Stefan
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How does scaffolding and Product Management relate? Today, we were out running errands when we came by this place where you can pick up free wood. Logs, to be precise, in all kinds, and shapes, and forms. I picked up the bland, simple stump that I use from time to time to split firewood from there. But Today we saw something special. What a gem! What a beauty! A stump from a two-tree-one-root tree [1]. Wow! I was blown away. It looked like the this was the real deal: interesting patterns, hard wood, right level of dry-ness. I loved the first sight of it! And so special. Not just an interesting stump, but an exceptional and unique one, also. With the help of a kind enough random person we got the beast into the car. I was sure I wouldn’t ever get it out from there again. But I didn’t care. It was so special.
In my head, ideas for the project were spinning. A part of me allowed to fast-forward to the final product. Something like Toth does with this Eucalyptus stump (scroll to 3:30). But I know this is PM vanity. Allowing ourselves the indulgence of mind-spacing to a finished, everything-went-perfect, no-flaws product. That is only allowed in small doses. What I loved was the phase the came immediately after: the phase where I plan out how I get there. More specifically, what I would need to build to get there. This was a big one. There is multiple elements to this, come of which are separate builds altogether, only for the one-time purpose of this beautiful stump-to-table project. I got even more thrilled. That is what I felt I would need to blog about tonight: the motivation that originates from breaking down a bigger vision into smaller parts and getting excited because we know each piece belongs to the bigger and more impactful whole.
The project came to a grueling realization when I discovered that at home I would be without an extra pair of hands. At least the type of hands I needed: Arnold Schwarzenegger hands. Long story short, I needed my first piece of scaffolding. A supporting device or tool, that was purely built for the a single project, and likely not going to be massively reusable. It also would have to be custom-fitted. I decided to build a little stand, with wheels on one side, to pull the stump onto. Similar to the base of a BBQ grill. You lift on one side, and slide something heavy carefully forward. If you put the side without wheels down, there is some form of stability.
This constructions has pretty neat properties for my case:
- It would be mobile once the stump was on it (at least that was the idea).
- It would be more stable if not in motion (only one side had wheels, the other has fixed legs)
The goal was to move the stump onto the cart, and move the whole thing into the garage where the stump could stay for the time being. The dimensions of the stump were discoverable, but the weight was not. I have never built such device, that was dependent heavily on a certain minimum degree of stability to hold weight under motion. This would be a new one. What didn’t let me down was my motivation for the scaffolding. As long as I have it in the garage, this is a win. There, I could start working on it if I had to, or try to move it along further.
The stump made it onto the cart, and with some additional reinforcements stayed on there without crushing the whole thing. I underestimated the weight and forces at play. I will need to get an extra pair of hands for working on this thing. But I am still excited!
Scaffolding has earned a new place in my Product Manager repertoire from Today on. It is the craft and art of providing custom support for a complex situation, in which standard tools and techniques need to be adjusted and refined to meet the specific needs of the challenge at hand. It goes beyond just orchestrating known concepts, and creates in itself a new, specialized tool for the given situation. We all must be scaffolding experts, as most of our situations are new, and have never been around before, and each product is so profoundly different from one another. As a product owner, make sure scaffolding is understood, and rewarded. Staying motivated through these phases is the only way to come out and drive the bigger vision!
