So you want to be a (non-technical) product manager

Presentation to accompany a #smwnyc masterclass: http://socialmediaweek.org/newyork/events/?id=67697

Transcript

1. Stacy-Marie Ishmael So, you want to be a (non-technical) PM?
2. What do product managers do? Lesson One
3. • Lead (product strategy) • Prioritize • Execute Three core responsibilities:
4. Lead the product strategy. You are not the CEO, but you are the CEO of the product. (Unless you have a technical CEO...)
5. Prioritize (ruthlessly). A good product manager knows when - and to whom - to say yes. And that you more often, you will be saying no.
6. Execute. If you’re not adding value, you’re not doing your job. And if your team is not shipping, there is no product. And no reason for you.
7. In the end, product managers ship, and that means that product managers cover whatever gaps in the process that need to be covered. “ “ @adamnash
8. • Communicate • Represent the end user(s) • Be a buffer for the product team Three more responsibilities:
9. Communicate. You need to be able to articulate (and translate) the product vision and strategy to both technical and non-technical audiences.
10. Represent the end user(s). You are the representative of everyone not in the room - clients, sales, marketing and PR, engineering, founders...
11. Be a buffer for the product team. Protect your engineers and your designers from distraction(s). Their time is worth more than yours.
12. There’s no way to be a successful product manager without a successful team “ “ @hunterwalk
13. So, do I need to learn to code? Lesson Two
14. Not knowing how to code is not a dealbreaker. Source: http://bit.ly/VBTPDn 60% Percentage of product managers in a recent survey who didn’t have a science or engineering background
15. STILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK DEV DON’T NEED TO LEARN A PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
16. You mean I need to learn to code?!? Lesson TwoPointFive
17. Non-technical doesn’t mean non-techie. You will need a healthy lack of ego as you come to grips with a new lexicon and way of thinking.
18. You really are learning a new language. Git. QA. Master. Stack. Front end. Backend. API. Python. Django. UX. UI. Javascript. Refactor. Unit test.
19. Don’t despair. Lesson Three
20. Product management is hard. And being a non-technical PM means you will face a steeper learning curve than your technical peers.
21. Seriously, product management is hard. But you don’t need HTML to solve problems, evangelize for your users, or lead a product team.
22. Repeat after me: you do not need to be a developer to be a good product manager. “ “ @s_m_i
23. Product Manager Stacy Ishmael @s_m_i linkedin.com/in/smishmael bitl.y/smwnycpm