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Published:
January 24, 2017

Product Management For Dummies

Overview

Your one-stop guide to becoming a product management prodigy

Product management plays a pivotal role in organizations. In fact, it's now considered the fourth most important title in corporate America—yet only a tiny fraction of product managers have been trained for this vital position. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people who hold this essential job—or simply aspire to break into a new role—Product Management For Dummies gives you the tools to increase your skill level and manage products like a pro.

From defining what product management is—and isn't—to exploring the rising importance of product management in the corporate world, this friendly and accessible guide quickly gets you up to speed on everything it takes to thrive in this growing field. It offers plain-English explanations of the product life cycle, market research, competitive analysis, market and pricing strategy, product roadmaps, the people skills it takes to effectively influence and negotiate, and so much more.

  • Create a winning strategy for your product
  • Gather and analyze customer and market feedback
  • Prioritize and convey requirements to engineering teams effectively
  • Maximize revenues and profitability

Product managers are responsible for so much more than meets the eye—and this friendly, authoritative guide lifts the curtain on what it takes to succeed.

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About The Author

Brian Lawley is the CEO and founder of the 280 Group, the world's leading product management consulting and training firm. Pamela Schure is director of products and services with the 280 Group. She has worked in product management, product marketing, and marketing for Apple and Adaptec, among other companies.

Sample Chapters

product management for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

Are you just starting out as a product manager or looking for a guide to becoming better at what you already do every day? The role of a product manager can be a strategic business driver for your company and, as such, a lot of people are watching closely to see what direction you take them in.This Cheat Sheet offers a guide to the different people product managers interact with, arms you with the skill set needed to catapult you to "great" status, and shows you how to acknowledge and resolve conflicts.

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This list takes a tongue-in-cheek look at things product managers do that have caused them to fall short or fail at producing their product on time and at a profit. Talking more than listening If you're a product manager and you aren't accustomed to being quiet and listening to what customers, engineers, salespeople, and executives are really saying, you're in trouble.
The role of product manager is complex and involves a lot of moving parts. Unlike a car engine, adding a quart of oil isn't useful to smooth over the inevitable friction that arises in the process. As a product manager, you are constantly re-evaluating your product situation based on the latest information. Sometimes changes need to happen to keep up with the current situation and that can cause conflict.
Agile is a flexible way of developing products that mostly applies to software development. Agile has two very specific roles that you don't see in other development environments: the product owner and the scrum master.The scrum master is typically only used in a specific version of Agile called scrum. The following figure illustrates which responsibilities lie exclusively with the product manager (PM), which are shared according to preference and skill between the product owner (PO) and product manager, and which are specifically allocated to a product owner.
A product begins life as a small thought: a "what-if" spark that captures the imagination. But before a product sees the light of day or reaches the customer's hands, it must go through a series of phases that involves all the departments within a company.These seven phases capture everything that happens with a product throughout its entire life and all critical decisions that must be made.
The biggest surprise coming into product management is just how many people you have to talk to. Each function that product managers interact with has a different point of view and perspective. Your task is to listen to and then integrate everyone's ideas to lead the company forward in the most profitable product decision possible.
Someone once compared product management to refrigerator function. You don't notice when it's running well, but when it's broken, things start to stink. Remember that when you do your job well, the company hums much better — even if it doesn't know you're the source of the humming. There is less confusion and more direction.
When you need to convey what will be released across multiple product lines during a given time period, use a multiple product line road map like the one shown. Use this road map to communicate to management and other stakeholders what to expect with a range of products at a high level.In the example, the exact detailed features are not discussed.
As product manager, you touch almost every part of an organization and may not even realize it. Only many years after you've left a product management role and find someone in an obscure part of the company who recognizes you do you realize the extent of your reach. It's a humbling thought. One excellent practice is to swing through the building once or twice a day checking in with key functions.
Are you just starting out as a product manager or looking for a guide to becoming better at what you already do every day? The role of a product manager can be a strategic business driver for your company and, as such, a lot of people are watching closely to see what direction you take them in.This Cheat Sheet offers a guide to the different people product managers interact with, arms you with the skill set needed to catapult you to "great" status, and shows you how to acknowledge and resolve conflicts.
Product management can report into various parts of the organization. In tech-heavy roles, it sometimes reports into engineering. In more consumer-oriented companies, it sometimes reports into marketing. More and more, companies recognize that a synthesis of what the customer wants and what the business can provide is best placed at the highest level of an organization.
You may know of a commonly used product life cycle that starts from the premise that a product is in the market. It has four phases: Introduction: The goal in this phase is to build market awareness for the product. The job here is to educate customers as to the value of the product. Growth: During the growth phase, the company is guiding market share and creating brand preference in the eyes of the customer.
As a product manager, finding what doesn't work is sometimes easier that knowing what is working well. If you see the following symptoms, most likely your process isn't very effective. Decision making is extended. Every decision is hard fought and can be arbitrarily reversed at any time. And once you are allowed to start the next phase, you're often in a rush to complete your product.
As organizations grow, the complexity of who is responsible for doing what becomes greater. Product managers have a long list of responsibilities, and making sure that everyone is clear on what they need to be involved in and what they can safely pass onto other roles is important to document.There are two management tools that are useful for making sure that everyone knows who participates in finishing an activity and who makes a decision about a particular topic: RACI: Who is responsible for completing certain tasks?
Product road maps can be a highly effective tool for a product manager. You create a theme-based road map by grouping your potential prioritized feature list into themes. The figure shows what an internal theme-based road map looks like.For example, a theme could be performance, usability, or competitive parity.
Timed release road maps are based on the concept that new versions of the product will be released on a consistent schedule that doesn't change. For example, a new product would be released every six months — no matter what. To create this road map, you list your features in priority order for the next release, estimating what can be done in the time frame.
Product management as a profession takes each individual to the limits of their comfort zones at one point or another in their careers. If you are an introvert, you are asked to be vocal about the needs of your product. If you are an extrovert, you need to spend a lot of time listening quietly. And if you are technical, your time focusing deeply on people's needs and on the business strategy portion of your job may be difficult.
Becoming a great product manager is the work of a lifetime. The work is complicated. The skills and talents that you have to bring to the role are many. And just when you think you've mastered them all, you realize you haven't used one in a while and need more practice. Having the characteristics and skills of an amazing product manager make the job a great one if you like variety and challenges.
Companies with great product management have a much higher degree of success. But what is product management? The following discussion sheds some light on what a product manager actually does. Defining product management You can think of product management as the function in a company that is ultimately responsible for making sure that every product the company offers to the market is as successful as possible both short-term tactically and long-term strategically.
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