With customer interactions and needs changing constantly and rapidly, to be successful it has become essential that product managers and product marketing managers embrace “agile” in everything they do.
By Agile, we mean that we must continually define, implement and validate throughout the product lifecycle.
Just as in agile software development, with agile collaboration, we embrace and apply the same principles and techniques to each step of our work–from innovation to management to end of life.
In an Agile Framework, it is imperative to develop a deep understanding of what creates value for customers. Then focus on developing and delivering the value in a small time bound increments. The last step is to then validate and change course if necessary to continue to add value.
Key to Agile
The key to Agile is to quickly conceive your product and refine your plan. Then validate, launch and market your product and then do it again.
Iteration is key. If something is off, you redefine and implement over again–quickly.
As opposed to the traditional waterfall method, the “agile process” is literally about being agile. It’s about creating a plan based on available information quickly and effectively. It’s about being flexible to alter and adopt the plan as you work out the details. It’s about avoiding the analysis paralysis trap that plagues so many organizations–large and small.
However, it is NOT the popular “Read, Fire then Aim” so popular with some venture capitalists and angel investors. That approach, in my experience, helps lead the way to product failure.
The Spice Catalyst Product Life Cycle framework is based upon a customer-centric, ongoing collaboration with your customers–Creating what we call Insanely Great Customers.
The image above is the high-level view of the framework. In my coming blogs, I will go into detail about each of the elements depicted.
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David Fradin
David Fradin has trained thousands of managers throughout the world in the successful management of products.
With over 47 years of experience across major companies, 75+ products and services and 11 startups, he infuses his workshops with insights gained as an expert product leader, product manager and product marketing manager at companies like Apple and HP.
He was classically trained as an HP Product Manager and was then recruited by Apple to bring the first hard disk drive on a PC to market. As a result of his leadership and management skills, Apple promoted him first to Apple /// Group Product Manager and later Business Unit Manager at the same organizational level at that time as Steve Jobs.
He recently authored “Building Insanely Great Products: Some Products Fail, Many Succeed…This is their Story” Lessons from 47 years of experience including Hewlett-Packard, Apple, 75 products, and 11 startups later. Go to: Amazon Store
Also. "Organizing and Managing Insanely Great Products" and "Marketing Insanely Great Products."
His workshops cover the founding values, vision, product lifecycle and management employed by Apple at its start and which it subscribes to today. You can learn more about his workshops at Spice Catalyst Workshops
From Wiley and Sons, is a 796 page, university-level textbooks entitled: "Successful Product Design and Management Toolkit" covering keys to product success, product market strategy, marketing, soft skills, user experience, user interface, product engineering, and product support.
What students will learn in the workshops, online courses and books are cover what has made Apple the most valuable company in the world today. Go to David Fradin @ Youcanbook to schedule a time to talk.
David on Building Great Products, AI and Tech Shifts
By David Fradin |
Untold Stories From the Early Days of Apple Computer
By David Fradin |
Product Success Issues: Uses of Artificial Intelligence in Product Success Management
By David Fradin |
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