By now, product teams understand the importance of user research. We know we need to talk to users, understand their problems, and avoid falling into the trap of “build it and they will come.” But even with sound research and a solid understanding of the problem, solutioning can get clouded,

When founders come to me frustrated by the slow pace of development, the first thing I look at is the number of tasks they have in progress. Creating focus for your development team is the first thing you should do if you feel the team is not delivering. Set a

This won’t take weeks, I know a library that can do this. I’ll have it implemented by tomorrow. It’s a familiar line. Engineers say it often, especially when speaking to founders looking for speed. It’s appealing: efficient, pragmatic, and backed by the logic that there’s

In complex products involving multiple teams or vendors, troubleshooting often turns into a delicate dance. Everyone has their priorities. When something breaks, the first instinct is to react defensively and protect your domain. There were occasions where we asked a third party whether there was an issue on their end,

Have you ever had a plumber come to your house, take one look at the pipes, and say, “What on earth did the last guy do?” Software engineers often have the same reaction when looking at an unfamiliar codebase. And all too often, their next move is: “This needs a

Too often, I see founders outsourcing their software development to a freelancer or an agency—only to let them create infrastructure on their accounts. At the start, it seems convenient. But down the road, it can be a painful mistake. It doesn’t matter if you’re using AWS, Azure,

My default approach to meetings is to shield engineers from them. Engineers hate interruptions that break their flow. However, having engineers present in one type of meeting can save development time. In smaller teams I work with, we write feature passports with the client to keep meetings minimal. The idea

In my early years, I worked with some incredibly talented people. They introduced me to emerging concepts, such as unit testing, now considered best practices. Domain-Driven Design (DDD) was one of them, but I struggled. I remember finding it abstract and disconnected from the projects I was working on. What

You have a great product idea and decide to outsource its development. But how do you ensure your third-party team is doing a good job? And how can you set them up for success? Own Your Codebase and IP The first and most critical step is to own the product’