Collection · 13 entries

Frameworks that

Tested in production, not just on whiteboards. Each framework here came out of a real team's daily practice and was kept because it survived contact with reality. If a framework here doesn't help you ship, throw it out, that's how it stays useful.

If you only read three
  1. 01Your 'AI Agent' Is Probably Just a Cron JobMost things marketed as AI agents are workflows or automations with a chatbot bolted on. Here's how to tell the difference and why it matters for how you build.6 min read
  2. 02The Eval-First Product Org: Rebuild Around Quality, Not VelocityRebuild a product org around evals, not velocity. The Quality Spine, Product Builder pods, Economics Unit, Discovery Network. The 90-day rebuild plan.10 min read
  3. 03You're Only Listening to the SurvivorsSurvivorship bias is quietly wrecking your product decisions. You're building for the users who stayed and ignoring the ones who left. Here's how to fix that.6 min read

The full reading order

13 entries
  1. 01Product Judgment vs Frameworks: What No Framework TeachesProduct judgment vs frameworks: 20 years at Microsoft, Adobe, and Salesforce taught me the thing no PM framework can. Judgment only comes from being wrong at scale.8 min readMay 26
  2. 02Per-Outcome Pricing: What Gets Clearer and What Gets TerrifyingThree SaaS-to-per-outcome pricing redesigns: support automation, sales enablement, contract review. Margin math, dispute mechanics, and contract terms.13 min readMay 26
  3. 03From SaaS to Service-as-Software: The CPO's Field GuideThe CPO field guide to Service-as-Software: outcome-based pricing, what changes inside the product, the new org chart, and when to make the shift.15 min readMay 26
  4. 04The Eval-First Product Org: Rebuild Around Quality, Not VelocityRebuild a product org around evals, not velocity. The Quality Spine, Product Builder pods, Economics Unit, Discovery Network. The 90-day rebuild plan.10 min readMay 26
  5. 05The Guerrilla PM PlaybookNo research team. No data analyst. No design support. Here's how to run world-class product management anyway with AI, scrappiness, and 2 hours a week.10 min readMar 26
  6. 06OKR Writing That Doesn't SuckMost OKRs are disguised task lists. How to write outcome-focused OKRs that drive product decisions, with templates, anti-patterns, and real examples.9 min readMar 26
  7. 07Empowered Teams When Your CEO Doesn't Buy InYour CEO wants feature roadmaps. You want empowered teams. Here's the guerrilla playbook for building autonomy from the inside without getting fired.14 min readMar 26
  8. 08Running Your First Product TrioProduct, Design, and Engineering making decisions together weekly, not in a meeting, but as an operating rhythm. How to start even if your org doesn't do trios.12 min readMar 26
  9. 09How to Build a Working Prototype in 60 Minutes (Step-by-Step)A concrete walkthrough of building a real prototype with AI - from problem statement to deployed, testable app. With the exact prompts and workflow.13 min readFeb 26
  10. 10Your 'AI Agent' Is Probably Just a Cron JobMost things marketed as AI agents are workflows or automations with a chatbot bolted on. Here's how to tell the difference and why it matters for how you build.6 min readDec 24
  11. 11SaaS Is Becoming Service-as-SoftwareSoftware used to help people do work. Now it does the work itself. This shift changes how you build, price, and think about product. I'm living it at Smartcat.6 min readNov 24
  12. 12You're Only Listening to the SurvivorsSurvivorship bias is quietly wrecking your product decisions. You're building for the users who stayed and ignoring the ones who left. Here's how to fix that.6 min readSep 24
  13. 13Show, Don't Tell: Why Users Can't Describe What They NeedFeature requests tell you what's broken. Prototypes tell you what's possible. I stopped treating user feedback as a roadmap and started using it as input.5 min readSep 24
Back to all field notesMore collections in the sidebar at /blog