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Lewis C. Lin talk to Stanford MBAsApril 15, 2014

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2

The Role

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3 #GetPMJob

What Product Managers “Can” Do

MarketingPM1 2

3

4

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What Product Managers “Say” They Do

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What Product Managers “Typically” Do

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Understand the

customer

Develop requireme

ntsPrioritize resources

Serve as launch lead

Collect feedback

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Understanding the customer

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1. Name and alias2. Problem quotes3. Age, day in the

life, thoughts & feelings

4. Goals5. Behavioral

variables

12

3

4

5

Personas

Understand the

customer

Develop requireme

ntsPrioritize resources

Primary POC for launch

Collect feedback

7

Developing requirements

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Understand the

customer

Develop requireme

ntsPrioritize resources

Primary POC for launch

Collect feedback

As a <role>, I want <goal/desire> so that <benefit>.

Examples As an administrator, I want to be able to

add/delete/change my boss’s schedule so that I don’t have to use his password.

As a Facebook user, I want to see out-of-town friends who send status messages in my hometown first, so that I can send them a note.

User stories

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Prioritizing resources

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Understand the

customer

Develop requireme

ntsPrioritize resources

Primary POC for launch

Collect feedback

User Story Revenue Customer Satisfaction

Implementation Difficulty

Overall

Story A 3 3 1 9Story B 2 2 2 6Story C 1 1 3 3

Prioritization matrix

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Serving as launch owner

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Responsibilities Manage project

execution Primary exec contact Primary product

contact Primary press contact

Key documents Product FAQ

Understand the

customer

Develop requireme

ntsPrioritize resources

Primary POC for launch

Collect feedback

10

Evaluating customer feedback

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Lift P-Value# of users completing signup

-13.21% 0.02

Profile completeness +1.65% 0.01# of users the posted +2.11% 0.05# posts +4.85% 0.01# of invites sent +2.36% 0.021 day retention +2.12% 0.077 day retention +1.08% 0.2030 day retention N/A N/A

Understand the

customer

Develop requireme

ntsPrioritize resources

Primary POC for launch

Collect feedback

A/B test: Adding “upload photo” to social network sign-up flow

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Day-in-the-life of a PM

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8:15a Go through emails8:45a Read TC; check out Nest UI

9a Review mock-ups with designer10a Lead daily stand-up meeting

10:30a Check email11:30a Customer call with sales team

12p Lunch meeting with market research team1p Last minute prep for product roadmap review2p Product roadmap preso to executives3p Send out meeting notes to team

3:30p Lead eng. call with Google to discuss API implementation4:30p Review A/B test results5:30p Work on product roadmap & tweak product backlog

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Speed Round

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Quick tips for the PM interviewStandard TMAY Why company X? Behavioral questions

Case questions Product design Pricing New market entry Analytical Strategy Technical