product manager getting started guide
TRANSCRIPT
THE PRODUCT MANAGER GETTING STARTED GUIDE
Mike Goos [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-goos-a01018b0
About Me
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• Former Sr. Dir of PM at Shutterfly, Inc
• Product management, marketing and UX
• 20 years of internet product experience
– Shutterfly.com
– Line2
– Westfield Labs
– AOL.com
– Geocities (acquired by Yahoo)
– NetObjects (IPO in 1999)
Getting Started
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The 3 Answers
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What is our product?
Who is it for?
Why is it valuable?
Where do I Start?
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Don’t be this guy
Where do I Start?
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Don’t be this gal
Your Role
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Product Manager
Functional Skills
Domain Expertise
Take Ownership
Functional Skills
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Functional Skills
Gathering Requirements & Feedback
Being Objective
Analyzing
Prioritizing
Focusing
Influencing Team Members
Making Decisions
Communicating
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Domain Expertise
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Domain Expertise
Market Segment
Consumer, SMB, Enterprise, Developers, Europe
Market Category
eCommerce, Mobile, Social, Games, Video, SaaS
Installed Base
Customer interactions, Primary/secondary Research, Business analytics
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Taking Ownership
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Ownership
You own a piece
All pieces required
Each piece highlighted per phase of process
Entire pie is owned by team
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Ownership
OK for a dog
Not OK for a PM
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Four D’s of Ownership
Discussions
Demonstrations
Decisions
Direction
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Personal Gap Analysis
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Personal Gap Analysis
Product management disciplines
Marketing
Technical
Business
Communication Style
Relevant for all experience levels
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Personal Gap Analysis
Marketing Segment vs. Category
Size and rate of growth
Direct/indirect competitors
Points of differentiation
Reviewer’s guide
Technical Stack
Trends
Environment
Performance benchmarks
Business Business Cases
Willingness to Pay
Revenue Model
Pricing
Make/Buy/Partner
Legal Environment
Communication Style Internal/external
audiences
Written vs. Spoken
Dominate or Listen
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Michelle
Previous role: Market research analyst
Current role: Product manager for a
consumer web app
Current score: Marketing: B+
Technical: C
Business: B
Communication Style: A
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Maurice
Previous role:
Sr. Sales Engineer
Current role:
Product Lead for enterprise software
Current score:
Marketing: C-
Technical: A
Business: B-
Communication Style: B-
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You
Any grading system
By yourself or with manager
Record a benchmark
Set a realistic goal for future improvement
6 Months
12 Months
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Tools
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Tools
Creation
MS Office
Google Docs/Forms
Moqups -> InVision
Collaboration
Whiteboards
Google Docs
Biz Social Networks
Lunch
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Training
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Training
Mentor
Books Lean Product Playbook
Groups Productcamp.org
Meetups
Classes Pragmatic Marketing
Product School
280 Group
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• Product Manager’s Role
• The 3 Answers
• Functional Skills
• Domain Expertise
• Taking Ownership • The 4 D’s
• Personal Gap Analysis
• Michelle & Maurice
• Your own
• Tools and Training
Summary
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