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Part 5: World’s Most Generic Product Management Interview

by The Cranky Product Manager on December 20, 2010

in The PM Profession,Your Career

This hideously cranky post is sponsored by Quantum Whisper, a wicked awesome company that links customer feedback to your backlog.  Can you say OMFG!

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Ack, almost done.  At long last, our glum product management applicant gets to ask a question of his cranky interviewer.

(And if you received this post via email or your RSS reader and cannot see the embedded video/cartoon, view it here.)
 

Check it, Part 5:

And if you haven't seen the previous videos, find them here.

PARTS 1 &  2 - The interview dress code.  The first slew of generic questions.

PART 3 - Even more generic questions.  Round manholes, anyone?

PART 4 - Questions that require you be a much better PM than the hiring manager.

( And don't forget to buy your colleagues holiday gifts.  How 'bout some Cranky PM mugs? )

Also in The World's Most Generic PM Interview

  1. Cranky Cartoons: The Generic Product Management Interview (parts 1 & 2)
  2. CRANKY CARTOONS: THE GENERIC PRODUCT MANAGEMENT INTERVIEW (PART 3)
  3. Part 4: The World’s Most Generic Product Management Interview
  4. Part 5: World’s Most Generic Product Management Interview
  5. FINAL CHAPTER (part 6): World’s Most Generic Product Management Interview
<< Previous in series | | Next in series >>

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Wicked Fun Game Highlighting the Never-Ending Battle Between Product Management and Development

by The Cranky Product Manager on December 22, 2008

in Development

The Cranky Product Manager has a Christmas present for you.  

No, it’s not something from her recommended “Wicked Awesome Presents for Product Managers” list, alas. (Buy your favorite PM a present now! Last day for shipping).

Nay, it’s a fantastic board game – a classic, with a new twist. It will give you hours of fun throughout the year, and, in fact, throughout your LIFE, as a product manager.  Hang it on your cubicle wall.  It’ll come in handy.

It’s “No, Developer, Don’t Say That” BINGO!    

Whenever you hear a Developer trotting out one of these oft-recited but dreaded phrases, tick off the appropriate box.  Once you tick five boxes in a row/column/diagonal you have BINGO!  Scream out BINGO as loud as you can.  Maybe someone will come give you a prize…

…or at least a hug, some Kleenex, and a Prozac perscription.  Hearing those developers talk like this all day can force even the most upbeat Produt Manager into a bottomless depression.

B

I

N

G

O

Trivial

While I was in the code I added…

Schedule slip

Refactor

User is wrong/ stupid/ lying

No time to test

Rearchitect

Not enough resources

Need to use language X (that is used no where else in company)

Not enough time

Not in the spec

Works on my machine

FREE

“Something’s wrong if it takes X more than 2 days to code this”

Non-Trivial

Customer escalation

Irreproducible

Broken build

Fundamental design flaw

Defer to next release

Regression

Technically Impossible

Unsupported

Scope creep

My code is self-documenting

Thanks to the Twitter followers @dan2bit, @nolanzak, @jen_monkey, @tojarrett, @lorifraleigh, @ec1964, @ryanshuya, @mlortz, @tsahil, @Hagoleshet, @cmclellan, and @scottcote for helping create this.

And check out the related “Things to Say When You’re Losing a Technical Argument” list  - an oldie but a goodie.

More official rules for Bingo and Buzzword Bingo are here.

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