Product management 101 (Intro, definition, resposibilities)

Author: Productboard Type: #article Tags: product management

Product manager's job is to decide what to build next.

PM has to make sure that the feature of the product they're building is:

• valuable (answers a user need – whether functional or emotional one)
• usable (people can learn to use it quickly and can use it often without problems)
• feasible (the company is able to build it with reasonable amount of resources)

Identify user needs

PM needs to understand user needs very well to be able to decide what the best solution would be.

People tend to speak about problems in terms of solutions That's a trap PM's fall into as well – to think in solutions. But it's crucial to really identify and understand the problem/user need first. And when people talk in solutions (request a specific feature), it's important to look beyond it to the actual need, because there might be a better solution for it.

To identify what users need, PMs:

• set up systems and processes to collect user feedback
• gather insights from customer-facing colleagues
• talk to users directly (overlap with design & research)
• validate ideas with users (overlap with design)
• interview lost users to find out why

Many PMs make the mistake of tracking only solutions instead of user needs. They are then fixated on the solutions -> problematic. It's vital to have one place to track user feedback (👋 PB).

Prioritize what to build next

PMs need to consider many factors when deciding what to build. These activities help:

• define the target user segment (of the whole product or the current initiative)
• focus on specific objectives (strategic reasons for building something beyond user needs)
• prioritize in phases
• validate assumptions around selected features (do users still need them? do you understand the need behind it?)
• once a solution idea exists, obtain from engineers how much time it will take to develop and if there are any trade-offs that could be made
• learn product prioritization frameworks (e.g. RICE or Kano)

Always run the solutions by users. Test prototypes with them. PM & designer share a responsibility of understanding user needs and making sure the solution is usable.

PM has to clearly communicate context and constraints to designers and devs when sending a feature to development. Especially these details:

• strategic objective
• user need and target user segment
• KPIs
• user scenarios
• constraints and requirements

This is often provided in an initial spec but beware of a waterfall approach of creating a spec and just tossing it over to development. Devs should also have user context and understand the user need (ideally through occasional direct contact with users)

How to plan when to build and launch? Some features can be released one-off while other require releasing in phases together if they're to be useful for users. At the same time, Minimize risk by building an MVP to learn as soon as possible without too much time and resource investment.

Align your team

PMs need to be part of the execution process to make sure that:

• the developed solution meets user needs
• fill in gaps that arise during building (initial spec never covers everything)
• the solution is launched successfully and on time

Project management is part of PM's job here. Dedicated project managers may be part of teams to help with execution, in some orgs.

Rally everyone around a roadmap

Share the plans about what to build with the organization. Be transparent about the prioritization process and what you considered. When colleagues (e.g. from sales, support etc.) see that they contributed to it, it's easier to have their support.

In some cases (e.g. complex B2B products) it might make sense to share a roadmap with customers and prospects too.

Engage the customer community

• Show users they've been heard
• Share ideas you're considering and what's planned
• Celebrate what you've launched

References

Productboard: Product Management 101 https://www.productboard.com/what-is-product-management-101/