Agile Product Management was the subject for October’s ProductTank, with talks from Roman Pichler, Harvey Wheaton and Tom Loosemore. Agile management is an iterative method of determining requirements for projects in a highly flexible and interactive manner, and on client side projects working to budgetary requirements, rather than fixed scopes and specifications, it is being adopted by many organisations.

Roman Pichler gave us a summary of what agile product management is, and how this affects Product Managers. The product manager is effectively an Entrepreneur on the inside, an Intrapreneur. It’s hard for people to take control of the product management from the original product owner in smaller companies, and difficult to foster ideas and get them started in bigger companies. A product manager needs to be close to customers, users, developers, testers and in tune with the market.

Roman also described the beenfits of a vision statement. He explained the four key things to include are target group (using persona’s), needs (user journey’s and personas), solution (3 to 5 top level features and wireframes) and value (business model canvas). Then, use this vision statement to communicate and share the vision of the end product. Maintin it so that it’s current and keep everyone aware of it.

By using quick lifecycles (of launch, test, feedback), facilitating end user feedback early and often, validating assumptions quickly and using an ongoing larning process, the team can use agile to it’s advantage.

Own the product, inspect and adapt.

Harvey Wheaton from Supermassive Games talked about how they use agile processes within their organisation. Most games are produced in 12-18 month lifecycles, and with around 15-20 people within the game team. They focus on the first two ideas within the agile manifesto:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

2. Working software over comprehensive documentation

Harvey explained that these two principles are more important than processes. Each new employee into the company is introduced into the agile way of working. It’s a deliberate culture to encourage people to develop and test early at the beginning of the process and to be able to speak their mind if they need to during a project.

The product backlog for each product is mapped out using boards of post-it notes which are arranged in a timeline and colour-coded to describe which parts of the project are largest. Each one represents a feature, and once that feature is complete then it goes in the bin.

Levels of functionality describe how they know the product is complete. Prototype > Alpha > Beta > Final etc.

“People will make important what you pay attention to.”
- Mike Laddin

Last up was Tom Loosemore who has been working on the public prototype of alpha.gov.uk which is an experimental prototype of a single UK Government website. It aims to be as simple as possible, and to place the needs of citizens first. The website is about bringing all of the UK government’s online information, resources, forms and transactions into a single website.

Martha Lane Fox reviewed the current approach of the government and explained that it needed revolution to get where it needed to go, and not evolution. The site was built within 10 weeks and with 10 people. The features are implemented wide and shallow in order to tackle as many different parts of the site as possible.

The site was done with limited resources, budget, space and even internet connection. Using agile product management, the team learned the top 150 user needs and prioritised 60 of them for their product backlog. They put together their own design rules:

1. Google is the homepage (less than 6% see the real homepage)
2. Do less
3. Optimise for the common case
4. Hide complexity
5. Tools before content (interactive tools)
6. UIDs and permanent links
7. All content is not equal
8. Device agnostic
9. IE6 is dead

Tom also described the importance of hiring people who have a good attitude, can accept criticism and want to have open conversations, as well as how important it is to give people an umbrella to say no when required.

Overall the three speakers talked about being agile in the workplace, adapting to use what you have when you have it, and the massive importance of the environment in which agile is used. Testing early and testing often, instigating user feedback and feeding that back into the system is also important, and ensuring that big issues are fixed early can save a lot of extra work later on.

Being agile doesn’t just include process, but it’s attitude, environment, decisions, tools and culture as well. An idea which anyone can adopt, sneak into their workplace and help to improve how products and projects are run and delivered.

Image – Agile Product Management speakers

It only takes a moment on the 8.21 Southwest Trains service from Clapham Junction to Teddington for me to realise just how much I use the Kriega R25 backpack. For the past five months, the Kriega R25 has carried my camera, laptop, books, holiday gear, badminton stuff and general work related paraphernalia with me pretty much on a daily basis.

The 25 litre Kriega backpack replaced my previous, long lasting North Face Jester backpack which boasted an impressive 10 year life.  The ever increasing size of the hole in the bottom was the main decision to switch from North Face to Kriega.

I went for the R25 mainly because of Kriega’s patented quadlock harness. By bringing the straps together in the middle of the chest it takes the weight off your shoulders for easier use of your arms and shoulders whilst motorcycling, which also means that the straps are longer and therefore proves much easier access for putting the backpack on and taking it off. The harness is also very easy to close and open, and the length adjustment system which Kriega have implemented on the R25 is easy and quick to use. It’s essentially a backpack which is designed for motorcycle riders.

When you’re riding a motorcycle on a daily basis you need something dependable, functional, capable and flippin’ easy to use. This ticks all of those boxes for me.

One of the few things which I had difficulty finding out when searching for product reviews before I bought it was how waterproof it is. Kriega do waterproof backpacks and others which aren’t, so does that mean that they let all of the water in? In short, experience so far with the bundles of rain a classic British summer delivers is no. The straps tend to absorb the water which although annoying, isn’t the end if the world. The rest of the backpack tends to collect some of the water which you can see beading on the surface, and absorbs the rest. The inside of the backpack hasn’t got wet, yet. I did have the intention if attaching a Respro waterproof reflective backpack cover to the R25 if it wasn’t waterproof enough – I don’t plan on getting one anytime soon, although it might be a good idea for high visibility during winter commuting.

Before a road trip on the Honda CB600F Hornet

The main and pretty much only issue I do have with the Kriega R25 backpack is the zip. Whilst the material overlap is sufficient and it does what it needs to, i.e. keeps the contents inside the bag with overlapping material to keep water out, the zip often gets trapped with the overlapping material and it never seems as though I’ve completely closed it. Having said that, even though the zip does catch on a regular basis, I’m confident that it won’t tear itself apart! The guarantee which comes with the backpack from Kriega is enough to keep me confident.

On the whole, this is not only a motorcycle backpack which i use when commuting, but one which i use for everything. The harness which takes the weight off your shoulders and places it on your chest and hips makes it so much easier to carry anything. I get a few blank stares from people who walk past me in the street when they see me wearing what looks like a parachute, but the benefits of carrying stuff more comfortably completely outweigh this. I certainly believe that Kriega should be selling the technology to people to make cases for musical instruments – I can imagine those are some heavy bits of kit.

I do have a fairly small upper body frame compared to your typical motorcyclist, so I am probably on the smallest setting for the straps. So I would say don’t buy this for a child or young adult. But when I have my jacket on, there’s no problems at all and the harness is really easy to tighten and adjust to fit you.

Fantastic piece of motorcycling kit. If you’re in need of a new backpack, buy one.

Photos here

I bought my Honda CB600F Hornet a year ago and I’ve been commuting on average 100 miles per week since then. I wanted to take this opportunity to share my thoughts on what I have learned.

Know the bike

I had a smile on my face all the way home from the dealership. Even though it was raining and I had a Monster disclock and Abus chain lock in my backpack, I remember being very pleased, even managing to swing by my partner’s house to show it off. The 2004 Honda CB600F Hornet was now in my posession!

I very quickly learned bmy first lesson. Having parked the bike outside the house overnight, and attempting to start it in the morning, it quickly became apparent that it had a choke. Unfortunately something I neglected to think about before buying it. The bike has a carboretta instead of fuel injection, so needs a little manual control in the mornings before heading off. That was the first lesson – learn how the bike works.

Once I was using it more frequently, and travelling into work every day with the summer approaching, it got more and more comfortable. It handles superbly well, although with nothing to compare it to, I would say that! I find it very easy to control. Accellerating and decellerating is easy, the throttle and brakes are responsive. In traffic I soon got used to handling the bike, weaving in and out of traffic and obstacles in the way. I’m still learning the control, but it’s amazing how responsive the bike it.

The first thing I have learned is how much petrol it uses and when I need to get some more. I keep the fuel switch on reserve and watch for the fuel light. I know I have about 10 miles after that before I run out. I’ve started to get an idea of how much oil it uses too and what it sounds like so if something does come loose I should recognise it. The thing which seems to need changing most frequently is the chain slack, and it becomes obvious when it needs tightening when the chain starts to grind. And, I’ve managed to do a realistic cost calculation of my London commute, and although it isn’t cheaper, I know how much it costs me to use it.

Know when to catch it and when to get out of the way! - Doble Motorcycles

The best piece of advice I’ve had so far was from the dealership, before I had even bought the bike. The guy said, if you lose control of the bike and it’s going to fall over then make sure you get out of the way. It’s sure come in handy a couple of times! Luckily the crash bungs have saved any major damage. Although the bike is heavy, it’s fairly easy to get back on and head off again.

Know yourself

The second thing I have learned is about myself. The first thing I did was to adjust my riding position. I lean slightly into the front of the bike, gripping the tank with my legs, and keep my shoulders and arms pretty loose. It’s not quite perfect but I’m getting better. I find that the looser my arms, the lighter the bike feels and the more control I have. If I sit back I can get caught a little unaware and find myself hanging on rather than being in control! I have also noticed the control I can gain when putting weight onto either of the pedals.

I’ve also made sure that I am aware and awake. Riding a bike naturally seems to make me more aware and I certainly wake up quicker than if I was getting the train. But I am constantly aware of my energy levels, any comfort, how cold or warm I am and I am also a little bit more aware of the weather.

The other important thing to mention is the gear. The AGV GP-Tech motorcycle helmet has been great. Very comfortable and an excellent choice. The other Hein Gericke kit which I bought has fit and lasted well so far. My Sidi boots are brilliant. My North Face backpack has started to wear out with a small hole in the bottom just waiting to get bigger (but then it is 10 years old or something!!). When I start losing shopping I may upgrade to a Kriega.

The winter has been pretty hard. The coldest part of my body is definitely my fingers. The exposure to the wind and close contact with metal brake and clutch levers means that they get really cold, very quickly! I may look at getting some mits or thicker gloves next Winter!

Know the road

The road is one of the most important things to learn about. When I first had the bike I was pretty much always riding in the light and in dry weather. That was great! I usually took one of three routes to work and so I have started to build up a memory of where manhole covers and pot holes are, especially on corners. This helped prepare me for the cold, wet and dark winter. A little less to worry about!

But it’s not necessarily about one route or road in particular, but the ability to read it better, understand it better and also predict what you might have to deal with at any certain moment. Finding by chance and reading Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider’s Handbook to Better Motorcycling definitely has helped me learn more about the road and the rules, but also more about how the bike performs under these conditions.

Have Fun!!

The main thing which I have learned is to have fun. Step the speed down a notch (a lot if it’s raining), take my time into and out of corners and it becomes so enjoyable. Working hard to get the technique as good as I can really makes the effort worth while. I am learning more about the hazards including pedestrians, other road users and the natural flow of traffic. Bus lanes are especially tricky to watch out for!

So after a year of motorcycling, I am completely hooked.  Hopefully the next year will be full of more excitement, traffic free commuting and some motorcycling events!

Ive just started planning the second Digital Project Managers London Meetup. The next one is on the 26th January 2011.

I’m currently sourcing a venue but the next Digital Project Managers London meetup will be at the end of January to allow for a little bit of recovery after Christmas!

I’ve also changed the name and branding slightly to give the meetup group a little bit more of an interesting and professional feel. And, now there’s a recognisable logo which I can post on the blog to link through to the meetup!

So, if you’re a Project Manager or Producer in London, in digital, new media, video, film, computer games or other forms of digital work then please take the time to come and join us for a few drinks and some chitter chatter.

Digital Project Managers London Meetup (meetup.com)

I spend most of my working day as a Digital Project Manager. Actually, aside from lunch, it’s what I spend my entire day doing. I want to get in touch with a few more though, so I have started a meetup.

In an effort to meet more Digital Project Managers and learn and develop further than within the confines of where I work, I have started the The London Digital Project Management Group. The general idea is to have a number of pub meets within London where we can discuss project management methodologies, techniques for getting work done more effectively and anything else which might come up in the meet.

Initially, I don’t anticipate many people attending, but along the way I hope that a number of people will get involved so that we can share knowledge and insight between the different experiences that we have.

Everyone is welcome, and it’s completely free. So, if you’re interested, head over to the meetup page and sign up. The first meetup is on the 26th October.

The London Digital Project Management Group

Photo: Eerste Wereldoorlog, zeeoorlog by Nationaal Archief

Friday marked the launch of the London Design Festival with the writing of the words “LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2010 IS NOW OPEN” on the set of Audi production line robots which have been placed in Trafalgar Square.

Even though I missed the opening line, there were plenty of messages which came flooding through from their website. You can log on and submit a message of your choosing, with it randomly being selected through a lottery type system. It is then written, recorded and played back both online and also on the LED type display which surrounds the installation. Take a look at the video below and the picture above to understand how it works.

London Design Festival – Outrace – Audi Robots from Richard Stowey on Vimeo.

If you are in London between the 16th and 23rd of September, then go and take a look. Apart from it being crowded with tourists who are probably wondering what on earth it is, it’s a chance to see some production environment machinery in real life. The London Design Festival also has other events on in London this week. A full schedule can be found by going to the London Design Festival website.

It’s also worth checking out some of the designers other collaborative work: Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram

Image Outrace – London Design Festival 2010 by Richard Stowey, on Flickr

Scot Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk is an event which takes place each year around the world where photographers come together in groups to take pictures within their local areas. Last year I went to the Bristol event, but since moving to London 9 months ago, I decided this year to take part in the Richmond event on this years photowalk day.

Each event comprises a maximum of 50 photographers, with one leader who decides the meeting point and the general area within which we could take shots, although you’re pretty much free to take pictures wherever you like within the location. There are around 1100 walks taking place across the globe all on the same day!

This year I pretty much used one lens. This is the 35-70mm f/2.8 which contains a macro function. It’s an older Nikon lens which means the motor in my Nikon D90 drives the lens. This makes it effectively a 56-112mm lens on my half frame camera. The macro functionality is great for closeups on product and flowers.

I really like the style that this lens almost forces me into. I tend to try and use the 2.8 aperture as much as possible in order to focus on one detail and then blur the rest of the image into infinity and use that space for colour and abstraction rather than for detail.

Using the different lenses in different situations where you might not necessarily use them normally does mean that you get to try new things. Who knows, next year I might try and take photos in a different country, and also with a completely different lens.

These photos are all by me, and available to view with the whole collection from the day, on my flickr page.

After passing my Direct Access motorcycle test last August, and since moving from the country into London, I recently purchased a Honda CB600F Hornet. It’s not the one above, but slightly older. Over the past month, i’ve been getting to grips with some of the trials and tribulations of riding a motorcycle in London, and commuting to work on it.

Here are some of the lessons i’ve learnt.

1. It always costs more than you think it will

I ended up spending slightly more on the bike than I thought I would. I figured that going for a slightly newer and better model than i was going to, and getting it from a dealer would help the bike last longer, and be a little more modern in terms of the features (it has a clock, which apparently is a real bonus!).

I anticipated buying a few items, but then realised how much more there is. Helmet, boots, gloves, jacket, trousers, scarfs, ear plugs, visor cleaner, bike cleaner, oil, brake fluid and coolant. In comparison to the train, it’s more of a similar cost than I originally anticipated.

2. The Helmet is harder to buy than the bike

The helmet took me several sessions to find, and I was comparing the Shoei XR1100 with the AGV GP-Tech for a while, trying each on quite a few times before deciding. Once you take it out the shop, there’s no taking this sucker back!! They compared well, and the differences were minimal. The tightness of the padding around my face was the main reason I went with the AGV GP-Tech in the end.

3. What feels right, probably is!

I researched for a month or so to find the right bike. It was a battle between getting the bike I wanted, and being able to pay for the insurance. So the trade-off began.

I honed in on the Suzuki SV650, which although I thought looked nice, once I sat on it I realised that the sports style bikes weren’t going to be as comfortable. The dealership had a few naked style Honda’s in too, and once I sat on the Honda CB600F, I realised how nice it could be to ride.

After a test ride, it was mine. And after a month of commuting on it, I feel like I made the right decision. Easy to ride, comfortable and a good riding position. It also has the option to add a topbox onto the back, which would provide additional storage if needed.

4. Noone sees you

The first thing i learnt is that noone sees you, except perhaps other motorcyclists. This is especially true of van drivers without back windows, and frustrated car drivers looking to bypass the traffic. You have to be so mindful that people aren’t expecting you to be there, and be prepared to get out the way if they do something unexpected.

5. I really don’t want it to break!

Unlike any other vehicle I have owned, this is one which I feel I should take more care of, and look after better. I’m quite happy not to check the oil in a car I own for hundreds of miles, but I am trying to keep a regular check on all parts of the CB600F, just to make sure that it’s running in good order.

I’m clocking up the mileage quite quickly, with a combined journey of around 100 miles per week, along with the occasional pleasure trip, and getting to know the area. It’s brought a completely view for me to how London is connected, and opens up so much more in terms of getting around for less.

Keep tuned to find out how I get on with my various motorcycle adventures in the future.

Image by Worldwidemotorcycles

Snow in the UK generally means that the country comes to a halt. Planes are grounded, cars stuck in their driveways and trains in the station. During the snowy and icy conditions, the national rail system blames delays and cancellations on ‘adverse weather conditions’. But how long before adverse becomes normal?

Adverse describes something which is acting against or in a contrary direction. So, in the case of a train journey attempting to get from A to B, adverse weather conditions are forces which are acting against these efforts. This is mainly because the weather is abnormal, unexpected, unprecedented and improperly forecast and prepared for.

How long will it be, and how many weeks or months of the year does it have to be snowy, icy and adverse weather conditions, before it’s considered normal. If it snowed every day of the year we’d all have snow tyres. If it snowed every day of the year, I expect the trains would have snowploughs on the front. So why not build it in anyway.

This year, it snowed for around 2 weeks in some areas of the country. That’s about 4% of the year. I would estimate that anything around 10 to 20% could be considered expected. 20 to 40% could be considered normal and 40% plus could be assumed as probable.

So, what can we do about it? My answer is be prepared to spend a little bit of time and money on tools, equipment and clothes to help us prepare for these scenarios. When they come along, everyone is prepared!

Photo by Richard Stowey

As is usually the case over the festive holiday period, I had a little more time on my hands than usual. After seeing a number of adverts for the Decode: Digital Design Sensations exhibition at the V&A I decided to go and check it out and see what all the fuss was about…

I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of translating digital ideas into physical reality. The idea of taking a set of data, either made up or recorded from somewhere and representing that in a digital way. The Decode: Digital Design Sensations exhibition at the V&A is a demonstration of just that. Digital ideas represented in an easy to understand way.

The exhibition was split into three distinct parts: Code, Network and Interactivity. Code simply showed what could be done with raw data and the different ways in which it can be represented. I particularly liked the Digital Zoetrope by Troika London in this section which comprised text spinning on the outside of a cylindrical object, and appeared to slow down periodically in order to reveal certain facts.

Network contained exhibitions which displayed information which used a network in order to supply the information. There were a number of different ideas present here which mainly seemed to aggregate data and provide a visual representation of the data. One of the possibly more well known exhibits is the Exquisite Clock, where users who have downloaded the iPhone app can contribute an image to the clock pool. The clock uses these contributed images to display the time.

The interactivity section was by far the largest, in space and numbers. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Make Out display was one of the most intriguing with a six screen display with lots of videos of people kissing, sourced from the internet.

Other installations which I really liked included the Vanetian Mirror by Fabrica, which essentially recorded a long exposure picture but in a digital form. It was displayed on a high definition screen, almost life size. Because of the long exposure, subjects would have to sit or stand still for a few minutes before being completely and clearly shown.

Daniel Rozin’s Weave Mirror was also extrememly clever using motors, electronics and laminated c-shaped prints to display a reflection of whatever was in front of the mirror. The mirror was constantly moving to reflect what it saw using a gradient from light to dark.

Alth0ugh not by any means the last of the exhibition, Body Paint by Mehmet Akten seemed to be one of the most enjoyable interactive exhibitions with people throwing themselves and everything else they had up, down and around in front of the display which altered the paint on the digtial canvas. A very neat idea, and very well made!

Overall, the exhibition really shows off current trends, capabilities and performance by digital designers around us. The multitude of ways data can be represented, used, manipulated and displayed are seemingly unlimited. This, it seems, is the future – digital ideas which transcend the virtual world and real world boundaries, and bring some of the human elements back into computers.

Human input, digital output!