Product Management for non Product Managers
AKA How to Work with Tech Makers to Solve Your Problems
By Isaac SouweinePresented at a
May 16, 2015
What is Product Management?
UX
BUSINESS
TECH
PM
Source: https://medium.com/@joshelman/a-product-managers-job-63c09a43d0ec
What is Product Management?
Def. 1 - PMs partner with technology and design to solve
business problems
What is Product Management?
Def. 2 - PMs help the company decide WHAT, WHY, and
WHEN of product development
What do PMs do?
1. Identify Problems or Opportunities 2. Brainstorm Solutions 3. Define Success
====Prioritization===== 4. Define Solutions 5. Develop Solutions (driver = engineering + design)6. Launch Solutions (driver = marketing)7. Assess Performance
Q: But what if there aren’t any PMs?
A: Find ways to get PM work done without specifically assigning the role.
Teams who can share PM work
1. Founders2. Engineering3. Design4. Marketing5. Individual feature requestors
1/2. Identify a Problem/Solution
● With data● With user feedback (know your users!)● Based on company strategy● Based on copying other people● NB - This is the easy part! Everybody has
ideas about problems for tech to solve.
PM tricks for Problem/Solution
● Idea backlogs ● User surveys● User research ● Brainstorming● Get tech makers involved!?
3. Define Success
● What is the KPI?● What’s your guess on how it can move?● What’s the ROI if it moves in that way?
PM tricks for Defining Success
● Know your metrics!● Understand how product can drive metrics● Dashboards - push, pull, public● NB - Orchestrating data culture probably
needs to be someone’s job.
4. Define the Solution
● What does it do?● What does it look like?● What does it say?● How do users find it?● How do users master it?● What systems does it connect to?
PM tricks for Defining the Solution
● Google Docs (make content public)● Specs ● Spec wikis (archive)● User stories● Wireframes● Story trackers (Pivotal, JIRA etc.)● Developer input!
5. Develop the Solution
● Final graphics● Front end● Back end● Instrumentation● NB - This is the HOW of product development.
The tech makers should drive it.
PM tricks for Developing the Solution● SCRUM● Interface reviews● Spec adjustments● User Acceptance Testing● Formal QA● On call support● Shameless hustling● Chocolate
6. Launch the Solution
● On site promotion● Email promotion● Social promotion● Paid promotion● PR● User education● Stakeholder education
PM tricks for Launching the Solution
● Stakeholder updates● User training● Test launches ● Beta periods
7. Assess Performance
● Did it work?● Why or why not?● What’s next?
PM tricks for Assessing Performance
● Solid, reliable data ● Microsoft Excel● Smart analysis● Meetings● Slides● NB - If you did your job right up til now, this
part should be easy.
What do PMs do?
1. Identify problems or opportunities 2. Brainstorm solutions 3. Define success
====Prioritization===== 4. Define solutions in detail5. Develop the solution (driver = engineering + design)6. Launch the solution (driver = marketing)7. Assess performance
Prioritization is Unique
● In theory, individual projects can be PM’d by anyone, or by a group of people sharing the load.
● But prioritization is about choosing between lots of projects that aren’t easy to compare and that touch very different parts of the business.
● So if you don’t have a PM to run prioritization, you need someone with authority and a global view to do it.
● Or you could just hire a PM :-)
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