Get the Most Out of Your Product Manager - PSLive 2018

CEO of the Product. Product "owner". "The Business". With terms like these, it is no wonder that the relationship between Product Managers and Engineers can be contentious at times. Better products get built when teams are collaborating and working together across disciplines. Product managers and engineers provide needed balance to each other. But too often the balance gets shifted and an "us vs them" mentality emerges. The lack of trust erodes collaboration and keeps teams from operating at a high-performance level. This talk aims to address some common misconceptions about product managers, and discuss how product managers and engineers can work better together to reach a common goal - building products people love.

Transcript

2. Get the Most Out of Your Product Manager Emily Tate US General Manager Mind the Product @thedailyem
3. @thedailyem
4. @thedailyem
5. @thedailyem
6. Building Great Product is a Team Sport @thedailyem
7. We Have to Understand Each Other @thedailyem
8. Where I’m Coming From @thedailyem
9. ©2011 Martin Eriksson @thedailyem
10. There will never be a shortage of good ideas @thedailyem
11. There will never be a shortage of opinions @thedailyem
12. FOCUS @thedailyem
13. “What is the most valuable thing we can deliver next?” - Me, daily. @thedailyem
14. @thedailyem
15. Tips to Get the Most Value From Me @thedailyem
16. -1- Shorten the Feedback Loop @thedailyem
17. “Product management is decision making as a service” - Janice Fraser, SVP at Bionic Solutions @thedailyem
18. A story is unclear @thedailyem
19. A story is unclear A story is clear but taking a long time @thedailyem
20. A story is unclear A story is clear but taking a long time A story is clear but an edge case can be handled multiple ways @thedailyem
21. A story is unclear A story is clear but taking a long time A story is clear but an edge case can be handled multiple ways An edge case can be handled multiple ways and the story asks for the most difficult one @thedailyem
22. You built something but it “feels weird” @thedailyem
23. You built something, it breaks something else You built something but it “feels weird” @thedailyem
24. You built something, it breaks something else You built something but it “feels weird” You built something and it works perfectly @thedailyem
25. You built something, it breaks something else You built something but it “feels weird” You built something and it works perfectly You want some cupcakes @thedailyem
26. But seriously, cupcakes. @thedailyem
27. Skeptical Guy Says @thedailyem
28. “My product manager is never available.” - You, probably @thedailyem
29. @thedailyem
30. Product Managers @thedailyem
31. It is far more important to sit next to your dev team than your marketing team @thedailyem
32. “We have bi-weekly demos and planning meetings.” - You, probably @thedailyem
33. Demo should never be the first time a PM sees a completed story @thedailyem
34. -2- Talk Technology With Me @thedailyem @thedailyem
35. ©2011 Martin Eriksson @thedailyem
36. I want to be your advocate @thedailyem
37. Maintenance Feature Work Business Sees: Waste of Time and Money Stuff I Can Actually Sell Technology Sees: @thedailyem
38. @thedailyem
39. I want to avoid dumb decisions that make your life harder @thedailyem
40. @thedailyem
41. @thedailyem
42. @thedailyem
43. I want to know how things work so I can plan better in the future @thedailyem
44. @thedailyem
45. Skeptical Guy Says @thedailyem
46. “It’s going to take way too long to teach my PM about our tech.” - You, probably @thedailyem
47. @thedailyem
48. “I don’t want my PM telling me how to do my job.” - You, probably @thedailyem
49. Product Managers @thedailyem @thedailyem
50. -3- Challenge Me @thedailyem @thedailyem
51. Healthy Friction @thedailyem
52. Your challenges force me to question my assumptions @thedailyem
53. Your challenges force me to explain my reasoning @thedailyem
55. Skeptical Guy Says @thedailyem
56. “Why try? They’re not going to listen.” - You, probably @thedailyem
57. Product Managers @thedailyem
58. @thedailyem
59. Keep challenges productive. Don’t be a jerk. @thedailyem
60. I will challenge you too. @thedailyem
61. -4- Give Me Some Grace @thedailyem
62. TRUST @thedailyem
63. We have to be on the same team @thedailyem
64. Let’s do what we came here to do. @thedailyem
65. Emily Tate US General Manager Mind the Product @thedailyem @thedailyem
66. THANK YOU