Some Observations
I was downtown tonight for a really cool Toronto Product Managers Association meeting and a gourmet dinner (McDonald’s), and I realized some things.
First, there is no open wireless anywhere in this city, save for the suckers that don’t turn on their WEP keys and broadcasting off. GO Transit has to get their ass in gear and provide wireless on their trains and buses. I would pay a premium (or monthly, whatever) to access it. Their market is prime for it too - tons of people with laptops.
Second, why (at the bus terminal) do they not have more of an advanced warning about where buses are going to be? You have to wait 10 mins prior to know. That means, if you haven’t taken a bus at a specific time before, you don’t know where to stand, and can get stuck in a crappy seat. I’d love it if they would post bus terminals as a constant. That way, the folks who want to be punctional get a better seat.
Hell, they already have a wireless notification system in place. If the terminal changes in advance, send out the warning.
Anyway - on my way home, and this is what I choose to type on my Blackberry. I do love taking the bus. Very quiet, and reminds me of going on field trips in high school.
So Late…
Funny things can happen when you stay up late — I am there right now — 4am, and still have work to do. I’m contemplating heading out to grab some food, but up here in the ‘burb’s there’s not much that’s open this late. Maybe a quick jaunt down our main street here will reveal what’s available. I don’t plan on much being available.
They always run the best Saturday Night Live episodes late at night. Pure jokes, and pure Kevin Nealon doing Weekend Update.
Documentation
Is there a need to write a lot of documentation when you are a Product Manager? Yes.
I don’t think I would know half of what I know about the product(s) I work with if I hadn’t generated 90% of the documentation library for it, and still do so today. I could see some PM’s losing that desire, and not want to get their hands dirty with something a technical writer or documentation department would handle. I say, screw that, and get in there.
At the end of the day, you need to be an expert in the product, and my belief is that the best way to do that is to write the docs for it that clients and team members internally use day to day. First off, you learn. Second, you gain visibility with those folks relying on what you’re writing to perform their jobs effectively.
Regardless of how many PM jobs I hold throughout my career, I know 100% that I will always make it a point to write a large piece of the documentation for the company. Another important lesson that I’ve learned when it comes to writing all this content: make sure you know what types of docs you are writing, who they are for, where they fit in process, and communicate why they exist and how to use them effectively.
If you sit down and think about all of the knowledge a small business (nevermind an Enterprise) generates in any given week, it will blow your mind.
My opinion? If you want to be a good Product Manager, make sure you can write the docs, and talk about their value and why they exist. It’s really key, since a lot of folks look to you (or your team / group) to deliver all of the product information they will use to do their jobs. It’s all really cool when you think about it, even if writing documentation doesn’t feel all that cool.
Just a thought.
Why Do I Care About Numbers?
Why the hell do I care so much about how a product is numbered with each release? I have no idea. It’s been a point for me to make for almost a year — not a major one, but something I’ve brought up from time to time.
I suppose it all roots in the geekiness of me, and the need to make sure things are on their way to "completion" or "filling out". It’s not like it’s important, but I want to cement it here in blogging history, for I’ve found the standard way in which product releases are numbered. Anyone I work with will tell you, I’m a loser and if I mention numbering one more time, they will jump across their desk and kill me.
I feel the need to remind that I haven’t brought this up all that much — but I feel my numbering legacy will go on in company history for years to come. But, I’m completely delusional, and a product management geekus.
Major Versions
All major versions are the first number you see in the numbering schema. For the remainder of this post, I’m going to use "4.1.2.20060118a" as an example. The "4" is the major product version number.
Minor Versions
Each minor version released is the next number in the sequence. In our example, the "1" is what we’re discussing.
Maintenance
Every time a patch is released (every 1 month, or in Microsoft’s case, usually as they are required), this number is incremented. In our example, the "2" is what this refers to.
Build Number
The build number is simply the date of which the build that gets released to production was created. In our example, this is "20060118".
Hot Fix
I don’t like hot fixes, but they are a reality when working to deliver product. This is the letter "a", which sits after the build number. Each hot fix made just goes through the alphabet accordingly.
Roll-Ups
Everytime a new major release is made, all hot fixes, maintenance, and minor releases are rolled up into it. So, when "4" swaps to "5", there is no reference to the ".1.2" or the "a" after the build number. Everything starts fresh.
Same rule applies for minor releases and maintenance releases.
So, there. While some folks can’t stand to talk about this stuff, it’s something that gets me excited. I can’t explain why, save for the fact that I am in fact, a freak.
Enjoy the rest of the sunny, chilly day, Torontonians…
Overly Impressed
I am overly impressed with the piece of software that I am using to write this post, which is called MarsEdit. Here’s a screenshot.
Doesn’t look like much, but the developers really did something VERY cool. When you first start up the app, it asks you for the name and URL of your blog. OK, so I type in “Write That Down” and “http://www.writethatdown/”. I say to myself, “there’s gotta be additional settings that I have to provide in order for this thing to work.” So, I go and write up a test post and click the “Send to Weblog” button — I’m still thinking at this point, it’s going to ask me for the service I use, but nope — just asks for a username and password. It auto-sensed what blogging service I use, and connected to it. Cool!
I don’t know why that impressed me so much, but it did. Cool app, guys. I’m seriously thinking about investing the $25 USD at the end of my trial (aka, $1,000.00 CDN) to keep using it. We’ll see how things go over the next few weeks.
If you have a blog / Mac, I’d suggest looking into MarsEdit. It doesn’t only work with Typepad, but a slew of other blogging services as well.
