Product Management: Philosophy & Practices

5413a812757c471c3bd10baf4614ebf7?s=47 Jess Martin
January 23, 2013
Technology
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490

Product Management: Philosophy & Practices

What's product management? And what's it got to do with me? We'll talk through the basic principles behind building an unbelievably great product, and then walk through the practices we use at CloudFactory to make that happen.

5413a812757c471c3bd10baf4614ebf7?s=128

Jess Martin

January 23, 2013
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Transcript

  1. 1.

    Product Management: Philosophy & Practices Jess Martin & Kailash Badu

  2. 2.

    What the heck is product management?

  3. 3.

    Sounds BORING.

  4. 4.

    Product management

  5. 5.

    Product management

  6. 6.

    Product management design

  7. 7.

    Product design. Better. ...but what’s that?

  8. 8.
    None
  9. 9.

    You are not Steve.

  10. 10.

    Product design is PEOPLE PROBLEMS PRIORITY

  11. 11.

    Know WHO you are building for. PEOPLE

  12. 12.

    Know WHAT they need. PEOPLE

  13. 13.

    Lots of users @ CF... PEOPLE Clients

  14. 14.

    Lots of users @ CF... PEOPLE Clients Workforce

  15. 15.

    Lots of users @ CF... PEOPLE Clients Workforce Solutions (Production

    Managers)
  16. 16.

    Lots of users @ CF... PEOPLE Clients Workforce Solutions (Production

    Managers) Cloud Seeders
  17. 17.

    Lots of users @ CF... PEOPLE Clients Workforce Solutions (Production

    Managers) Cloud Seeders Data Scientists
  18. 18.

    Lots of users @ CF... PEOPLE Clients Workforce Solutions (Production

    Managers) Cloud Seeders Data Scientists Cloud Workers
  19. 19.

    PROBLEM Software exists to solve people's problems.

  20. 20.

    Design focuses FIRST on problem definition. PROBLEM

  21. 21.

    PROBLEM

  22. 22.

    I need a faster site. PROBLEM

  23. 23.

    I need a faster site. PROBLEM Why?

  24. 24.

    I need a faster site. PROBLEM Why? It’s too slow.

  25. 25.

    I need a faster site. PROBLEM Why? It’s too slow.

    When do you notice?
  26. 26.

    I need a faster site. PROBLEM Why? It’s too slow.

    When do you notice? When I’m entering data. It’s really slow moving between fields.
  27. 27.

    I need a faster site. PROBLEM Why? It’s too slow.

    When do you notice? When I’m entering data. It’s really slow moving between fields. Where is data coming from?
  28. 28.

    I need a faster site. PROBLEM Why? It’s too slow.

    When do you notice? When I’m entering data. It’s really slow moving between fields. Where is data coming from? Excel. I copy it.
  29. 29.

    Problem: Manually copying data into the website from Excel. PROBLEM

  30. 30.

    Problem: Manually copying data into the website from Excel. PROBLEM

    I know! CSV import!
  31. 31.

    Not so fast... PROBLEM

  32. 32.

    PROBLEM

  33. 33.

    What do you use the data for? PROBLEM

  34. 34.

    What do you use the data for? How does it

    get into Excel? PROBLEM
  35. 35.

    What do you use the data for? How does it

    get into Excel? Who else needs to see it? PROBLEM
  36. 36.

    What do you use the data for? How does it

    get into Excel? Who else needs to see it? Who else works on it? PROBLEM
  37. 37.

    What do you use the data for? How does it

    get into Excel? Who else needs to see it? Who else works on it? PROBLEM Why do you need the data on your site?
  38. 38.

    What do you use the data for? How does it

    get into Excel? Who else needs to see it? Who else works on it? PROBLEM Why do you need the data on your site? How often do you do this import?
  39. 39.

    Don’t jump to solutions too early. PROBLEM

  40. 40.

    Make sure you fully understand the problem. PROBLEM

  41. 41.

    You can’t build it all. PRIORITY

  42. 42.

    When to build is as important as what. PRIORITY

  43. 43.

    Sometimes that means saying NO to features. PRIORITY

  44. 44.

    PEOPLE PROBLEMS PRIORITY

  45. 45.

    Getting sleepy yet?

  46. 46.

    Thinking about the dal bhat you just ate?

  47. 47.

    Who are the product designers at CF?

  48. 48.

    This is not the product.

  49. 49.

    This is not the product.

  50. 50.

    This is not the product.

  51. 51.

    sales process Cloud Worker onboarding character principles workflow engine worker

    interface client contracts Facebook app comments QA test plans server configurations logo worker payroll client interface task forms work accuracy Cloud Worker support
  52. 52.

    sales process Cloud Worker onboarding character principles workflow engine worker

    interface client contracts Facebook app comments QA test plans server configurations logo worker payroll client interface task forms work accuracy Cloud Worker support This is the product.
  53. 53.

    Each of you shapes the product every day.

  54. 54.

    HOW? HOW? Ok...

  55. 55.

    Let’s talk process.

  56. 56.
    None
  57. 57.

    TALK to users #1

  58. 58.

    TALK to users #1 DESIGN and DOCUMENT solutions #2

  59. 59.

    TALK to users #1 DESIGN and DOCUMENT solutions #2 DECIDE

    what to do #3
  60. 60.

    TALK to users #1 DESIGN and DOCUMENT solutions #2 DECIDE

    what to do #3 DO (build) it #4
  61. 61.

    TALK to users #1 DESIGN and DOCUMENT solutions #2 DECIDE

    what to do #3 DO (build) it #4 REPEAT #5
  62. 62.

    TALK to users

  63. 63.

    Ask good questions. TALK to users

  64. 64.

    TALK to users What do you need in order to

    accomplish your goals? What's painful about your process these days? When have you thought “I wish our product would ____”? Have you noticed any problems this week?
  65. 65.

    Don't suggest solutions too early! LISTEN TALK to users

  66. 66.

    Listening tip: Repeat back what they just said to make

    sure you heard correctly. TALK to users “So what I hear you saying is...”
  67. 67.

    Use your own product. (eat your own dog food, or

    as Evan says, gourmet meal) TALK to users
  68. 68.

    DESIGN and DOCUMENT solutions

  69. 69.

    Sketch. Wireframe. Discuss. DESIGN and DOCUMENT solutions

  70. 70.

    Involve the user in the design process. DESIGN and DOCUMENT

    solutions ANYONE CAN DRAW!
  71. 71.

    Write up your solution with a user story. DESIGN and

    DOCUMENT solutions
  72. 72.

    DECIDE what to do

  73. 73.

    Different for each team... DECIDE what to do

  74. 74.

    Census John delegated to Sarwagya & Safal DECIDE what to

    do
  75. 75.

    Platform Trying out a larger meeting with all the stakeholders....

    DECIDE what to do
  76. 76.

    DO (build) it

  77. 77.

    ...and finally

  78. 78.

    REPEAT

  79. 79.

    Talk to users. See if your solution worked.

  80. 80.

    So...

  81. 81.

    “I thought this presentation was about product management?”

  82. 82.

    What exactly IS product management?

  83. 83.

    Making sure product design gets done well PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

  84. 84.

    Listen up, engineers.

  85. 85.

    No matter how good we are at “engineering” we won’t

    succeed if we build the wrong product.
  86. 86.

    How can we become a product-focused team?

  87. 87.

    Understand the WHY as well as the WHAT.

  88. 88.

    Design solutions rather than just raising issues.

  89. 89.

    Nothing (or very little) is impossible.

  90. 90.

    We need YOU. How do I become a product manager?

    • Top-notch communication skills • Passion for nicely designed products • Ability to put yourself in your user shoes and empathize with their needs • Know the industry (rivals, competing products, industry trends) • Eye for design • Awareness of technology • Creativity
  91. 91.

    You are already a product designer. TAKE AWAY / HOME

    PACK You should be improving the product every day. Think about it: is product management for you?