In this post, I present an IoT framework to help Product Managers tackle the complexity of IoT products. This framework provides an easy-to-follow structure to uncover requirements at each layer of the IoT stack, including business decisions, technical decisions, and more.
How to Use Design Thinking to Build Better IoT Products
Companies are looking at the Internet of Things as inspiration to discover product opportunities. They see it as an opportunity to leap-frog the competition and significantly grow their revenues. And yet, many companies are failing and growing disillusioned. So how can Product Leaders leverage IoT to discover product opportunities that can take their company to the next level? This is where Design Thinking can help.
In this post, I look at proven Product Management techniques to identify problems and then explore how IoT can help you build products that solve those problems.
Smart Toilets and the Future of the Internet of Things
CES 2018 introduced a smart toilet. But the real star of the show was a blackout. How did we get here? And what does that say about the state and the future of the Internet of Things?
Why There’s No Killer App for IoT
Every new technology trend brings speculation and talk about a “killer app” that will be the solution to all of our problems.
Tech publications and blogs produce countless articles searching for the “killer app” for the iPhone, the Cloud, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and of course, IoT. We’ve also even seen the same hype for development processes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that Agile is that silver bullet. Or maybe it was Lean, or Kanban? Hard to keep track.
IoT World Conference and the State of the IoT Industry
Get an inside look at the state of the IoT industry, as reflected in the IoT World conference and expo last week. Through talks and discussions with expo exhibitors, I noticed four key challenges the industry faces today: focusing on technology over value, analysis-paralysis in both platforms and security vendors, and the challenge of educating the IoT workforce.
5 Essential Steps for Getting into IoT Product Management
You want to get into IoT Product Management. But where do you start? What skills do you need? Which companies are working on IoT today? Start here, with these five essential steps for getting into IoT Product Management.
How to Make Sense of IoT Hardware
Hardware decisions impact your IoT product’s cost, user experience, application capabilities, and more. But only about 20% of IoT Product Managers have experience managing hardware. In this post, I demystify IoT hardware to help you understand how a smart device acquires, processes, and communicates data to the Cloud.
How to Build an IoT Product Roadmap
Let’s face it. Building an IoT product roadmap is hard—much harder than building roadmaps for “normal” technology products.
That’s because IoT products are complex systems. To create a working solution, all layers of the IoT Technology Stack—device hardware, device software, communications, cloud platform, and cloud applications—need to work together. It’s like having to manage five products in one, and your roadmap needs to be the glue that keeps all your stakeholders aligned with your vision.
Podcast: IoT is Product Management
I had the opportunity to be a guest in the popular podcast “This is Product Management”. Mike Fishbein and I had a great conversation on the challenges Product Managers face when building IoT products. I also answer one of the top questions I get: “How do I get into IoT Product Management?”
7 Ways to Get a Product Management Job when You Lack Industry Experience
Many Product Managers still think industry experience is unnecessary to get hired. However, as a hiring manager, I know firsthand that industry experience can make a difference when deciding between final job candidates. Learn why hiring managers DO value industry experience, and how to develop a game plan to gain industry knowledge and position yourself as a strong candidate.
People Don’t Buy IoT, They Buy a Solution to a Problem
Too many product teams and entrepreneurs think, “If I connect it, they will come.” The problem is that people don’t buy IoT, they buy a solution to a problem. In this post, I talk about an excellent example of IoT solving a customer problem, and share tips for evaluating if IoT is right for your product.
IoT Courses at Stanford University
My IoT courses at Stanford Continuing Studies expand on my IoT Decision Framework and focuses on all the areas you need to consider when building an IoT product.
On-campus IoT courses at Stanford’s Fall quarter start on September 24th, 2018. Click below to learn more and save your spot!
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(8-week) Product Management for the Internet of Things: A Hands-On Course
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(1-day) Product Management for the Internet of Things: An Intensive Bootcamp
Can’t make it to my IoT courses at Stanford? Take the online certificate program!
