A slightly more web-friendly version of a presentation and mini-workshop on Product Management. Given at Spherik Accelerator on April 2, 2015 in Cluj-Napoca. Aimed at Startups.

1. The Product Manager
(The Most Thankless Job in Tech)

2. What Does a PM Do?

3. What tech people think Product Management is about

4. What Product Management is really about
(Still a canvas*)
So, where do we start?
*Ash Maurya’s Lean Canvas

5. - Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
What’s next?

6. - Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
- Suburban families
- Students
- Office Workers
Busy, hungry people
with empty fridges.
What’s next?

7. “Hot Fresh
Pizza in 30
minutes or
it’s free!”
- Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
- Suburban families
- Students
- Office Workers
Busy, hungry people
with empty fridges.
What’s next?

8. Hot Fresh
Pizza in 30
minutes or
it’s free!
- Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
Deliver hot pizza in
under 30 minutes
- Suburban families
- Students
- Office Workers
Busy, hungry people
with empty fridges.
What’s next?

9. Hot Fresh
Pizza in 30
minutes or
it’s free!
- Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
Deliver hot pizza in
under 30 minutes
- Flyers
- Word of mouth
- TV Commercials
- Suburban families
- Students
- Office Workers
Busy, hungry people
with empty fridges.
What’s next?

10. Hot Fresh
Pizza in 30
minutes or
it’s free!
- Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
Deliver hot pizza in
under 30 minutes
- Flyers
- Word of mouth
- TV Commercials
- Suburban families
- Students
- Office Workers
Busy, hungry people
with empty fridges.
- Orders
- Walk-ins
- Catering
What’s next?

11. Hot Fresh
Pizza in 30
minutes or
it’s free!
- Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
Deliver hot pizza in
under 30 minutes
- Flyers
- Word of mouth
- TV Commercials
- Suburban families
- Students
- Office Workers
Busy, hungry people
with empty fridges.
- Rent
- Ingredients
- Salaries
- Delivery Cars
- Orders
- Walk-ins
- Catering
What’s next?

12. Hot Fresh
Pizza in 30
minutes or
it’s free!
- Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
Deliver hot pizza in
under 30 minutes
- Number of free
pizzas given
- Number of orders
- Flyers
- Word of mouth
- TV Commercials
- Suburban families
- Students
- Office Workers
Busy, hungry people
with empty fridges.
- Rent
- Ingredients
- Salaries
- Delivery Cars
- Orders
- Walk-ins
- Catering

13. Hot Fresh
Pizza in 30
minutes or
it’s free!
- Fresh, Hot Pizza
Delivery
- Pizza Delivered
Quickly
Deliver hot pizza in
under 30 minutes
- Number of free
pizzas given
- Number of orders
- Locations
- Delivery cars
- Pizza Box
Insulation
Technology
- Flyers
- Word of mouth
- TV Commercials
- Suburban families
- Students
- Office Workers
Busy, hungry people
with empty fridges.
- Rent
- Ingredients
- Salaries
- Delivery Cars
- Orders
- Walk-ins
- Catering
Product Market

14. Product Management is also like this
Why?

15. “You can’t make everybody happy all the time” Ancient Proverb/Common Wisdom
The development team
really hates vague
requirements,. Sooner or
later you’re going to provide
vague requirements.
Some customers hate new
features or new design.
Others may love the change
but those who don’t will
hate you. (1* Star Reviews)
When stakeholders say,
“Show me the money!” and
you turn your pockets inside
out, they will hate you. And
probably fire you.
The bigger the organization
the less ownership. With all
these dependencies,
marketing, sales, and other
stakeholders are bound to
eventually hate you, too.
Love / Hate
(Therefore, have a quick look at the previous page again)

16. Because you don’t have the luxury to “do just one thing and do it well”
It’s all about…Balance

17. Know your market
• Who’s in it with you? (ie. ‘The Competition’)
• How much is the entire market worth? ($$$)
– How much is it worth to you (ie. your piece of the
pie)?
• How do you get the word out?
– Where do you reach the customers in your market?
• Who (actually) cares?

18. Know your customers
• Who is your ideal customer?
– Create customer segments based on motivations,
context, and triggers.
• Who is the customer who needs your product at 8 AM on a
Friday? Are they drinking a coffee, getting ready for work, or
getting home from last night’s party?
“Highlight the human need you're trying to fulfill.”
• How?
– Qualitative research (ie. Interviews)
– NOT Big Data (not until you’re Google or Facebook)

19. Know your product
• You know the stack inside and out, but do you
know how users (will) interact with your product?
• Don’t believe the hype
– If you know your product, you know there is still lots
of work. Always.
– Also don’t believe the hype around anyone else. Don’t
compare your product (too much) to other products.
• Highlight the strengths (externally), focus on
weaknesses (internally).

20. Know the metrics
• What are your success metrics?
- Revenue or Active Users?
- Unique visits vs site impressions?
- Virality?
• Customer Lifetime Value vs Cost Per Acquisition
• Track event analytics
• Use A/B testing to validate assumptions
Basically…
Measure Everything

21. Final Notes
• UX is everyone’s job, but product oriented designers do it best
• Product Management is everyone’s job, but visionaries do it best
• User satisfaction is the only true measure of approval
• Watch HBO’s “Silicon Valley” it’s good satire.

22. PS:

23. Sources/Suggested Reading
Online
• http://startupclass.samaltman.com/ - Great Lectures!
• http://practicetrumpstheory.com/
• http://www.frontendinnovation.com/blog/08/14/2014/osterwalders-business-model-canvas-doesnt-
work-for-start-ups
• http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/the-product-owner-responsibilities/
• http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/one-page-product-owner/
• http://innovatorstoolkit.com/content/technique-1-jobs-be-done
• http://practicetrumpstheory.com/how-to-interview-your-users-and-get-useful-feedback/
• http://www.quora.com/How-do-you-calculate-Customer-Lifetime-Value
• http://mystartuphas30daystolive.tumblr.com/post/53839497912/in-30-days-my-startup-will-be-be-dead
Books
• The Art of The Start
• The Lean Startup
• The Innovator’s Dilemma
• Startup Communities
• Managing Startups: Best Blog Posts
• Lean Analytics
• Running Lean