Getting Real
It’s so easy to be involved in something that’s innovative and exciting, and just watch it start to grow. However, it may get to a point where folks need to be brought in that want to do things the old fashioned way, and it could actually start to impact the way you think.
This happened to me.
I thought that “all those books and theories” that had been written time and time again had to be right, and I just needed to “get them” in order to make the jump to that next level of comprehension. I was thinking that you needed all this process and documentation just to flush an idea out.
Man, I’m glad I got the wake-up smack that I needed this week to jolt me back into coherence.
That “smack”, worked in tandem with the book from 37 Signals, Getting Real to get my thinking back on the track it needed to be.
The best way to describe this work is Product Management for Web2.0. At least, that’s all that I could think about when I read it last night. I don’t know if that’s how the authors intended it to read, but seeing as that’s my day job and I’m a developer by night, I can’t help but blur the lines together.
Trust me, folks — $19 is well worth it, in my opinion.
Newspaper Subscriptions
I like to think I’m ahead of the times. I read over 100 blogs a day (I know, a small # for some / most), am deep into the whole “Web2.0″ hoopla, etc, etc. But, there was one thing that I didn’t
consider doing until now.
Cancel my newspaper subscription.
I have subscribed to The Globe and Mail for some time now. I don’t know why, but I felt as though it was one of those “things to do”. It’s $23.00 / month. I just cancelled it and went to subscribe to Globe and Mail’s RSS feeds. Same content, but a much better price: free.
When people catch on to this RSS thing, I wonder what will happen to print newspapers? Once the young crowd starts to grow up and want to begin reading the news, where will they go? RSS or print?
Just something that I might be thinking about if I was a newspaper editor.
Specification Packages
I love writing specification packages. What are those, you may ask? Well, they consist of a few things that I have been using to create clear, vision-centric requirements; also known as “specifications” or “specs”.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I like working on the details based on vision and positioning. It helps me create the entire look from 50,000 before diving into the small elements that round out an entire feature or product component. This falls in line with writing specifications.
A while back, I created a template, which I lovingly refer to as a Feature Requirements Document (FRD). I think I’ve heard this used in other places as well. My thought is a feature is simply a container for requirements. Those requirements are what make the feature usable, whether they are functional or non-functional.
So, how does this start? Typically, with an overview or vision document. Within this, I like to include the objective of the thing, a quick overview of the solution and then I get into themes. I love themes. I can look at my notes on what I’m writing about and group all of the requirements into high-level themes, which I find to help everyone involved getter an idea about the vision before getting into the code or UI.
The remainder of this “vision” doc is geared around building out each identified theme. At the end of it all, you have a deliverable that can be used by anyone in the organization to get a quick, 2-page explanation about what it is you are going to be building. Of course, usual disclaimers should be taken into account. It’s message is just, “yes, this is in the pipeline, and here’s the ideas behind it”.
From this overview, I move right into the FRD, while keeping my trusty (i.e., really messy) notepad to jot down ideas on how this bad boy can be positioned. The FRD is long, and very detailed almost to the point of craziness. I don’t refer to wire frames (see below), or mock-ups — I keep it purely about the requirements.
If you find you have a lot of, “field A should be filled in with XYZ by default”, it may be time for a non-functional spec.
One this piece of the puzzle is complete, I move on to wire frames.
Is it weird to be a PM and doing wire frames? Ehh, not really. I did web design for 5 years, so creating pseudo mock-ups is natural. Would it be nice to work with a UI designer that matches your ideas for the feature up to the style guide and creates something that’s brilliant? Oh, yah. My design skills are marginal (”too boxy!”) at best, which is why I am no longer a web designer. But, I digress.
Wire frames can take a while if you don’t have a base to work from. I’d recommend making sure you have a good template and just crank ‘em out. Of course, it helps to take a step back throughout the process to make sure everything is staying in check.
At the end of it all, I want reviews — the good, the bad, the ugly. I’m an iterative guy, and will never go for a slam-dunk. I feed off the energy people have when they read about what I am proposing in these three documents. I take in that feedback and work with it. Incorporating the thoughts of others is key, especially if you want the product to be a success.
That was a long one, but something I’m glad I took the time to write. As always, I’m interested to hear how others are doing this as well — it always helps!
MusicIP Goes Live
My friends over at MusicIP have launched their new site and are locked down in Austin getting ready for SxSW. I use their Mixer on a regular basis, and it’s a phenomenal product. They have a ton of really smarty people working there, and it looks as though they are working to expand their offering into a cool stack of services and products.
Having been an independant muscian myself when I was younger, looking at what they have available online for bands now is just awesome. When I was writing and recording music 5 years ago, there really wasn’t a lot of online support for songwriters and bands looking for more exposure. The web really helps out, and I think it’s awesome. MusicIP is really well positioned to be integral in the whole process.
Try out their stuff — you won’t be disappointed.
Well done, guys!
Movin’ Over
I have moved over to Wordpress for Write That Down, which was sitting at Typepad for a long while.
I found that Wordpress offered more control, and was much less clunky than Typepad tends to be at times. Plus, it’s free, and I can host it with my regular account at 1and1 where all my other stuff sits as well.
I know that Scoble switched a while back, and I have not read any issues he’s had with the platform since then. Since I get about 1 1/8 of a page view here a week, I figured that if the product can handle Scoble’s traffic and post volume, it can surely handle mine.
Hope weekends are going well all ’round.
