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How many times have you seen software marketing pursuing “feature comparisons” – either as a method to breakdown version options or as a comparison against competitive brands? Does “thousands” or “millions” of times sound more accurate? Can you navigate feature list comparisons?

I can think of many reasons to be at SaaS University in Washington, DC beyond my session and Scio´s workshop. But I want to be clear: The sessions at SaaS University are always changing, always relevant to developing SaaS products and successful SaaS businesses. It is the only venue available with a focus on helping SaaS vendors navigate a complex business model.

Our workshop with Software Pricing Partners following the SaaS Summit: All About the Cloud is now finalized! Seating is limited so please check the details below and sign up NOW:

I’ve debated writing this article. Do people expect me to write about Project Management? Well… developing software products does mean you need to plan a project. You need to know and control your risks. So – yeah. I guess it does fit.

I find much of what I read in the media about the “issues” involved in developing SaaS products as silly – and sometimes just plain misinformed. Is it just me or are there just too many analysts with nothing else to write about?

I’ve seen a lot of different “roadmaps” for SaaS products lately. Some of them are good guides for specific questions. Some are simply misleading or poorly focused. But only a few of us are talking about the guiding thoughts behind a realistic roadmap that are critical to success.

When you develop products in a repeatable, production fashion, you have to step back occasionally and take the long view so you can properly discuss the process with clients. We’ve been involved in that exercise recently and I thought it might be useful to share the what and why of our approach to software development for online products.

Our move down the Lean and Agile road is not an accident. It is our core belief that customers will be more successful if they and their products and business processes are also Lean and Agile. We’re not alone in that thinking.

When I wrote the recent article “SaaS: 10 Trends for 2010″ I used the phrase “Best Case SaaS.” I realized from feedback and some thinking afterward though that many people don’t share my vision of what it is.

I’ve noticed there are broadly two camps when it comes to developing new services for the Internet: Those entrepreneurs that feel they must do everything themselves regardless of the hurdles they face and those that want to focus on their core expertise and leverage outside services where possible.