iovation was going through a rapid growth phase. Product enhancement requests from customers, executives, customer support, and engineers were piling up. Features were being delivered, but there was significant dissatisfaction with their nature, completeness, and timing.
iovation was going through a rapid growth phase. Product enhancement requests from customers, executives, customer support, and engineers were piling up. Features were being delivered, but there was significant dissatisfaction with their nature, completeness, and timing. \ I achieved the following:
organized these requests and consolidated similar requests from multiple customers
exposed unstated requirements, and built mockups and prototypes (again using Ruby on Rails and MySQL) to validate requirements before engineering resources were invested
established traceability from engineering requirements to the specific needs of customers and markets. This gave the development organization the confidence that their work would be adopted and valued.
worked closely with the development and QA organization to prioritize requirements based on their value to customers. We collaborated on maintaining a Scrum backlog. This helped the organization focus on what would build value for the company and its customers.
communicated development constraints to customers and clarified customer needs for development and QA. This two-way communication served to re-build trust throughout the organization.
As a consequence, the development organization delivered multiple product releases that satisfied customers.
After CheckFree completed its acquisition of Corillian, it had to demonstrate the value of the combination to the world. Asked to present at FINOVATE 2007, I developed a prototype internet application that combined the best qualities of the two companies. The prototype further helped to clarify requirements for the product development organization tasked with delivering a combined product.
CheckFree completed its acquisition of Corillian in May, 2007. As frequently happens following acquisitions, the Corillian product development organization faced a challenging reconciliation of its priorities with CheckFree's.
CheckFree completed its acquisition of Corillian in May, 2007. As frequently happens following acquisitions, the Corillian product development organization faced a challenging reconciliation of its priorities with CheckFree's. In my product management leadership role, I established a
product portfolio management process. Proposed and ongoing
initiatives were assigned an investment (cost) and return (revenue or cost savings). This made it possible to prioritize initiatives based on financial value to the company. \ Personnel re-assignments and schedules were made on this basis. This helped the organization focus its investments on initiatives with maximal return---while remaining open to new opportunities. As a result, we improved our ability to make and meet long-term product roadmap commitments.
In discussions with product management professionals, it became clear that many organizations faced a similar problem: They expected a return (in the form of sales revenue) on their product development investment (in the form of labor or capital costs). Unfortunately, as known and unknown risks came to fruition, they ended up "throwing good money after bad," to the severe detriment of the product and the organization.
In discussions with product management professionals, it became clear that many organizations faced a similar problem: They expected a return (in the form of sales revenue) on their product development investment (in the form of labor or capital costs). Unfortunately, as known and unknown risks came to fruition, they ended up "throwing good money after bad," to the severe detriment of the product and the organization.
In response, I developed a simple methodology for product planning and risk mitigation.
It was described in a webinar entitled Risk, ROI, and Real Options in One Page
At Corillian, I led a team of four senior product managers responsible for P&L of Corillian’s entire product line. Revenues exceeded $20 million, and the company became profitable over this period.
At Corillian, I led a team of four senior product managers responsible for P&L of Corillian’s entire product line. Revenues exceeded $20 million, and the company became profitable over this period. Following the acquisition of Corillian by CheckFree, and the acquisition of CheckFree by Fiserv, I championed initiatives to integrate products and software development processes. Subsequently, I led a team of three product managers responsible for internet banking products based on Microsoft Windows and SQL Server. These products earned over $7 million in annual revenue.
Corillian powered the internet banking sites of some of the world's largest financial institutions. We had to maintain the highest standards for web application security.
Corillian powered the internet banking sites of some of the world's largest financial institutions. We had to maintain the highest standards for web application security. We developed two security products:
Corillian Fraud Detection System, a tool to expose early stages of phishing attacks.
Intelligent Authentication, a multi-factor authentication solution that was minimally intrusive to internet banking users.
In my role as product manager for these products, I achieved the following:
definition of target markets. Definitions that were specific without being narrow ensured that our solutions would satisfy customers and that sales would proceed predictably.
identification of technology and channel partners. Careful vetting of partners ensured the feasibility of joint solution delivery and good lead generation
In an effort to extend its market beyond online banking for consumers, Corillian decided to transform a custom small business online banking implementation into a full-fledged product.
Corillian had previously sold a custom small business online banking solution to M&T Bank, and I had been the engineering manager responsible for its delivery. In an effort to extend its market beyond online banking for consumers, Corillian decided to transform a the solution into a full-fledged product, and I became the product manager. My responsibilities included
defining the product roadmap
market research
evangelism inside the company
gathering requirements and communicating them to the development organization
This product line generated nearly $15 million in revenue from top-ten banks like JP Morgan Chase as well as smaller institutions.
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Director of Product Management | Corillian | 2002 - 2005
In 2003, Corillian took a hard look at the markets it was serving and accessible markets that we were leaving underserved. I conducted an in-depth analysis of the market and competition and successfully directed Corillian's entry into online corporate banking and increased investment in small business online banking. The results of my study were presented to, and favorably received, by executive staff, Wall Street analysts, industry analysts, and Corillian’s board of directors.
As an engineering manager at Corillian, I knew it was important to understand the priority of development initiatives. When deadlines loomed, it became necessary to reassign people on one project to another, and priorities came into question. However, it was challenging for product management to assign priority to proposed initiatives, especially incremental feature additions and enhancements.
As an engineering manager at Corillian, I knew it was important to understand the priority of development initiatives. \ When deadlines loomed, it became necessary to reassign people on one project to another, and priorities came into question. However, it was challenging for product management to assign priority to proposed initiatives, especially incremental feature additions and enhancements.
When I took over product management, I instituted a business planning process based on a book by local consultant Preston G. Smith, Developing Products in Half the Time. The results were:
a process lightweight enough to apply to individual features as well as whole products
quantitative criteria by which to compare and assign priorities to initiatives
objective measures by which to determine the continued feasibility and rationality of initiatives
Another best practice I instituted was the monthly cross-functional product review described in Microsoft Secrets. Bringing sales, marketing, development, and QA together in a room facilitated communication and rapid decision-making about business and customer needs.
As Corillian grew its customer base and revenue, its development organization had to scale and mature. I started at Corillian with two direct reports, and by the time I moved out of engineering, my organization had grown to 26, of which five engineering managers reported directly to me.
In my last six months in engineering, I was responsible for Corillian's entire product line, which generated $19 million during that period, and another $20 million in the following six months. My annual budget was approximately $2 million.
As an engineering manager, I achieved the following:
led junior and senior managers to on-time delivery of Corillian internet banking products
developed ROI measures for products and even features, in cooperation with product management. \ This helped us set priorities objectively and communicate them throughout the company.
Rescued two difficult projects and retained customers by establishing reasonable expectations and rebuilding their trust in Corillian’s ability to make and meet delivery commitments. Business from these customers alone subsequently exceeded $4.1 million.
established standards for product requirements in cooperation with product management. This helped product management develop high-quality requirements and reduced requirements thrash which sometimes afflicts a growing organization.
established quality standards, measures, and iterative quality-focused development processes in cooperation with QA management
instituted agile development processes, policies and progress reporting expectations in cooperation with the project management office.
Conducted practical training on software development methodologies including Rational Unified Process, eXtreme Programming, Refactoring, and software inspections.
Successfully managed an off-site partner and an off-shore development team who were developing technology components.
In 1998, Corillian was a one-year-old start-up with a couple of internet banking products. The company had to differentiate itself from larger competitors and close business with marquee customers in its market.
In 1998, Corillian was a one-year-old start-up with a few internet banking products. The company had to differentiate itself from larger competitors and close business with marquee customers in its market.
I was a software engineering manager, and used prototypes as part of my overall development process. Two prototypes developed by my team were especially valuable to Corillian:
A prototype of the MoneyPAD product attracted traffic to our trade show booth as an exciting innovation in internet banking.
A prototype implementation of our OFX Server proved its technical feasibility to Citibank, giving us a marquee customer.
By 1994, Moore's Law had created a challenge for Intel Corporation: business and consumer software applications drove the majority of demand for microprocessors. However, software's need for faster and faster microprocessors was diminishing.
By 1994, Moore's Law had created a challenge for Intel Corporation: business and consumer software applications drove the majority of demand for microprocessors. However, software's need for faster and faster microprocessors was diminishing.
Intel Architecture Labs was charged with dreaming up compelling applications that would drive demand for next-generation microprocessors. We operated by developing prototypes, filing patents on our intellectual property, and demonstrating our prototypes to internal product groups and independent software vendors. As our prototypes were picked up, demand for Intel's processors increased, and our patents could be licensed for some revenue as well.
As a software engineer in Intel Architecture Labs, I authored or co-authored the following patents:
6,598,045: System and method for piecemeal relevance evaluation
6,172,685: Method and apparatus for increasing the amount and utility of displayed information
5,899,995: Method and apparatus for automatically organizing information
5,859,636: Recognition of and operation on text data
Senior Software Engineer | Intel Corporation | September 1994 - May 1998
Little-Known Fact
My first software success was a program I wrote for my biology teacher in high school. It allowed him to store and do simple calculations on his students' test scores. He let me work on an Apple II+ with a 5-1/4" floppy disk drive during class. He continued to use the program through my college years.
The results were:
Bringing sales, marketing, development, and QA together in a room facilitated communication and rapid decision-making about business and customer needs.