book

Product Management in Practice

by Matt LeMay

November 2017

Beginner to intermediate

188 pages

4h 57m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Why I Wrote This Book: My First Day as a Product ManagerWho This Book Is ForHow This Book Is OrganizedStories from Working Product ManagersTemplates“Your Checklist”O’Reilly SafariHow to Contact UsAcknowledgments
What Is Product Management?What Is Not Product Management?What Is the Profile of a Great Product Manager?What Is the Profile of a Bad Product Manager?Summary: Sailing the Seas of AmbiguityYour Checklist:
The “Hybrid” Model: UX/Tech/BusinessThe CORE Skills of Product Management: Communication, Organization, Research, and ExecutionCommunicationOrganizationResearchExecution…But What About “Hard Skills”?Summary: Changing the Conversation About Product ManagementYour Checklist:
Taking a Genuine InterestCultivating a Growth MindsetThe Gift of Being WrongSpreading CuriositySummary: Curiosity Is KeyYour Checklist:
Don’t Believe the Hype“But This Worked at the Last Place!”Goals First, Then PracticesThe Best Thing About Best PracticesSummary: A Place to Start, Not a GuaranteeYour Checklist:
Asking the ObviousMeetings Are Good, If You Want ItOne Weird Trick for Better Meetings: Disagree and CommitCreating and Protecting Space for Informal CommunicationWorking with Distributed TeamsDon’t Deflect, Be DirectAccounting for Different Communication StylesEgregious Overcommunication in Practice: Three Common Communication Scenarios for Product ManagersScenario OneScenario TwoScenario ThreeSummary: When in Doubt…Your Checklist:
Managing Up for Clarity at All Costs“Our Boss Is an Idiot,” or, Congratulations—You’ve Ruined Your TeamNo Alarms and No SurprisesStaying User-Centric in a World of Company PoliticsTactical Trade-Offs, Not Emotional ManipulationThrowing the Poker Game in Practice: Two Common Scenarios for Senior Stakeholder ManagementScenario OneScenario TwoSummary: This Is Part of Your Job, Not an Impediment to Your JobYour Checklist:
Stakeholders and Users Are DifferentYes, You Need to Learn How to Talk to Users“Quick Wins” for Better User ResearchLeveling Up Versus Zooming In, or Another Way to “Why”Summary: No, Seriously, You Need to Learn How to Talk to UsersYour Checklist:
The Trouble with the “D” WordDon’t Hide Your Assumptions—Document Them!Focusing on Metrics That Matter“Up and to the Right” Is a Signal, Not a StrategyFrom “Accountability” to ActionAcknowledging the Limitations of Obfuscating Quantitative ProxiesKeeping It AccessibleSummary: No Shortcuts!Your Checklist:
It’s Not the Roadmap, It’s How You Use the Roadmap“The Product Manager Owns the Roadmap!”Structure and Facilitate Ideas for the Roadmap, Don’t Own ThemYour Product Spec Is Not Your ProductWait, You Mean We Actually Have to Build This Now?SMART Goals, CLEAR Goals, OKRs, and so onTaking Your Goals for a Test DriveMaking Room for Old Stuff and (Truly) New StuffBut This Is an Emergency!Prioritization in Practice: Same Features, Different GoalsSummary: Let Them In!Your Checklist:

Debunking Three Common Myths About AgileTurning to the Agile ManifestoFrom Manifesto to MonsterUsing Alistair Cockburn’s “Heart of Agile” to Bridge Values and PracticesFour Steps to Future-Proof AgileA Few General Caveats About AgileYou Are HereSummary: Ambiguity Lives Here, TooYour Checklist:
The Soothing Lull of an Organization on AutopilotThe Good Times Aren’t (Always) the Easy TimesCarrying the Weight of the WorldSummary: It’s Hard Work, but It’s Worth ItYour Checklist:

Content preview from Product Management in Practice

Appendix A. A Reading List for Expanding Your Product Management Practice

Given the connective nature of product management, drawing on multiple ideas and disciplines is key for truly excelling in this deeply cross-functional role. Product management always brings new challenges, and a wide base of knowledge will help you be better prepared for whatever comes your way.

To that end, I’ve found that the books and articles that have helped me the most as a product manager are rarely about “product management.” What follows is a list of the books that have proven most impactful for me in building my product management practice, as well as a few notes about what you might be looking for if this book is right for you, and how it helped me build my product management practice.

Influence Without Authority (Wiley, 2005) by David L. Bradford and Allan R. Cohen: If You’re Looking For: Strategies for leading through influence in low-authority roles and scenarios.; How It Helped Me: The content in this book is useful, but the in-depth case studies are really useful, and were the inspiration for the product manager stories included in this book.
The Trusted Advisor (Touchstone, 2011) by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford: If You’re Looking For: Actionable strategies for building trust with customers and senior stakeholders.; How It Helped Me: The Trusted Advisor is that most helpful kind of book, where the specific behaviors it recommends against are behaviors that ...