This document provides guidance for non-technical founders on how to build a startup software company without being a software engineer. It explains that the product manager (PM) role is key for non-technical founders. The PM makes decisions about what to build, when, and what to include or leave out. They approve progress and handle administrative tasks. The document outlines an agile scrum methodology using user stories organized in a task tracking tool like Pivotal Tracker. Stories are grouped into one-week sprints with daily standup meetings to review progress and address any issues.

1. By @rustysf (russwallace.com)
How To Build Software
If You Can’t Write Code

2. Who This Presentation is For
• You want to build a startup software company

3. Who This Presentation is For
• You want to build a startup software company
• You’re not a software engineer

4. Who This Presentation is For
• You want to build a startup software company
• You’re not a software engineer
• You’ve never worked at a tech company before

5. Who This Presentation is For
• You want to build a startup software company
• You’re not a software engineer
• You’ve never worked at a tech company before
• You believe “perfect” is the enemy of “good”

6. Why Learn to Be a Product Manager (PM)?
• If you're not an engineer, then you're everything else

7. Why Learn to Be a Product Manager (PM)?
• If you're not an engineer, then you're everything else
• You need to know how to build the whole company
• At first, you're a PM
• Then, you're sales (or “Biz Dev” if you want to sound cool)
• If lucky, you get to be an exec (culture, long-term plans, M&A, etc)

8. Why Listen to Me?
• No sacred cows: I just want to get shit done
@rustysf

9. Why Listen to Me?
• No sacred cows: I just want to get shit done
• No allegiances: I don't debate the finer points
• Not interested in the “perfect” PM style, methodology, tool, etc.
@rustysf

10. Why Listen to Me?
• No sacred cows: I just want to get shit done
• No allegiances: I don't debate the finer points
• Not interested in the “perfect” PM style, methodology, tool, etc.
• My opinion:
• Your success doesn't hinge on “perfect” product management
• Pick the most widely recognized, get organized and move on
@rustysf

11. In My Experience
image credit: http://xkcd.com/1349/

12. Product Management = Non-Technical Building
• Software companies don't start needing sales or culture

13. Product Management = Non-Technical Building
• Software companies don't start needing sales or culture
• They start needing a good software product
• Everything else comes after that

14. Product Management = Non-Technical Building
• Software companies don't start needing sales or culture
• They start needing a good software product
• Everything else comes after that
• Software engineers build software

15. Product Management = Non-Technical Building
• Software companies don't start needing sales or culture
• They start needing a good software product
• Everything else comes after that
• Software engineers build software
• You're not a software engineer

16. Product Management = Non-Technical Building
• Software companies don't start needing sales or culture
• They start needing a good software product
• Everything else comes after that
• Software engineers build software
• You're not a software engineer
• You're only useful if you can help engineers build
reasonably scalable code as fast as possible

17. What a PM Does
• Make the decisions about a product that determine if it
succeeds

18. What a PM Does
• Make the decisions about a product that determine if it
succeeds
• What to build & when it needs to be built

19. What a PM Does
• Make the decisions about a product that determine if it
succeeds
• What to build & when it needs to be built
• Taking responsibility for what to include and what to leave out

20. What a PM Does
• Make the decisions about a product that determine if it
succeeds
• What to build & when it needs to be built
• Taking responsibility for what to include and what to leave out
• Approving progress as it happens

21. What a PM Does
• Make the decisions about a product that determine if it
succeeds
• What to build & when it needs to be built
• Taking responsibility for what to include and what to leave out
• Approving progress as it happens
• Any admin on the project:
• Setting up accounts, signing up for tools
• Removing “blockers” (things big & small that prevent engineers from
continuing to build)
• Anything engineers don’t want to (or can’t) do

22. What a PM Does Not Do
• PMs DO NOT code

23. What a PM Does Not Do
• PMs DO NOT code
• It's great to be technical, or to learn coding in order to
communicate, but don't try to commit code

24. What a PM Does Not Do
• PMs DO NOT code
• It's great to be technical, or to learn coding in order to
communicate, but don't try to commit code
• PMs DO NOT decide how a product is built

25. What a PM Does Not Do
• PMs DO NOT code
• It's great to be technical, or to learn coding in order to
communicate, but don't try to commit code
• PMs DO NOT decide how a product is built
• When/Why is not How
• Engineers choose language, coding tools, libraries, etc (excepting
choices that affect business aspects of the product, such as IP
rights or functionality)

26. Side Note On Choosing What to Build
• This is where you can help as a “business guy” (or gal)

27. Side Note On Choosing What to Build
• This is where you can help as a “business guy” (or gal)
• Talk to everyone who is relevant to your product
• Talk to every potential customer. Take detailed notes on what they
want.
• If you're really good, sell a product before it's built

28. Side Note On Choosing What to Build
• This is where you can help as a “business guy” (or gal)
• Talk to everyone who is relevant to your product
• Talk to every potential customer. Take detailed notes on what they
want.
• If you're really good, sell a product before it's built
• DO NOT: read books, guess, or ask your friends and
family what they want

29. Side Note On Choosing What to Build
• This is where you can help as a “business guy” (or gal)
• Talk to everyone who is relevant to your product
• Talk to every potential customer. Take detailed notes on what they
want.
• If you're really good, sell a product before it's built
• DO NOT: read books, guess, or ask your friends and
family what they want
• Once you know what to build, refer to this presentation to
get it built

30. Before We Dive Into Details…
image credit: http://www.gapingvoid.com/

31. Being a PM is Difficult
• Becoming an “A-level” PM takes years of experience,
mistakes and mentors

32. Being a PM is Difficult
• Becoming an “A-level” PM takes years of experience,
mistakes and mentors
• This presentation will help you look like a “B”

33. Being a PM is Difficult
• Becoming an “A-level” PM takes years of experience,
mistakes and mentors
• This presentation will help you look like a “B”
• Repeat: a few slides can't make you an “A”
• That's OK: you don't need to be an “A” PM to be an effective
non-technical founder

34. Being a PM is Difficult
• Becoming an “A-level” PM takes years of experience,
mistakes and mentors
• This presentation will help you look like a “B”
• Repeat: a few slides can't make you an “A”
• That's OK: you don't need to be an “A” PM to be an effective
non-technical founder
But you can't be a “C”

35. Product Methodologies (“How to Build”)
• Almost as many as there are coding languages
• Waterfall/BDUF
• Agile/Scrum
• Extreme/kanban

36. Product Methodologies (“How to Build”)
!
SKIP IT:
You can cover 80%+ of engineers you'll work with by
understanding a scrum-based agile format

37. Agile? Agile what?
• “Agile” is a philosophy/methodology that boils down to:
• Break up the project into discrete deliverables

38. Agile? Agile what?
• “Agile” is a philosophy/methodology that boils down to:
• Break up the project into discrete deliverables
• Communicate constantly

39. Agile? Agile what?
• “Agile” is a philosophy/methodology that boils down to:
• Break up the project into discrete deliverables
• Communicate constantly
• Focus on product goals, not features

40. Agile? Agile what?
• “Agile” is a philosophy/methodology that boils down to:
• Break up the project into discrete deliverables
• Communicate constantly
• Focus on product goals, not features
• It’s the opposite of:
• Creating lengthy, detailed product specifications before getting
started

41. Agile? Agile what?
• “Agile” is a philosophy/methodology that boils down to:
• Break up the project into discrete deliverables
• Communicate constantly
• Focus on product goals, not features
• It’s the opposite of:
• Creating lengthy, detailed product specifications before getting
started
• Locking engineers into inflexible final product requirements before
knowing what bugs/issues will arise

42. And Scrum is…?
• A set of procedures that are considered agile

43. And Scrum is…?
• A set of procedures that are considered agile
• No one actually implements them the same (AFAICT)

44. And Scrum is…?
• A set of procedures that are considered agile
• No one actually implements them the same (AFAICT)
• For your purposes, just know about:
• Stories
• Sprints (and the rules regarding these)
• Retrospectives

45. The Details in Four Steps
image credit: http://www.andertoons.com/

46. Step 1: Stories
• “Stories” are the way you should think about product
features

47. Step 1: Stories
• “Stories” are the way you should think about product
features
• Think in terms of the user: what goals does the user have with respect
to each feature?

48. Step 1: Stories
• “Stories” are the way you should think about product
features
• Think in terms of the user: what goals does the user have with respect
to each feature?
• Goal is to think through every detail of the user’s experience before
building

49. A Basic Example of User Stories
• To sign into your software:
• Story 1: User can register for an account

50. A Basic Example of User Stories
• To sign into your software:
• Story 1: User can register for an account
• Task: user must enter full name, email and a password [include final
designs for what this page looks like]

51. A Basic Example of User Stories
• To sign into your software:
• Story 1: User can register for an account
• Task: user must enter full name, email and a password [include final
designs for what this page looks like]
• Task: forms must validate that the email address is valid

52. A Basic Example of User Stories
• To sign into your software:
• Story 1: User can register for an account
• Task: user must enter full name, email and a password [include final
designs for what this page looks like]
• Task: forms must validate that the email address is valid
• Task: after registering, user is taken to their Account Profile page [include
destination link]

53. A Basic Example of User Stories
• To sign into your software:
• Story 1: User can register for an account
• Task: user must enter full name, email and a password [include final
designs for what this page looks like]
• Task: forms must validate that the email address is valid
• Task: after registering, user is taken to their Account Profile page [include
destination link]
• Story 2: User can sign into their account

54. A Basic Example of User Stories
• To sign into your software:
• Story 1: User can register for an account
• Task: user must enter full name, email and a password [include final
designs for what this page looks like]
• Task: forms must validate that the email address is valid
• Task: after registering, user is taken to their Account Profile page [include
destination link]
• Story 2: User can sign into their account
• Task: user enters email address and password [include design for page]

55. A Basic Example of User Stories
• To sign into your software:
• Story 1: User can register for an account
• Task: user must enter full name, email and a password [include final
designs for what this page looks like]
• Task: forms must validate that the email address is valid
• Task: after registering, user is taken to their Account Profile page [include
destination link]
• Story 2: User can sign into their account
• Task: user enters email address and password [include design for page]
• Task: user can click “Forgot Password” to get an email with a link to reset
their password [include design & copy for email]

56. Add Each Story to PivotalTracker.com
• 80%+ of engineers will be familiar with it, just use it

57. Add Each Story to PivotalTracker.com
• 80%+ of engineers will be familiar with it, just use it
• Story writing guidelines:
• Each story should relate to a single, discrete feature

58. Add Each Story to PivotalTracker.com
• 80%+ of engineers will be familiar with it, just use it
• Story writing guidelines:
• Each story should relate to a single, discrete feature
• Try to think of every question your engineer will have:
• Always include needed design assets (PSDs, images, screenshots,
whatever you have)

59. Add Each Story to PivotalTracker.com
• 80%+ of engineers will be familiar with it, just use it
• Story writing guidelines:
• Each story should relate to a single, discrete feature
• Try to think of every question your engineer will have:
• Always include needed design assets (PSDs, images, screenshots,
whatever you have)
• Use the “tasks” section to create checklists for the engineers to double-
check before submitting

60. Add Each Story to PivotalTracker.com
• 80%+ of engineers will be familiar with it, just use it
• Story writing guidelines:
• Each story should relate to a single, discrete feature
• Try to think of every question your engineer will have:
• Always include needed design assets (PSDs, images, screenshots,
whatever you have)
• Use the “tasks” section to create checklists for the engineers to double-
check before submitting
DO NOT assume that your vision for the product
is clear to your engineering team.

61. Step 2: Organize & Track Your Backlog
• The “backlog” in Pivotal Tracker is the to-do list for the
entire project

62. Step 2: Organize & Track Your Backlog
• The “backlog” in Pivotal Tracker is the to-do list for the
entire project
• Always keep stories ordered by priority:
• Stories that aren't dependent on any others are the highest
priority (e.g., login requires sign up, so build sign up first)
• Engineer will start at the top and work her way down

63. Keep it Simple for Your Team
• Pivotal Tracker is a reference point for the project; no
need to get fancy
• Ignore the point system; not necessary for tiny teams
• Keep all files, notes, comments, etc. in each story so that the
history is in one place

64. Keep it Simple for Your Team
• Pivotal Tracker is a reference point for the project; no
need to get fancy
• Ignore the point system; not necessary for tiny teams
• Keep all files, notes, comments, etc. in each story so that the
history is in one place
• Simple = always available, always responsive
• Respond to any changes in the story within 1 hour
• Continually follow & update the status of each story until it is
Accepted

65. What Pivotal Tracker Story “States” Should Mean
Unstarted No one has begun work
Started Someone has started work
Finished Needs code review (if only 1 engineer, skip this step)
Delivered PM must review and test the feature
Accept
Story is completed in full, all requirements are met
and have been double-checked
Reject
Story not completed as requested (always leave
notes when Rejecting)

66. Step 3: Group Stories Into “Sprints”
• A “sprint” is a protected period of time for pre-
determined work on specific tasks

67. Step 3: Group Stories Into “Sprints”
• A “sprint” is a protected period of time for pre-
determined work on specific tasks
• One week sprint = plan on Monday, finish on Friday
• Once the sprint plan has been agreed to, it cannot be changed
(this is why the sprint should only last one week)

68. Step 3: Group Stories Into “Sprints”
• Sprints are organized around three crucial meetings:
• Start with a “sprint planner” on Monday

69. Step 3: Group Stories Into “Sprints”
• Sprints are organized around three crucial meetings:
• Start with a “sprint planner” on Monday
• Conduct daily standups to check in every morning

70. Step 3: Group Stories Into “Sprints”
• Sprints are organized around three crucial meetings:
• Start with a “sprint planner” on Monday
• Conduct daily standups to check in every morning
• Conclude with a “sprint review” on Friday EOD

71. Sprint Planner
• Meet & decide what will get done in the sprint

72. Sprint Planner
• Meet & decide what will get done in the sprint
• Show up with all stories prioritized ahead of time

73. Sprint Planner
• Meet & decide what will get done in the sprint
• Show up with all stories prioritized ahead of time
• Read each story with the engineer, starting with the highest
priority
• Make sure the engineer knows what the story means and has everything
she needs to complete it

74. Sprint Planner
• Meet & decide what will get done in the sprint
• Show up with all stories prioritized ahead of time
• Read each story with the engineer, starting with the highest
priority
• Make sure the engineer knows what the story means and has everything
she needs to complete it
• Add all stories to be completed during a sprint to the
“CURRENT” column in Pivotal
• This will be your to-do list for the week: if all stories get done, you
& your team were productive

75. Each Day During the Sprint, PMs must:
• Conduct daily “standups”
• Each morning, everyone must meet and answer aloud:
• What did you do yesterday?
• What are you doing today?
• Are you blocked from further work by anything?

76. Each Day During the Sprint, PMs must:
• Conduct daily “standups”
• Each morning, everyone must meet and answer aloud:
• What did you do yesterday?
• What are you doing today?
• Are you blocked from further work by anything?
• Standups should be fast (15 mins max)

77. Each Day During the Sprint, PMs must:
• Conduct daily “standups”
• Each morning, everyone must meet and answer aloud:
• What did you do yesterday?
• What are you doing today?
• Are you blocked from further work by anything?
• Standups should be fast (15 mins max)
• Over-communicate: share everything, clear anything preventing
progress (“blockers”)

78. Each Day During the Sprint, PMs must:
• Assist, answer questions, and “groom” Pivotal Tracker:
• Test the latest version of the product

79. Each Day During the Sprint, PMs must:
• Assist, answer questions, and “groom” Pivotal Tracker:
• Test the latest version of the product
• Report all bugs in Pivotal Tracker

80. Each Day During the Sprint, PMs must:
• Assist, answer questions, and “groom” Pivotal Tracker:
• Test the latest version of the product
• Report all bugs in Pivotal Tracker
• Accept/Reject any story within one hour after it is delivered

81. Each Day During the Sprint, PMs must:
• Assist, answer questions, and “groom” Pivotal Tracker:
• Test the latest version of the product
• Report all bugs in Pivotal Tracker
• Accept/Reject any story within one hour after it is delivered
• Get any needed resources: answers from partners, additional
designs, tools or libraries, passwords, etc.

82. Mid-Sprint DON’Ts:
• DO NOT skip stand ups
• You can’t afford to be that busy

83. Mid-Sprint DON’Ts:
• DO NOT skip stand ups
• You can’t afford to be that busy
• DO NOT change priorities or add tasks
• The point of a sprint is to agree on the deliverable and allow the
engineer to focus

84. Mid-Sprint DON’Ts:
• DO NOT skip stand ups
• You can’t afford to be that busy
• DO NOT change priorities or add tasks
• The point of a sprint is to agree on the deliverable and allow the
engineer to focus
• DO NOT find out your engineer needs something that’s
not in the story
• All design assets (buttons, colors, fonts, screenshots, etc.) should
be attached to the story before the sprint begins

85. Sprint Review
• What got done? What didn't? Is the project on pace?

86. Sprint Review
• What got done? What didn't? Is the project on pace?
• Keep it casual
• Friday end of day, 30 minutes max
• Often done over beers, should be fun

87. Sprint Review
• What got done? What didn't? Is the project on pace?
• Keep it casual
• Friday end of day, 30 minutes max
• Often done over beers, should be fun
• Take notes for next sprint
• Organize your backlog over the weekend based on what did/
didn’t get done
• Improve your organization (you will miss things at first; that’s OK)

88. Step 4: Assess Progress via Retrospectives
• “Retros” are meetings that give your team a chance to air
out any issues happening with respect to the project
• “PM is pissing me off”
• “My desk is uncomfortable”
• “I think we’ve taken on too much,” etc.

89. Step 4: Assess Progress via Retrospectives
• “Retros” are meetings that give your team a chance to air
out any issues happening with respect to the project
• “PM is pissing me off”
• “My desk is uncomfortable”
• “I think we’ve taken on too much,” etc.
• Do these once every two weeks at the end of the sprint

90. You’ll Know You Need a Retro If:
• Your project is behind

91. You’ll Know You Need a Retro If:
• Your project is behind
• Your team is aggressive / passive aggressive

92. You’ll Know You Need a Retro If:
• Your project is behind
• Your team is aggressive / passive aggressive
• You’re not sure what the project goals are anymore

93. You’ll Know You Need a Retro If:
• Your project is behind
• Your team is aggressive / passive aggressive
• You’re not sure what the project goals are anymore
!
IMPORTANT: DO NOT SKIP RETROS!

94. Format for Retros
• Take a “team temperature” on a scale of 1-10 (10 is
best): “how are we doing as a team?”
• Everyone on the team writes down their rating
• Review any outliers (if 2 folks are a 9 and 1 is a 6, ask the 6 why?)
• Try to come up with action items if needed

95. Format for Retros
• Take an individual temp
• Each person writes down, on a scale of 1-10, how they think
they're doing individually
• Review any outliers here as well, make action items

96. Format for Retros
• Happy/sad/meh
• Using a whiteboard or Excel sheet, make columns with headers of
:), :| and :(
• Have the team write bullet points beneath each: what is making
you smile, frown or think “meh”?
• Can be anything, from “I had great coffee” to “office is too loud”
• Review each entry, make action items

97. Format for Retros
• Wrapup
• Turn any action items into stories (if it's an engineering task) or to
PM to-do lists (if it's anything else)
• Review the action items periodically to make sure they’re being
resolved

98. Retros Are Crucial!
• Retros can feel silly, but they’re important:
• Shouldn’t take more than an hour
• Should leave the team feeling like they’re all on the same page

99. Summary
image credit: http://thedoghousediaries.com/

100. Building is Hard
• That’s why PMs are necessary

101. Building is Hard
• That’s why PMs are necessary
• As a non-engineer, your sole job at first is to organize &
manage progress

102. Being a PM Makes Everyone’s Life Easier
• Smart people have figured out some basic but important
procedures: agile/scrum

103. Being a PM Makes Everyone’s Life Easier
• Smart people have figured out some basic but important
procedures: agile/scrum
• Following them is simple once you get used to it:
• Stories & a tool to keep track of them (Pivotal Tracker)
• Sprints (planners, standups, reviews)
• Retrospectives

104. Be Organized & Communicate
• Amazingly simple things often undermine startups
• Projects slow down when team members don't talk
• Breakdowns in communication lead to confusion, wasted time,
frustration & ultimately business failure

105. Be Organized & Communicate
• Amazingly simple things often undermine startups
• Projects slow down when team members don't talk
• Breakdowns in communication lead to confusion, wasted time,
frustration & ultimately business failure
• Don’t let this happen to you

106. Be Organized & Communicate
• Amazingly simple things often undermine startups
• Projects slow down when team members don't talk
• Breakdowns in communication lead to confusion, wasted time,
frustration & ultimately business failure
• Don’t let this happen to you
Anyone who is detailed, thoughtful and has great taste
for quality products can build awesome software

107. Thanks for reading!
I’m happy to answer any questions:
@rustysf
(russwallace.com)
Please share on Twitter, LinkedIn, etc!
image credit: http://jimbenton.com/