Product Management Journal

Everyone has a different idea of what's "good enough." What's the best criteria? Getting quality right is important: products (and whole companies) have failed because a product was not good enough, or, because it was good enough and didn't get to market while it was being "perfected." It's the Product Manager's job to identify the appropriate level of quality for a product, and to see that this gets to market promptly. I once built furniture and cabinetry with a guy named Robert. He was a terrific craftsman, and had very high standards. Our woodworking shop was next to a river, and whenever Robert made a mistake, he would go outside and throw the less-than perfect piece into the river. Robert was good enough that not a lot of stuff went into the river, but he threw away things that other people would have used. And his finished work was gorgeous. I learned a lot about making things from Robert. I learned that sometimes there is a right way and ...

Quality is an issue that can never be far from a Product Manager's mind. Quality is a nebulous idea that is hard to define, let alone create. Yet a PM's approach to quality can be a key factor in the success or failure of a product. Decades ago, a computer manual writer named Robert Pirsig wrote a book about quality. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is the most widely read philosophy book ever written (and also has the distinction of having been turned down by more publishers - 121 - than any other best-seller in history). It contains an important insight that helps explain why product managers need to cultivate multiple, seemingly contradictory perspectives regarding their products. Using the example of maintaining a motorcycle, Pirsig explains how some people view the world through a "romantic" lens of experience - how something feels in the here-and-now. Someone with this attitude judges whether something works in a pleasing or effective way, not why . T...