You can’t go anywhere these days without hearing about Agile software development. My colleagues at small start-ups and even enterprises like Yahoo! and PayPal are experimenting with it. Everyone’s doing it, but is it right for you?
Before we answer that question, let’s talk about Agile and where it came from. Agile was developed by 17 prominent members of the software development community as a response to “waterfall” methods that they considered heavyweight. The team established a four-point manifesto to guide a more lightweight, iterative and interactive process:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Does anyone really want to work on heavy documentation, planning cycles, etc.? Even the most Bell-shaped heads that I worked with at AT&T would tell you over a beer that they’d be happy to chuck it all if they could. And, everyone I worked with at any self-respecting start-up holds these values. But, you can’t shape your development process based on values alone. Read more…
Uncategorized
Agile, manifesto, principles, waterfall
Hi, I’m Jon Sonnenschein.
I’m a veteran product manager who’s worked on financial services, telecommunications and social media. My career’s been about helping people communicate, access entertainment and transact commerce. I’ve been part of the team at small innovative companies like PeopleClick and Jajah, and well-known enterprises like AT&T, Siemens and PayPal. I’m currently the Director of Product Marketing at Plaxo, a premier Social Network that’s part of the Comcast Interactive Media family.
I’ve been leading product management and cross-functional teams for over 13 years now. And, I’ve seen how many different firms use product management to get closer to their customers and drive their P&Ls. I’ve seen both the high points and low points of choices in firms of greatly varied sizes, centralized and decentralized operations, and widely varied values — from a focus on stability and quality to innovation at all costs.
Many firms are struggling with the role of product management and the refinement of their product development process. The consultant in me feels a need to share my perspective in this Blog. There are a broad base of topics I’d like to cover, and your input is valuable too. So, if there’s something you’d like to see, or a specific question you have, don’t hesitate to comment.
Thanks.
Jon
Uncategorized
Agile, me, product management
