Stories from The Journey
Sharing what we're learning on Profitable SaaS Product, UX, Engineering, Data, AI, and Revenue Enablement.
Vibe Coding and Technical Debt
Before you worry about AI generated tech debt, consider whether what mode you're in - Explore, Expand, or Exploit.
Read More →Realistic Product Planning Starts with What Happened
"Be a goldfish" is terrible advice for product builders.
Read More →Vibe Coding needs a better starting point
There's a clear need for boilerplate starters that lay the groundwork to be a real product if it succeeds
Read More →Saying "The Business" is a Red Flag
If you hear these words from anyone on a product team, the mental model is wrong.
Read More →Product Development is Kind of Like Baseball
You can score 1000 runs in one at bat, but make sure you're getting on base.
Read More →Doing Things the "Wrong" Way
The reality is nobody does everything right. There isn't any one right way to build product.
Read More →Software Product Development is Like a Farm
Most people think software product development works like a factory, but a family farm is a much better metaphor.
Read More →Using Multiple LLMs at Once
How using multiple AI models simultaneously helps me solve problems more effectively as a generalist.
Read More →Jira Reports for Human Understanding
What if we could generate reports from Jira data that helped everyone understand what's really happening in SaaS product development in human terms?
Read More →Actions Not Words Reveal Our True Values
How our actual investment of time and talent in software product development reveals our true strategy and values, regardless of what's on the roadmap.
Read More →Product Analytics Instrumentation is Critical and Rare
Most software product releases lack proper analytics instrumentation to measure success. Here's why that's a problem and how to fix it.
Read More →Software Product Development is Different from Contract Development
The fundamental differences between product and contract development, and why applying contract development best practices to products can cause problems.
Read More →What's Your Cycle Time From Start to Impact?
Understanding and optimizing the time it takes from starting development to delivering real customer value is crucial for software product teams.
Read More →Don't Be Afraid to Be Captain Obvious
Being willing to ask clarifying questions, even when they seem obvious, makes you and everyone around you smarter by ensuring shared understanding.
Read More →Separate Deploy from Release
Breaking the association between deploying to production and releasing to end users, even with simple tools, can yield significant benefits over time.
Read More →Understand That People Are Wired Differently
Recognizing and adapting to how different people think, process, and communicate can be your super power.
Read More →Book Report - Product Operations by Melissa Perri and Denise Tilles
Reflections on reading the book and how it aligns and provides suggestions for good day to day operations on software product teams
Read More →Lightweight Program Management for Complex Efforts
A simple but effective approach to managing complex multi-team efforts without getting bogged down in heavyweight tools and processes
Read More →The Jurassic Park Problem
Every SaaS company will eventually have to confront the challenge of user bending the system outside of its intentions to get their work done. How will you incorporate this behavior into your plan?
Read More →Story Points Are Made Up
A reminder that story points are an artificial construct and don't necessarily correlate with value delivered or impact in software development.
Read More →Qualities of Great Product Teams
Reflecting on the characteristics of the most empowered and effective digital product teams, and what makes them successful beyond just shipping code.
Read More →Optimize for Deployment Speed
Why focusing on speed of deployment is often the key driver for achieving other important goals like cost efficiency and product value in digital product companies.
Read More →LOVED - Release Scales
Understanding the different scales of product releases and how they impact your go to market approach, from Martina Lauchengco's excellent book "Loved: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products"
Read More →Separate Sprints from Deployments
Why treating sprints as fixed time boxes and separating them from deployments and releases can help teams work more effectively in agile product development.
Read More →