Description

Product Hub is the simplest way for new and existing SUSE customers to get started with SUSE products.

Until now, when platform engineers, sysadmins and developers needed to find the latest version of SUSE products, and download, launch and configure them, they needed to visit several different websites to gather all the required information. For example, a customer needing to launch a SUSE Linux Enterprise Server VM had to visit the SUSE downloads page, select SUSE Linux, and then try to determine the right ISO to download. Once they downloaded the correct ISO, they had to visit the documentation site, select SUSE Linux again, and find the right document that explains how to install it. To then learn for how long their chosen SUSE Linux release will be supported, they had to find the SUSE product life cycle page, and locate their SUSE Linux version in the list.

Not only was SUSE product information spread about several sites, the sites weren’t the same for SUSE’s various products. For example, in the SUSE downloads page, customers could only find ISOs to install SUSE Linux products, but there was no information about container images for our Cloud Native suite of products. Similarly, customers interested in security bulletins with the latest CVEs had to figure out that the main SUSE security page only covered SUSE Linux products, while CVE bulletins for Cloud Native products were found in a separate “SUSE Rancher - CVE Scans” page. Customers who wanted to be in the loop about new releases had to sign up to a special forum topic to learn about Rancher Prime releases, while SUSE Linux users… were out of luck - there was no way for them to be notified when a new version of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server was released.

Now, with Product Hub, all SUSE customers, no matter which product they’ve purchased, need to visit a single site which gives them everything they need. All important product information, for the entire SUSE portfolio, is either directly found, or linked from, Product Hub. This includes downloads, versions, release notes, news, documentation, and more. New SUSE customers will have a much easier time getting started with SUSE products, without having to hunt for the required downloads and manuals. Existing SUSE customers will benefit from a simpler user experience that brings the latest news and announcements to them.

SUSE Product Hub is not a new website that customers need to remember - it’s part of, and integrated with, the SUSE Customer Center (SCC) which every SUSE customer already uses. To visit Product Hub, users can simply go to scc.suse.com and click on the Product Hub link in the homepage. Because it’s integrated with SCC, Product Hub knows which subscriptions the user has, and personalizes the experience to them, prioritizing the products they are entitled to.

Goals

As one week is not enough time to develop Product Hub, the goal of this project is to create mockups that show what Product Hub could look like - the vision.

Though there is a second unrelated goal, which is to try the Amazon Working Backwards process - in particular, the Press Release (PR) / FAQ.

The description above is exactly that - a press release*. I wanted to try this process, because after listening to the Working Backwards audiobook, I'm convinced that it can improve my product management process and skills: to really take the perspective of a customer, and work backwards from there. To clearly articulate a problem, and describe a solution that solves it. To use the document to align all stakeholders, to gather feedback, and to improve the idea before writing a single line of code. The PR/FAQ process can help in investing the the bets that have the highest chance of success.

* I did not add the usual press release preamble, which would make it sound official, when this is simply a project idea.

Mockups created during Hack Week

Landing Page

Product Home Page

Product Download Page

Progress during Hack Week

This project started with just an idea to create something like Product Hub.

During Hack Week project, I managed to:

• Create the mock-ups
• Write the initial draft press release