10 secrets to great product management
DESCRIPTION
During this discussion we will explore why I think these are the ten secrets to great Product Management.TRANSCRIPT
By Stewart Rogers June 06, 2009
10 Secrets to Great Product Management
Who Am I?
• Stewart Rogers – Product Management Consultant with Ryma (over 100 product management process deployments)
• Previous experience in Corporate Strategy with leading Canadian financial services company and in Product Management with i2 Technologies.
• Recognized industry thought leader on product management best practices
Voted one of Five Most Important Product Management Personalities on Twitter
• Check out my blog…. http://www.strategicproductmanager.com
http://grandview.rymatech.com/
Where I work…
Company
Products
Community
• Blogs: http://product-management.alltop.com
• Product Management Webinars: http://grandview.rymatech.com/pmv/webinars
• Product Management Events: http://www.strategicproductmanager.com/events
• Product Management Book Club: http://www.booksprouts.com/club/show/426
• Twitter:
• http://twitter.com/StewartRogers (me)
• http://www.cindyalvarez.com/learning/product-managers-on-twitter
• Upcoming ProductCamps: New York (July), Austin (August), Seattle (October), Boston (November), Toronto (fall)
Product Management Resources
“participants in the conference leading all discussion sessions.”
• Agree / Disagree
• Additional commentary (share your experiences)
• Additional questions
Help Me Help You
Call Reports
• Validate assumptions (or special projects)
• Discover new opportunities
• Only 30% of product management
visit customer sites(Pragmatic Marketing’s
2009 survey)
Call Reports…
http://www.strategicproductmanager.com/2009/05/22/the-strategic-family-expands-to-customer-visitsRead: The Strategic Family Expands to Customer Visits
Watch and learn
• Observe your customers in action
• Determine why they do certain things
• Be honest in your desires to learn
(People fear change)
Observe…
Be mindful customer interviews vs. user observations- Constrained answers
Roadmap
• Feature vs. Release-based
• Strategize your Roadmap
Two take home points
• Most important deliverable
• Review weekly
Manage Roadmaps…
Ask yourself WHY before you…
• Respond to that email
• Attend that meeting
• Plan that feature
– Input processed to Output
Think…
Be mindful of being the demo’er and enhancement manager
Product Management defines the price of your products
• Only element to produce revenue
• Implies value
• The price today will determine the price tomorrow
• Stop discounting
Own your pricing…
http://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/publications/magazine/3/5/0507ds1_1Read: Pricing for Software Product Manager by Daniel Shefer
Win / Loss
• Key and missing features
• Sales process problems (#1)
Do Win/Loss Analysis…
Win/Loss Analysis *WILL* be a career differentiator.
http://www.strategicproductmanager.com/2009/04/30/win-loss-analysis-resources/Read: Win Loss Analysis Resources
To understand the problem, one must document problem
• “… innovation occurs at the boundaries of organizations and industries where the problems and needs of users can be linked together in a creative process that challenges both.”
• Peer reviews
• Find time!
Write Problem Statements…
Product Management is 90% influence
• People and relationships
• Enable team members to be creative
• Share your thoughts & reasoning
• Be a coach and catalyst
• Offer feedback
Be a leader…
http://leadonpurposeblog.comRead Lead on Purpose (blog)
Metrics help you make decisions
Vanity vs. Actionable Metrics
It is all about metrics!
• Revenue!• Customer Satisfaction • Defects / Bugs• Velocity• Usage statistics
Measure Measure Measure…
Read: Vanity Metrics vs. Actionable Metrics by Eric Rieshttp://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/05/19/vanity-metrics-vs-actionable-metrics/
Who the buyers are
• Key for Product Marketers
• Know background, daily activities, and current solutions
for their problems
Who the users are
• Goals and behavior of a real group of users
Define your Personas…
http://www.buyerpersona.comRead: Buyer Persona Blog
*Author of personacreation.com
Stewart Rogers
Product Management Consultant
http://twitter.com/StewartRogers
http://www.strategicproductmanager.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rstewartrogers
Thank you
Where to find me...