3. In appreciation of good food

My appreciation for good food had amused me to think why product manager is like chief chef preparing a series of "set meals" for a week-long event.

For one, chief chef doesn't have to do the actual cooking but is still, somehow, responsible for knowing the taste buds of diners and satisfying them each time by choosing the right dish for every course. At the same time, it is important to use good quality ingredients (does not always mean expensive) and making sure restaurant earns sufficiently to enjoy repeating the experience for customers (good return on investment).

1. Long long time before the meal time, a good chef talks to diners (directly, through servers, surveys) to know what diners would like to enjoy and whether kitchen has the capacity/capability to serve the request.(triaged demands)
2. Chief chef works with important guests and kitchen staff, and narrows down on the list of dishes to prepare for the occasion. (prioritized user stories), make sure each dish in "set meal" goes well with each other (theme of a release), and diners should not get upset stomach while enjoying the experience from previous meal to next meal (proper upgrade path)
3. enjoy the preparation in the kitchen (sprint planning, standups and reviews).
4. shoot kitchen videos on your mobile and show them to key guests/event organizers to let them know good food is coming their way. take their feedback seriously and try to accommodate it. (synchronization with stakeholders)
5. if feasible, invite the eager guests in kitchen for a tasting session to help cooks bring out amazing taste to their liking (early access program)
6. educate the staff about presentation methods, characteristics of dishes and proper ways to eat and enjoy the meal. (release presentations, demo data, best practices)
7. Just before meal time, taste the food and let it be served. (approve and release)
8. while diners enjoy their meal, it is a good idea to gather feedback for improvement in the next meal. (feedback)

While I was drawing this analogy, it occurred to me that product manager can indeed be called chief engineer. I would refrain from comparison with chief scientist, though.