Comments on: Confess Your Sins: Buzzword Abuse http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/ Product management, product marketing, and the ugly side of software product development. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:06:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Hallen http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-623 Hallen Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:39:44 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-623 <p>If you are talking about product buzz words, then I am not up with all you web guys. I just make plain jane Windows Mobile and PC apps. </p> <p>But, two of my favorite meaningless "words" are "Productize" and "Customer Facing".</p> <p>Productize means to take an idea or a prototype and make a real product out of it. Why don't you just say we are going to make a product out of that? Isn't that why you make a prototype in the first place??</p> <p>"Customer Facing" implies to me that the product has a part that does not face the customer. So you are saying my product has an ass? This term is most often used around here to refer to the people in the organization that actually talk to customers as in "The customer facing elements of the organization". It is also used to imply that they are going to build a business unit that actually pays attention to its customers. "We are going to reorganize to be more customer facing." What a novel concept. Gee, I thought that was what I was doing, but since I am not Web 2.0, I guess not.</p> If you are talking about product buzz words, then I am not up with all you web guys. I just make plain jane Windows Mobile and PC apps.

But, two of my favorite meaningless “words” are “Productize” and “Customer Facing”.

Productize means to take an idea or a prototype and make a real product out of it. Why don’t you just say we are going to make a product out of that? Isn’t that why you make a prototype in the first place??

“Customer Facing” implies to me that the product has a part that does not face the customer. So you are saying my product has an ass? This term is most often used around here to refer to the people in the organization that actually talk to customers as in “The customer facing elements of the organization”. It is also used to imply that they are going to build a business unit that actually pays attention to its customers. “We are going to reorganize to be more customer facing.” What a novel concept. Gee, I thought that was what I was doing, but since I am not Web 2.0, I guess not.

]]> By: Kerry http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-624 Kerry Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:00:52 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-624 <p>Oooh, I thought of another one: iterative. As in: "Documenting requirements is an iterative process - project team members review the requirements document, and with each review it changes."</p> <p>Iterative means repetitive. What they actually mean is that the document evolves.</p> Oooh, I thought of another one: iterative. As in: “Documenting requirements is an iterative process – project team members review the requirements document, and with each review it changes.”

Iterative means repetitive. What they actually mean is that the document evolves.

]]> By: David Bitter http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-625 David Bitter Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:33:18 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-625 <p>My Favorites:<br /> - Seamless<br /> - Uncompromising<br /> - Robust<br /> - Smart<br /> - Rich<br /> - Intuitive</p> <p>Can be combined with any or all of the following:<br /> - Solution<br /> - Integration<br /> - Media<br /> - Support<br /> - Interface</p> <p>No combination actually provides any real information about a product feature or benefit. But I still use them a lot. Guess I can try to do better.</p> My Favorites:
- Seamless
- Uncompromising
- Robust
- Smart
- Rich
- Intuitive

Can be combined with any or all of the following:
- Solution
- Integration
- Media
- Support
- Interface

No combination actually provides any real information about a product feature or benefit. But I still use them a lot. Guess I can try to do better.

]]> By: Out There http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-626 Out There Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:49:16 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-626 <p>I actually had to talk a Marcom manager out of "ubiquitous" once. It took me like three months.</p> I actually had to talk a Marcom manager out of “ubiquitous” once. It took me like three months.

]]> By: David Locke http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-627 David Locke Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:11:56 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-627 <p>A word becomes a buzzword under competitive pressure. The first vendor that uses the word defines it in the market. A competitor comes along with a slightly different meaning. Another competitor, another slightly different meaning. The word is finally meaningless, when competitors have sucked its meaning dry. </p> <p>A glossary doesn't help, because the word truely has so many meanings it becomes a matter of which meaning do you mean. That should be communicated in a vendor's marcom. What you cannot do is compare one vendor's meaning with another. The partitions the vendors are creating with their marcom is intended to be exclusionary of that of other vendors. </p> <p>A lot of the terms commented on are creations not of a vendor, but a market. SaaS differs from web services, because web services or ASP got translated into utility computing, and utility computing is a loser for the vendor. You cannot create an exit barrier around a true utility computing application, so have fun trying to make money with it. The same is true of SaaS, but the realization has not set in yet. </p> <p>There is a way to make money in the web services situation, but it isn't through thinking you now own your customer's data, since they entered it into your system. Surprisingly, web service companies do sue their customers when the customers try to get their own data back. It is such a mess. </p> <p>Web 2.0 is the biggest hype ever. It is just AJAX, which makes a web app equivallent to the C++ application of the past. It is not a mind boggling new reality. </p> A word becomes a buzzword under competitive pressure. The first vendor that uses the word defines it in the market. A competitor comes along with a slightly different meaning. Another competitor, another slightly different meaning. The word is finally meaningless, when competitors have sucked its meaning dry.

A glossary doesn’t help, because the word truely has so many meanings it becomes a matter of which meaning do you mean. That should be communicated in a vendor’s marcom. What you cannot do is compare one vendor’s meaning with another. The partitions the vendors are creating with their marcom is intended to be exclusionary of that of other vendors.

A lot of the terms commented on are creations not of a vendor, but a market. SaaS differs from web services, because web services or ASP got translated into utility computing, and utility computing is a loser for the vendor. You cannot create an exit barrier around a true utility computing application, so have fun trying to make money with it. The same is true of SaaS, but the realization has not set in yet.

There is a way to make money in the web services situation, but it isn’t through thinking you now own your customer’s data, since they entered it into your system. Surprisingly, web service companies do sue their customers when the customers try to get their own data back. It is such a mess.

Web 2.0 is the biggest hype ever. It is just AJAX, which makes a web app equivallent to the C++ application of the past. It is not a mind boggling new reality.

]]> By: Mike http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-628 Mike Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:24:51 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-628 <p>One that annoys me is "systemic". So many times I hear "we need a systemic solution for this". What you really need is a dictionary so you can understand what systemic really means. </p> One that annoys me is “systemic”. So many times I hear “we need a systemic solution for this”. What you really need is a dictionary so you can understand what systemic really means.

]]> By: carolinebender http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-629 carolinebender Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:52:51 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-629 <p>I sort of miss "robust." It seems like an antique now that we have so many fancier ways of saying "does its job."</p> I sort of miss “robust.” It seems like an antique now that we have so many fancier ways of saying “does its job.”

]]> By: pratima http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-631 pratima Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:22:59 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-631 <p>what about "rich internet applications" for any app with a web interface?</p> what about “rich internet applications” for any app with a web interface?

]]> By: S@L http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-632 S@L Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:47:02 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-632 <p>Can I get a whut-whut for "SaaS?"</p> <p>In my country we used to call this an ASP... back in 1996...</p> Can I get a whut-whut for “SaaS?”

In my country we used to call this an ASP… back in 1996…

]]> By: Saeed Khan http://crankypm.com/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/comment-page-1/#comment-633 Saeed Khan Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:38:26 +0000 http://crankypm.com/crankypm/2008/08/confess-your-sins-buzzword-abuse/#comment-633 <p>One of my pet peeves is turning nouns or adjectives into verbs and creating a new word that didn't exist before, simply because it's easy to do. </p> <p>Today, I saw a doozie: "Agilize" used in the phrase "Agilizing Product Management".</p> <p>Ouch!!!!!</p> One of my pet peeves is turning nouns or adjectives into verbs and creating a new word that didn’t exist before, simply because it’s easy to do.

Today, I saw a doozie: “Agilize” used in the phrase “Agilizing Product Management”.

Ouch!!!!!

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