Product Management is not about: - Asking customers about the requirements. - Writing detailed specifications. - Creating prototypes and wireframes. - Assigning tasks to developers. - Verifying and accepting the work of others. - Obsessing over velocity, deadlines, and roadmaps. - Mastering Scrum or any other framework to perfection. - Acting like the CEO of the product. Anyone can do that. It’s about: - Understanding customer's problems, needs, and desires. - Understanding the market and the business in depth. - Collaborating closely with engineers and designers. - Identifying opportunities, finding solutions, and tackling the risks together. - Marrying customer goals and business goals. - Influencing others to work toward the common goal. - Being humble (it's ok not to be the smartest person in the room). - Experimenting to validate assumptions. - Leading without authority. - Turning chaos into clarity. Start with these questions: - Why are we building this thing? - Why are we building it now? - For whom are we building it? - What's the unique value of our product? - How is it aligned with the company's vision? - How is it aligned with the business strategy? - What does success look like? How can we measure it? - What are the customer needs/jobs (functional, emotional, social)? - How will it affect our customers and users? - How will it create value for the business? - Can we buy it instead of building it? - How can we make sure that our customers would love it? - Will our customers know how to use it? - Can our business support it (e.g., legal, finances)? - Is it feasible? Can we build it with the existing technology? - How can we bring it to the market? - Do we have the required channels? - Should we do it at all? Are there any ethical considerations? - What are the riskiest assumptions? How can we validate them? - What does the data tell us? - How can we get maximum validating learning with minimum effort? - What else can go wrong? Be curious. Learn and experiment. Question solutions and push back on things handled down. Remember that product management is about creating a "product customers love, yet also works for our business" (Marty Cagan, Inspired), not about pleasing stakeholders. After 9 years, I'm still learning daily, and I do not know everything, but I can give you my perspective on any questions you have. Drop them below.