Induction to Product Management

[shukla7789]

When reading the bibliographies of several well-known product managers, we realize that most establish their decision-making process based on fundamental principles. Fundamental principles are those that define basic propositions or assumptions, that is, those that cannot be deduced from other propositions or assumptions.

One of these fundamental principles is the one that defines, for example, that "features should be unique, atomic and reusable, like Lego blocks ", meaning that, in an ideal world, developers should be able to use different combinations of these blocks to build applications . Features should be interoperable (like Lego blocks).

This type of thinking based on fundamental principles is, in itself, essential, as japan whatsapp number database and companies grow, and the market is constantly becoming more complex as new players and dynamics emerge, in a kind of knowledge network that becomes denser with time . Knowing the fundamental principles that allowed historical decisions to be made and that support current and future options allows us to reach a level of communication that combines solidity and simplicity . More than maintaining a portfolio of well-organized ideas, a product manager must be able to communicate them well to the various stakeholders , and this implies solidity and simplicity .

Based on this, the Product Manager (PM) must be able to influence stakeholders and guide them in a certain direction , achieving understandings that benefit the final result, whether this is the product itself or the product's performance in the market. By stakeholders, I refer to any internal teams within the organization and external entities, because ideally the product manager acts as a kind of conductor who articulates and streamlines the relationship between all those who are in some way involved in the process of designing, developing, delivering and maintaining their products.


Fundamental principles
Having referred to the importance of mastering the fundamental principles and how this will be decisive in generating a positive dynamic for everyone involved in the success of the product, I pose the following question: What if fundamental principles were also established around the product management activity itself?

Let's try an essay...

Logic versus Creativity
The first fundamental principles of product management can be summarized as:

1. Maximize the impact on the organization's mission: based on the organizational strategic definitions, develop a product strategy that maximizes its impact on the organization's mission (which normally translates into results);

2. Doing everything through others: It may seem strange, but the truth is that PMs do not directly participate in the construction of products. Instead, they must ensure that all stakeholders do it in the best possible way.

These two principles represent the left and right sides of the brain . The left side is responsible for logic, investigation and rigor, while the right side is responsible for creativity, intuition and empathy.

Based on this principle, a product manager needs to articulate these two facets well and the two principles identified above should serve as the fundamental principles of all their decisions.

In this article, I will focus on the first principle, reserving the second for a future edition.

Principle A - Maximize impact on the organization's mission
The main focus of an organization's employees should be on its mission, whether it be profit-making, social solidarity or something else.

To achieve this goal, most employees in a company work to provide a product or service to their customers by designing the product (engineers, architects and designers), delivering it to the market (marketing and sales, trainers and consultants) and carrying out after-sales tasks (technical support).

Product management does not perform any tasks related to the creation and operationalization of products on the market. Instead, its main responsibility is to anticipate market behavior, evaluate the execution of tasks by different teams and align all stakeholders so that the objectives are properly achieved , that is, to ensure the success of the product. In practice, all this means scrupulously following the product strategy and, with this, ensuring the expected impact on the organization's mission.

Defining the product strategy is (and should be) the product manager's greatest responsibility. To define this strategy, there are three essential pillars:

1. Objectives
Everything must start with the objectives. If there is no clear definition of what you want to achieve, then there cannot be a clear definition of the path to follow and, in this case, it is best not to even start, otherwise you will not achieve exactly what you wanted, go further or waste resources.

In this chapter, one of the most pressing difficulties for product managers is that they do not have time to consolidate objectives, often due to market pressure that imposes very short time-to-market periods . But this definition is as important as the product design itself and this must be internalized by the entire organization.

2. Internal and external surroundings
Plans are usually defined with the expectation of achieving their objectives on flat ground, but reality is not exactly like that. It is impossible to foresee and anticipate all obstacles and, often, the distance from the objective makes it difficult (or impossible) to perceive setbacks along the way. To deal with this, it is essential that the product manager is constantly aware of the context and anticipates its effects.

A new product that appears on the market, a new competitor that enters the game, changes in the political or socioeconomic environment, the emergence of new technologies, internal changes in teams or in investment capacity, strategic changes in the organization are examples of contextual effects of the external and internal environments on projects and that often imply their redefinition.

There are two fundamental signs that product managers should listen for:

Customer signals: monitoring qualitative and quantitative customer information. The number of customers, the intensity of use and satisfaction with products are the "vital signs" of the product strategy and the ongoing alignment of the plan with the objectives;

Market signals: constant attention to the world that exists beyond the organization allows us to understand the competitive, political and socioeconomic dynamics that affect the company itself and its customers. Changes from the outside world are extremely critical and their constant reading is essential for successful product management.
As long as the objectives are valid, the project remains valid, and this often implies changes in its content and execution plans. Although these changes are invariably poorly received by the teams, the important thing is that the product manager maintains the vision of the whole and, through his influence, is able to realign the teams so that they understand that concessions are part of the journey and that what really matters is the objective. This is an excellent vehicle for maintaining something that is essential: the motivation of all stakeholders.