Book Image

The Successful Software Manager

By : Herman Fung
Book Image

The Successful Software Manager

By: Herman Fung

Overview of this book

The Successful Software Manager is a comprehensive and practical guide to managing software developers, software customers, and the process of deciding what software needs to be built. It explains in detail how to develop a management mindset, lead a high-performing developer team, and meet all the expectations of a good manager. The book will help you whether you’ve chosen to pursue a career in management or have been asked to "act up" as a manager. Whether you’re a Development Manager, Product Manager, Team Leader, Solution Architect, or IT Director, this is your indispensable guide to all aspects of running your team and working within an organization and dealing with colleagues, customers, potential customers, and technologists, to ensure you build the product your organization needs. This book is the must-have authoritative guide to managing projects, managing people, and preparing yourself to be an effective manager. The intuitive real-life examples will act as a desk companion for any day-to-day challenge, and beyond that, Herman will show you how to prepare for the next stages and how to achieve career success.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Title Page

Managing your customers

To understand how to manage your customers effectively, first, we need to establish who your customers really are. Software is omnipresent and can be found almost everywhere these days. So, clearly, there are many potential touchpoints between your customers and your products. Hopefully, these are all opportunities for your products to add value to your customers' processes or everyday lives!

One of the simplest and most useful ways to characterize and group your customers is to distinguish between the end users, and the buyers, of your software. Depending on the nature of your product, and whether, for example, your product is for mass consumption by the public, the same person could be both the end user and the buyer. However, in most commercial scenarios, end users and buyers are almost certain to be separate and quite different people.

The most...