If you don't know it, you don't own it. If you are building a product and outsourcing development - then you'll need to know how it works - architecturally, internally, and every algorithm used. Your investors will demand it. The knowledge ticket helps address this issue for product managers. It allows the product development to be outsourced while the knowledge is retained internally.

1. Product Management Lectures
You don't know it?
You don't own it.
Securing Intellectual Assets with the Knowledge Ticket
Colm Byrne – Product Manager
Email: colmxbyrne@gmail.com
January 2013 AUG London

2. Knowledge Ticket in Product Management
The ownership imperative in Product Management
If you are building a product and outsourcing development then you'll need to know how it was developed architecturally, internally, and every algorithm used to the
point where it could be taken back internally at any point.
The knowledge ticket helps address this issue for product
managers. It allows the product development to be
outsourced while the knowledge is retained internally.
 Why you should use it.
 How to implement it in other parts of the business
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3. The Problem & Risk
Product Managers own the delivery but not the process
 Outsourcing: If your devs don't know it, you don't own it.
•
3rd parties build high value products. You pay for it, they know
how it works.
• Black box delivery.
• 'Self-documenting code' fallacy.
 Insourcing: Knowledge is Cordoned off
• 5 hats problem
• Top producers producing nothing.
 Scaling is hampered/Errors reproduced
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4. The Agile Fallacy – “Self-documenting”
 Products today have larger code bases than ever. 2.5
million lines of code on average.
 “Complexity increases exponentially with size” - Juval
Lowey
 Systems interconnect.
 Who really knows how your product works. Algorithms,
formulas, patterns.
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5. The Opportunity
 Make Essential knowledge always available
• Only the information needed is maintained
• Easily accessible through Workflow tools. E.g. Wikis, Jira and
Confluence
• Does not explain code – explains know-how
 Outsource while securing your intellectual assets
– Put all tools and code in the cloud; Git, Maven, Crucible, Fisheye
 Scale quickly by providing essential knowledge to noobs.
• Knowledge base shows 'this is how it works'
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6. The Knowledge Ticket
Add a 'Knowledge Ticket' to each major story
Jira task tied to each user story in planning
• Complex stories with calculations, flow. E.g. a Credit check, risk
evaluation
• Dev and Product owner decide if KT needed at planning and retro.
 3 Parts to the ticket: Rules/Calculations/Context
 Dev explains in The Demo how his piece works using the
KT
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7. Workflow: Jira & Confluence
 Create the ticket in Jira
 Put the KT in Jira
 Put KT links in Confluence stories
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9. Thank you
Colm Byrne – Product Manager
Link to me on Linked-in
colmxbyrne@gmail.com
January 2013

10. Thank you
Colm Byrne – Product Manager
Link to me on Linked-in
colmxbyrne@gmail.com
January 2013