Throughout 2009, I struggled to find the right tool set for the product development and roadmap planning. I was mostly working with external resources, with limited budgets and I also made the switch from PC to Mac, so there were a lot of adjustments.

I moved from Visio to OmniGraffle and from MS Project to Omni-Plan, but what I found for the most part, was that there are a lot of tools out there that achieve similar results, so it’s not the ‘technology’ that’s important, it’s how you use it.

My advice? Have a plan in place, not only for ‘project management’, but for yourself personally, as a Product Manager. Know that for internal concept work, you are only going to use quick and dirty tools like Skitch, and you’ll only consider wireframing tools once you know the concept is solid. Have a plan, and be brave.

Here’s some of my favourites from 2009 which I plan to continue using in 2010…

Planning tools
OmniPlan for roadmaps and Green-hopper/Jira for issues management and sprint planning

Wireframing tools
OmniGraffle for basic wireframes (recommend the Pro version only), Skitch for super quick mark-ups, Jing for video screen captures, and Photoshop for more detailed designs. I also find Formspring (and similar form creation tools) useful – it’s particularly helpful for demos, so you can actually show your colleagues/clients a working prototype of your forms (with conditions etc).

Document management
Confluence for ‘wiki’ style communication, GoogleDocs for document collaboration (not the most advanced tools, but they are reliable and easy for everyone to access) and drop-box for file sharing.

(I can see a pattern emerging in my personal usage with OmniGroup and Atlassian products, but I’m no loyalist, so if you have any other recommendations, I’m open to ideas!)

I’m also keen to try Google Wave as a collaboration tool for product planning. After all, it’s been designed as a collaboration tool, so it will be interesting to see the uptake in industry.

The other tool I’d like to use more in 2010 is my voice. In 2010, I’d like to have more phone calls, more skype talks, more face to face meetings, more voiceovers on my videos, more informal chats and overall, more vocal communication. Tone conveys so much, and without it, so much is lost. Emoticons just don’t cut it anymore.

In keeping with my voice-activation aspirations for 2010, I’ve arranged a F2F meetup for Product Mavens – our first meetup for 2010!

When: Thursday, 21 Jan, from 8.30am onwards (til about 10am)

Where: Cook & Archie’s 1a/4 Buckingham St, Surry Hills

Topic: What tools or frameworks will you be using to plan your product roadmap and related activities for 2010?

Hope to chat with you soon!

Here’s the insights:

Employ processes that work for you. Everything will work a lot better if everyone is on the same page – with the same expectations. Having solid processes (be it ‘agile’ or whatever works best for your team) can be a lifesaver, especially around stressful times like releases when you don’t want to be thinking about how to administer the project, you just want to be thinking about all the individual tasks that need to be finalised!

Get into a routine and stick to it. If it doesn’t work, make small changes every few days/weeks until you get it right. Making radical process changes can be very confusing, so take baby steps and get everyone’s input and agreement before implementing the changes.

Use your tools effectively. There’s loads of ways to communicate with your remote teams without investing in huge overheads. I find that (like with processes) it’s best to stick to a few tools and use them effectively.

My favourites are:

• Skype – This is the best replacement for face to face that I’ve found. I use this for our daily scrums/huddles or any other chit-chat that would usually occur F2F. Call costs are cheap, though we stick mostly with chat (so we have records of our conversations).
• Jira – Issue management tools are a must! It forces you to put in place a workflow – just make sure everyone is aware of the process (ie. who to assign tasks to, what is a bug versus an improvement etc). Jira starer licenses are only $10 so it’s worth a try! If you’re into agile, it’s worthwhile checking out Greenhopper while you’re there.
• Confluence – This is like a wiki, and it’s handy for text/documents. For me, it’s where documents go to die, but it’s useful for record keeping. For example, we put all our test cases there  so it’s easy for everyone to access (and yes, we could use google docs or similar, but I found it too confusing – it was better to have a dedicate space). Starter licenses are also available for $10.
• Email – This is really one of the last resorts for communication. It’s too clumsy and things get lost. Plus, a lot of people don’t effectively manage their Inbox (eg. ‘Inbox Zero‘), so it can just turn into a hairy mess! That said, it is of course an essential communication tool – but just make sure everyone uses it in the same way (eg. if you’re using a bug tracking tool, make sure you don’t report bugs via email – it confuses everyone and it’s just likely that the issue will not get fixed!).
• Phone - What else are you meant to do when skype fails?
  
• Text – Have a text policy (or at least acknowledge an agreed protocol). Use text sparingly for blockers only eg. the site is down. Reserve it for the really important issues and you’ll find you get a much better response!

Embrace the cultural. Often working with an outsourced team means working with another culture – one which may or may not be similar to your own. Without harping on about it too much (I’m a student of sociology, so I could rattle on about this forever… buy me a drink and I’ll talk your ear off about this topic!), there are a few basic things to watch for:

• Respect the local age/gender roles – some countries have very strict rules about this and it can impact the structure of your team
• Be mindful of the local festivals and holidays and try not to schedule your major releases around these times if at all possible
• Be aware of the politeness rules that many cultures adopt (eg. always saying ‘yes’ to a superior)
• Be aware of the company’s hierarchy when dealing with conflict resolution / HR issues

Play nice. Without having ever met face to face, and with only a handful of skype calls each week, it’s easy to forget that it’s real people, not magical freaking pixies, who are completing tasks. Treat outsourced developers as you would your in-house developers, invest some time in small talk, say ‘hi’ once in a while and (without being too naff) make sure they know ‘you’ are a real person’. It makes late night releases and problem solving a whole lot easier if you understand the personalities you’re working with!

Tip: Fusion food is tricky and knowing which spices work well together is an art. Does szechuan and fennel work together? How about turmeric and oregano? It’s worth a try, but always be sure to taste it before you serve it to your loved ones.

My nan’s 93 years young and an avid skype user, so I’m awarding my nan the People’s Choice – Skype: Oldest User Award.

I don’t know that she is for sure the oldest, but I’m awarding this to her until proven otherwise (or until Skype issue a take-down notice).

Do you want to take the award away from my nan?

Then you’ll need to find someone even older that uses skype and they’ll need to comply with the following criteria:

• They must have their own skype account, linked to their own email address
• They must initiate a video call (without assistance)
• They must look into the camera during the call
• They must know how to hang up (without assistance)

FYI – My nan’s also on gmail/google chat, she has her own mobile and digital camera, so she’s a tough contender.

FTW!

Update 20 Oct 09: Looks like my nan lost her title as Skype’s oldest user, although she was still the first person to try out Google Talk, so she’s still cool in my books

Recipe: Try out my Nan’s zucchini bread