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Rian van der Merwe

4.3K Followers

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Dec 2, 2022

So where should we post now?

Re-evaluating where we spend our time online. — I’m sure I am not the only one who is currently re-evaluating where I spend my time online. Two tangentially related articles gave me lots of food for thought on this topic over the past couple of weeks. …

3 min read

So where should we post now?
So where should we post now?

3 min read


Published in Elezea

·Jul 31, 2019

Don’t get customers hooked, focus on healthy retention instead

I’m getting increasingly nervous about the ongoing emphasis on getting users “hooked”, which is taking the product world by storm. …

Product Management

3 min read

Don’t get customers hooked, focus on healthy retention instead
Don’t get customers hooked, focus on healthy retention instead
Product Management

3 min read


Published in Elezea

·Jul 9, 2019

Prioritization, product stewardship, and the hardest part about being a product manager

I used to believe that the hardest part about being a product manager is effective prioritization. I don’t think that’s true any more. I now believe the hardest part about being a PM is this: There is no way to shorten the time and dedication it takes to become your…

Product Management

4 min read

Prioritization, product stewardship, and the hardest part about being a product manager
Prioritization, product stewardship, and the hardest part about being a product manager
Product Management

4 min read


Published in Elezea

·Apr 29, 2019

Why it’s not a good idea to define a fixed project scope

There are too many unknowns, too many variables, and too many things can change along the way. — There are some decent day-to-day work tips in Sierra Newell’s 7 Project Management Principles Product Managers Can Learn From. There’s one principle I wanted to expand on, and that’s “Define the scope and stick to it”. First, from the post: Product managers should set the scope of their products’ development…

Product Management

3 min read

Why it’s not a good idea to define a fixed project scope
Why it’s not a good idea to define a fixed project scope
Product Management

3 min read


Published in Elezea

·Apr 21, 2019

Product specifications: our template and process

A follow-up post to share our product spec template and explain our process in more detail. — My previous article on the dangerous rise of “crazy-busy” product managers generated quite a bit of feedback. One part of the article that was a bit of a throwaway, but became a focus of many of the questions I received, is on the way we have our team leads work…

Product Management

4 min read

Product specifications: our template and process
Product specifications: our template and process
Product Management

4 min read


Apr 13, 2019

There is no silence

A story about living with tinnitus, and how to cope. — Tinnitus is such a hard thing to explain. Describing what it is is simple enough. Most people have experienced “the sensation of hearing sound when no external sound is present.” …

Health

4 min read

There is no silence
There is no silence
Health

4 min read


Published in Elezea

·Apr 12, 2019

The dangerous rise of “crazy-busy” product managers

It’s time to talk about how “crazy-busy PM” thinking is harmful to individuals and our industry. — Over the past few months I have become fascinated by what I like to call “crazy-busy PM” thinking in the product management world. I’m sure you’ve seen a few tweets or articles about this yourself, but here’s a small sample, all from fairly big voices/blogs in the industry. From 15…

Product Management

6 min read

The dangerous rise of “crazy-busy” product managers
The dangerous rise of “crazy-busy” product managers
Product Management

6 min read


Published in Elezea

·Mar 14, 2019

How to make “product principles” more useful

There’s an interesting discussion going on in the Elezea Community about “Product Principles”. What they are for, when you need them, how they can be made more useful, etc. …

Strategy

2 min read

How to make “product principles” more useful
How to make “product principles” more useful
Strategy

2 min read


Published in Elezea

·Feb 26, 2019

What I look for in product management software

I’ve had this vague sense for a while that I need to dig into the product management software space a lot more. So on Friday I just did it — I signed up for a bunch of accounts and started playing around. …

Product Management

3 min read

What I look for in product management software
What I look for in product management software
Product Management

3 min read


Published in Elezea

·Feb 5, 2019

Product management doesn’t require in-person collaboration to be effective

Remote product management is something I’ve written about before, so I read Julie Caprio’s Four Keys to Successful Remote Product Management with interest. In general I agree with the advice she gives in the article, but there is one section that I wanted to respond to briefly: Product management, on…

Remote Working

2 min read

Product management doesn’t require in-person collaboration to be effective
Product management doesn’t require in-person collaboration to be effective
Remote Working

2 min read

Rian van der Merwe

Rian van der Merwe

4.3K Followers

Business & product leader, constant learner, and music fanatic.

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