Product Management 101

Product Management 101

• 1. Product Management 101 Amit Ranjan

• 2. Presentation Flow • Product Management ‐ what, why, who • Product Manager skillsets • Difference between Consumer & Enterprise products

• 3. • Product Management is the function that manages the product life cycle through activities like planning, forecasting, production, marketing. • The Product Management role can have different flavours ‐ engineering, design, sales, user acquisition, marketing, data etc

• 4. • Product Managers have responsibility but no authority • They own the product, but don’t manage the people building the product The Product Management Dilemma

• 5. “A great product manager has the brain of an engineer, the heart of a designer, and the speech of a diplomat…”

• 6. “The best Product Managers become CEOs of their products (minus P&L responsibilities)…”

• 7. Product Management owns the vision, design, and execution of the product

• 8. • Vision ‐ align org goals with market conditions & user needs ‐ ‘get’ the pulse of the product (think movie directors) •Design ‐ give shape to the product: feature mix, user experience • Execution ‐ work with engineering, quality, marketing to deliver

• 9. Identifying a Good Product Manager • Strong product sense/instinct • Carries multiple points of views • Communicates clearly • Simplifies & prioritizes • Measures & iterates • Understands good design • Writes effective copy

• 10. “Product Managers are God’s gift to mankind…. against feature bloat”

• 11. "Every failed product had an awesome spreadsheet…"

• 12. Product Managers: “The Art of Saying No” • So many reasons to say yes ‐ “But the data looks good…” ‐ “But it’ll only take a few minutes….” ‐ “But this customer is about to quit…” ‐ “But we can just make it optional…” ‐ “But my cousin’s neighbour said…” ‐ “But we’re allowed to work on whatever we want…” ‐ “But 713,000 people said they want it…” ‐ “But we’ll achieve our monthly target…”

• 13. How to tackle casual product feedback • One person's opinion (OPO) ‐ what if the one-person is Steve Jobs • Strong suggestion • Vocal minority phenomenon • Mandate https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140602024642-22330283-avoiding-the-unintendedconsequences-of-casual-feedback

• 14. 3 point thumb rule for product prioritization • Product features (prioritizing for a product) ‐ Metrics movers ‐ Satisfiers ‐ Delighters • Product Roadmap (prioritizing overall product plan) ‐ Core ‐ Strategic ‐ Venture

• 15. Both consumer & enterprise products deliver user values & functionality but… - Consumer: you build for end-users Enterprise: you build for end-users & buyers - Consumer: satisfies the user’s emotional need Enterprise: workflow efficiency is focus - Consumer: build what users love (partners: Eng/Design/Pdt.) Enterprise: revenue driven (partners: Sales/Marketing) - Consumer: often requires an artistic mindset Enterprise: requires a business mindset

• 16. References • http://crankypm.com/2006/11/08/that-all-the-responsibility-and-no-authority-saying/ • http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-principles/ • http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html • http://blog.intercom.io/product-strategy-means-saying-no/ • https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140602024642-22330283-avoiding-the-unintendedconsequences-of-casual-feedback • https://www.pinterest.com/pin/47850814762416434/ • http://www.sachinrekhi.com/blog/2013/01/28/what-is-product-management • http://www.quora.com/What-distinguishes-the-Top-1-of-Product-Managers-from-the-Top10/answer/Ian-McAllister • https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-enterprise-products-differ-from-consumer-angelayoonjeong-yang • www.dilbert.com • http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-ways-to-prioritize-a-list-of-product-features • http://www.instigatorblog.com/the-role-of-product-managers/2012/06/08/ • https://medium.com/design-of-a-technology-business/ultimate-guide-to-product-prioritizationb08c18d5c00f