2. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 101
ABOUT YOU
‣ Your name
‣ Your current job/industry
‣ One question you hope this class will answer
3. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 101
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
‣ Describe the Product Management job landscape and learning
opportunities for product management skills.
‣ Describe the role of product management and the main
responsibilities of a Product Manager.
‣ Craft problem statements & hypotheses for a product or feature idea.
‣ Identify key risks and assumptions.
‣ Design a basic MVP to validate key assumptions.
11. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
A PRODUCT MANAGER IS A PRODUCT MANAGER IS NOT
A project manager
A designer
A developer
A gopher
Customer support
Scapegoat
The boss
The mini CEO
Big picture thinker
Technical
Expert on market
Voice of customers
12. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY?
08:00am Coffee & email, put out any fires
08:30am Dev team IPM to review iteration progress and plan next iteration
10:00am Review open/delivered stories, acceptance testing new features in staging
11:00pm Meeting with key customer on data ingestion project
12:00pm Eat lunch, try to go for a walk!
1:00pm Writing user stories for external API enhancements
2:00pm Meeting with Customer Support and PO’s on bug prioritization
3:00pm Release planning and circulate release notes, catch up with designer
4:00pm Weekly Sales & Marketing stand up to share release notes/roadmap stuff
5:00pm Remove blockers, confirm clear backlog for morning
16. PROBLEM STATEMENTS
Solves the problem of easily storing
and sharing files in the cloud.
Solves the problem of legally
streaming music.
Solves the problem of accepting
electronic payments anywhere.
18. EXERCISE
ACTIVITY: 99 PROBLEMS
1. As a group, brainstorm all of the different problems customers face
when trying to ride in a taxi. Aim for 20-30 different problems.
2. For each problem, give it a “Pain” score of 1-10 based on how difficult
you think this problem is for users when they experience it.
3. For each problem, give it a “Prevalence” score from 0-100% based on
how frequently you believe this problem is experienced.
4. Multiply the “Pain” and “Prevalence” scores and rank from highest to
lowest.
A prioritized list of problem statements.
DELIVERABLE
DIRECTIONS (20 MINUTES)
20. HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS
Hypothesis: “A supposition or
proposed explanation made on
the basis of limited evidence as
a starting point for further
investigation.”
21. HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS
“If we create an intuitive interface at a for
storing/sharing files, then users will move their
storage online.”
“If we give consumers a legal option to stream at
a low price, then they will sign up for a monthly
subscription.”
“If we allow any merchant to easily accept
payments, then we will be able to acquire more
merchants at a low cost.”
22. HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS
Assumption
Supposed information about our users or market that support our
hypothesis.
Risk
Key factors that may prevent our product from being successful.
23. HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS
Problem: Many taxi’s do not accept electronic
payments.
24. HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS
Problem: Many taxi’s do not accept electronic
payments.
Assumption: If a user isn’t carrying cash, they are
unlikely to take a taxi.
25. HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS
Problem: Many taxi’s do not accept electronic
payments.
Assumption: If a user isn’t carrying cash, they are
unlikely to take a taxi.
Hypothesis: If we remove cash from the
experience and only use electronic payments,
consumers will drive and take public transit less
often.
26. HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS
Problem: Many taxi’s do not accept electronic
payments.
Assumption: If a user isn’t carrying cash, they are
unlikely to take a taxi.
Hypothesis: If we remove cash from the
experience and only use electronic payments,
consumers will drive and take public transit less
often.
Risk: Drivers may be unwilling to not accept cash.
32. CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEW RULES
‣ Don’t tell them your idea until the end - you’ll bias the results
‣ Try to get off topic - get them to tell stories
‣ Record the interview (with permission!) - you’ll forget stuff
33. CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS
WARM UP QUESTIONS
‣ Build rapport
‣ Ask about general problems - do they bring up your problem on their
own? Remember, tier 1 problems!
‣ Ask if they’ve had the problem and how they solved it in the past
34. CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS
PITCH YOUR IDEA
‣ Yep, now, say “So let’s say there was a way to ________.”
‣ Record initial reactions and objections before giving more detail
‣ Ask what they would expect it to do
‣ Ask about how much they would pay - consider asking about a specific
price point you have in mind OR what it would be worth
‣ If you get stuck - “That’s interesting. Tell me more.”
35. CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS
ANALYZING INTERVIEWS
‣ Write down problems, objections and reactions on stickies
‣ Group types of problems and objections
‣ Group reactions by severity (very positive to very negative)
‣ What problems and objections emerged? Is your problem there? Can
you overcome the objections?
‣ What’s the main reaction? Is it positive/negative?
‣ Abandon, pivot or persevere?
37. MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT
“SMALLEST POSSIBLE PRODUCT THAT HAS THREE
CRITICAL CHARACTERISTICS: PEOPLE CHOOSE TO USE
IT OR BUY IT; PEOPLE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE IT;
AND WE CAN DELIVER IT WHEN WE NEED IT WITH THE
RESOURCES AVAILABLE – ALSO KNOWN AS VALUABLE,
USABLE AND FEASIBLE.” - MARTY CAGAN
41. EXERCISE
ACTIVITY: NOW OR LATER
1. Suppose you are building the
MVP for your taxi app.
2. You’ve identified two main
problems to solve.
3. Review the list of features and
classify each one as “Now”,
meaning they will be part of the
MVP, or “Later”.
Understanding of MVP prioritization
DELIVERABLE
DIRECTIONS (15 MINS)
42. EXERCISE
ACTIVITY: NOW OR LATER
Possible Features:
‣ User can request ride to their address
‣ Time estimate until the ride arrives
‣ GPS for Drivers
‣ Geolocation for the user
‣ Pay automatically w/saved credit card
‣ Select car type (Taxi vs Black Car)
‣ Split your fare with friends
‣ Email receipt to user
‣ Rate driver
‣ Rate passenger
‣ Carpooling options
‣ Send ETA to a contact
‣ Send referral codes to a friend
‣ Track mileage for drivers
‣ Pay with bitcoin
‣ Lost and Found Requests
‣ Text your driver
MVP
12
9
5
9
10
1
0
5
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
7
LATER
44. STORYBOARDING
LAYOUT(WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN I...)
FLOW(WHAT COMES NEXT WHEN I...)
BEHAVIOR(WHAT HAPPENS WHEN...)
WHAT CAN YOU COMMUNICATE?
45. STORYBOARDING
‣ Focus on the “happy path”
‣ Have a clear goal for the user
‣ Do not worry about colors, branding, and specific
copy or images.
‣ Start simple and lo-fidelity, add more detail as
required.
STORYBOARD TIPS:
47. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
COURSE INFO SESSION
JANUARY 17TH
6:00-7:00PM
WeWork LoHi (where you are now!)
For help email: juliette@ga.co
PDM
WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE?
