Introduction to Technical Product
Management for Developers
Joshua Silver
VP, Product Development
Patientco
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Agenda
• About me
• Dev vs Product Management Mindset
• Two Key Product Management Functions
• Understand the WHY?
• Summary
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About Me
• CS degree from GA Tech
• Helped internationalize CareerBuilder.complatform
• Technical co-founder of Patientco
• Fun Fact:
– Travel junkie: 25 countries by the time I was 25
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About Patientco
• Simplifies patient billing for healthcare providers
• Bills that patients can actually understand!
• Founded in 2009 in Atlanta
• Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Company
• We’re hiring: http://www.patientcolife.com
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Development
vs
Product Management
Mindset
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Think like a Product Manager
• Increase impact
• Reduce wasted development effort
• Expand scope of influence
• Enhance the product
…. and much more!
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Development
HOW should the
product be built?
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Product Management
WHAT product should be built?
WHEN should it be built?
FOR WHOM should it be built?
WHY should it be be built?
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Dev PM
HOW
WHAT
WHEN
WHO
WHY
Traditional Setup
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Dev PM
HOW
WHY
WHO
Thinking Like a Product Manager
WHAT
WHEN
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Two Key Product
Management Functions
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Tale of Two Developers
“Can’t be done”
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Tale of Two Developers
“Can’t be done”
- - -
“Anything is possible”
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Tale of Two Developers
• Which developer
… would you rather work with?
… is acting in the company’s best
interest?
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First Key Function
determining
SCOPE
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Simplify Everything by 20%
• Nice-to-have VS Need-to-have
• Continuous delivery to stakeholders with
feedback required before continuing
• “What would happen without … ?”
• Reward building LESS - NOT more!
• Hard part is figuring out which 20%
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ANOTHER Tale of Two Developers
“Easiest First”
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ANOTHER Tale of Two Developers
“Easiest First”
- - -
“Hardest First”
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ANOTHER Tale of Two Developers
POLL:
“Easiest First”
“Hardest First”
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ANOTHER Tale of Two Developers
Best answer:
“Value First”
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Second Key Function
determining
PRIORITIZATION
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Plan for the Long Term,
but Find Early Wins
• Refactor vs “pile higher”
• What’s likely to change in the future?
– Built flexibility into that
• Deliver Early, continuously
• “Path complete” vs “section complete”
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HOW?
Scope
Prioritization
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Understand the
WHY?
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Understand the WHY?
• Good developer:
– Completes ticket; meets requirements
• Great developer
– Clarifying questions and narrows scope
• Outstand developer:
– Understands WHY ticket is being done
and makes great design decisions