|
|
Blog Articles
Viewing entries tagged with 'product manager'
The Product Manager Contribution
Recently I was asked by a very smart CTO: "I understand the need for a great user experience designer, but if we have a strong designer, and that person is paired with a strong technology lead, do we really still need a product manager?"
Product Management Then and Now
Occasionally in my work with technology product teams around the world, I run into product managers that are still practicing the role as it used to be defined back in the PC era of technology. These organizations are inevitably frustrated, as the role was not terribly effective and often not respected.
Product Manager vs. Product Owner
All too often I run into companies that have resigned themselves to having two different people covering the product role.
The Greatest
It may have been Muhammad Ali in the boxing world, but in the product world, it’s hard to argue that Steve Jobs wasn’t the greatest ever.
Project-based Funding
If your company is one that still allocates product development funds based on approval of projects, then you still have the old “project-based funding model.” This is mostly a situation in either large companies, or those that have an IT-style legacy, but the mindset often exists even in small companies too.
The Most Important Thing
There are several skills and activities that are important when coming up with great products. In my last article, I argued for the absolute necessity of having good data about how our products are actually being used.
Developing Strong Product Owners
In my last article I discussed the role of the leader of the product organization. I heard back from more than a few product leaders that it served to remind them that they weren’t doing as much as they knew they should be doing to build the strength of their product team, and I was asked if I could share some of the tools I use to help with this.
The Product Scorecard
How does your CEO know that every product manager’s efforts are aligned with his business strategy?
How does your CEO clearly communicate to your product managers the business priorities?
How does your CEO know which product managers are making good decisions and making true progress in carrying out the business strategy?
Are You Technical Enough?
I’ve written earlier about how much domain experience is important for product managers (The Role of Domain Experience) and also the pros and cons of college hires versus hiring experience (Youth vs. Experience), but a question I often get is just how much technological competency is required in order to be a strong, effective product manager? Many managers aren’t really sure if a candidate is technical enough, and many aspiring product managers aren’t sure if they are technical enough for the job.
The Smartest Guy in the Room
As product people, we’re first and foremost in the idea business. We have to come up with great ideas and then make them a reality. While this takes skill and practice, the main ingredient is something that I don’t know how to teach. We depend on smart people for the smart ideas. Sometimes these ideas come from ourselves, but if we depend only on ourselves for the smart ideas, we’re severely limiting our potential.