compatibility review of PMTK® and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) — Introduction This review explores the compatibility of the Blackblot Product Manager’s Toolkit® (PMTK), a market-driven product management methodology, with the product management function in Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®). SAFe Background Dean Leffingwell is the author of several books on Agile and requirements management and is the original creator of SAFe.

A compatibility review of PMTK and Scrum — Introduction This review explores the compatibility of the Blackblot Product Manager’s Toolkit® (PMTK), a market-driven product management methodology, with Scrum, a software development method. Scrum Background Scrum is a term that originates from Rugby football, a competitive team game and a contact sport that originated in England circa 1845. The term Scrum was…