Being a product manager is not easy. After all, a product or a complete product line is under your full responsibility – from launch through to sales, and every milestone in its lifecycle included. MORE

Instead of your title being product manager and resulting in nobody knows what you do, here is a suggestion of a title that says what you do. The post Memo to Boss: May I Change My Title, Please? appeared first on Spice Catalyst. Newsletter Dave Product Management Product Marketing MORE

As you may know, the product owner originated from Scrum, where the role is responsible for maximising the value the product creates. This sounds like a text-book product management responsibility to me. MORE

By Boston Women in Product – The product roadmap frames every task and is the lifeblood of delivering a successful product. Boston Women in Product has been considering the importance of mastering the product roadmap as a critical responsibility of the product manager. MORE

Or Three Ways Product Owners can Stay on top of Scrum. 2016 was a big year for the Justinmind product development team. We shipped a new feature every month or so, tackled bug fixes and upgraded the usability of our software (an interactive prototyping tool). MORE

When I was doing my basic training in the military one of the things our instructors continually stressed was a sense of urgency. Nothing was to be rushed, but equally, nothing was to be done at a leisurely pace either. MORE

Attendees of Product Camp Silicon Valley 2017 voted up this talk on “ Getting Promoted to Director.” ” We had an energetic discussion, including several real-work-life examples of senior product managers who were thinking about the next job up; or had already talked with their managers about promotional opportunities; or who may have accidentally set hard deadlines for roles that may not be open in time. MORE

Every few months or so, we will bring you a new interview with a featured 280 Group Consultant/Trainer who discusses a number of Product Management issues. MORE

When it comes to hiring the right product manager, there’s no foolproof technique. Treat it like you’re shopping for a product. You have a set of needs. There are obstacles to meeting those needs, and you’re going to shop for a person who can best remove those obstacles. The situational interview will quickly separate the contenders from the pretenders. MORE

You want to get into IoT Product Management. But where do you start? What skills do you need? Which companies are working on IoT today? Start here, with these five essential steps for getting into IoT Product Management. MORE

In theory, Build versus Buy decisions should be straightforward: we compare off-the-shelf offerings with the time/cost/expertise to create them ourselves; we run the numbers; then we make an objective financial-technical decision before starting any work. MORE

What's the ideal number of engineers for every PM? -. I spend a lot of time with startups, and a good portion of that time helping them think through organizational questions. One of the most common questions I get from growing startups is, what’s the ideal ratio of engineers to product managers? (A A different kind of P/E ratio.) For fun MORE

After receiving many inquiries about them over the years, we at 280 Group are now officially selling Optimal Product Process (OPP) posters. Using a solid Product Management Framework is one of the most important things a good Product Manager can do. MORE

Nir’s Note: Gad Saad is a professor of marketing at Concordia University and the author of The Consuming Instinct. He’ll be speaking at the upcoming Habit Summit in April. You can register here!) In this interview with Max Ogles, Saad discusses the role of evolutionary psychology in modern marketing. Q: Let’s start with a simple […]. The post The Secret Marketing Power of Evolutionary Psychology appeared first on Nir and Far. Behavior Design In Action marketing MORE

For me, as for many, the idea of applying a scientific approach (experiments, hypothesis, etc) to product management came from Eric Ries in Lean Startup. In many ways, the concept was a game changer in how to approach validating product ideas and getting to product market fit. MORE

One of the best signs of an effective product team is a regular cadence of customer interviews and product experiments. But it’s not enough to simply check the box on these activities; we need to make sure that we do them effectively. MORE

The roadmap has become one of the most commonly requested—yet frequently misunderstood—documents in the product manager’s arsenal. However, for many product managers, the roadmap is an annoyance that must be changed constantly. The best roadmap is a report, not an effort. MORE

Last week, a good friend came to town and we had a chance to connect for dinner and drinks. During the course of the evening, one topic we discussed was related to an article that he read that emphatically made the case that small (and some not so small) companies often look to a single leader for “Sales and Marketing.” The case that was made is that these are two very different roles, and thus, it is nearly impossible to find a single individual who could do both roles well. MORE

Stephen Pavlovich , CEO of Conversion.com, talks to ProductTank London about Using Experimentation to Drive Product. Why aren’t people converting and what experiments can you run to try and fix that? MORE

Until recently, when I needed a break I’d grab my phone. Whether I was bored, mentally fatigued, or just wanting a pick-me-up, I felt relief checking the news, Facebook, or Instagram. However, new research suggests there are good ways and not-so-good ways to spend our break time. While some breaks can leave us refreshed and […]. The post Research Reveals How to Take a Better Break appeared first on Nir and Far. Upgrading Yourself MORE

I recently became aware of a CEO who believes he’s a great leader. He’s smart with a solid educational background, and he has the charisma to do great things. However, most of the people in his organization don’t see him … Continue reading → Leadership commitment decision focus MORE

Powerful Product Manager Keys. The post Powering to Success as a Product Manager appeared first on Spice Catalyst. Newsletter Dave Product Management Product Marketing MORE

You need to "listen deeply," listen past what people say they want to hear what they need. Jon Meads, User Experience Architect. I set up a program in my marketing automation system and somehow set up a loop. The program called a page that called the program that called the page and so on. MORE

by C Emera Trujillo. Design sprints are all the rage these days and with good reason. As a flexible design framework, the design sprint can yield creative solutions that stakeholders & customers want. MORE

The Apple iPhone 7 plus contains more features than the iPhone 7 Image Credit: Kārlis Dambrāns. You sorta gotta have some pity for the poor product managers over at Apple. I mean yes, they are responsible for one of the most popular products out there: the iPhone. MORE

Setting the right price can determine if your product will be a success Image Credit: Allen. When I talk with product managers, over and over again I hear that the one task that they all fear the most is setting a price for their product. I’m not 100% sure why this is such a big deal. MORE

There’s a battle that getting ready to start in the market for mattresses Image Credit: Charles Wagner aka ChumpChange. Just exactly how much time do you spend every day thinking about that mattress that you sleep on. MORE

Nir’s Note: Below is the transcript of an interview I did with David Burkus, an award-winning podcaster and author of Under New Management: The Unexpected Truths about Leading Great Organizations. This interview was part of a Heleo Conversation on the topic of technology obsession, work-life balance, and challenging assumptions in order to change behavior. I hope you […]. The post Why Our Tech Obsession Might Be a Work Obsession appeared first on Nir and Far. MORE

When I do my job right, there’s no sign of it. Disasters just fail to occur. Herman Wouk. I was interviewed by Chad McAllister, host of The Everyday Innovator podcast, on the six types of expertise in product management. MORE

Product managers may or may not be the “CEOs of product,” but how do you boss around a bunch of CEOs? Leading a product management organization is a unique role in modern technology companies, and one that was quite uncommon until fairly recently. MORE

Use empathy and active listening to discover “jobs to be done”, the progress customers want to achieve in specific circumstances in their lives. Jobs provide the causal factor to explain why customers choose one product over another. MORE

Nir’s Note: Jane McGonigal is a game designer at The Institute for the Future and bestselling author of Reality is Broken and SuperBetter. She’ll be speaking at the upcoming Habit Summit in April. You can register here!) In this interview with Max Ogles, McGonigal discusses impact of future technologies on behavior, habits, and the way […]. The post The Unbelievable Future of Habit-Forming Technology appeared first on Nir and Far. Behavior Design In Action MORE

I was interviewed by Tom Cooper for his podcast. Tom & I tackled the issue of product management roles, titles, and responsibilities. Tom writes, This episode features Steve Johnson, a thought leader, speaker, and product management consultant. MORE

To create value for your business, you need to create value for your customer. Alex Osterwalder, author, Value Proposition Design. Many product teams approach pricing from a cost standpoint. They ask, How much can we charge to cover the costs of development, marketing, sales, and delivery? MORE

Mind the Product London 2017 on September 8 will be better than ever, with more workshops, more networking, and more fun than ever. MORE

When Ben Horowitz wrote his groundbreaking memo good product manager, bad product manager nearly 20 years ago he described a product manager as the CEO of the product. MORE

In a well-run organization, each role has a single orientation; they either support [individual] customers or they support the market. —Peter Drucker, American management consultant, educator, and author. It seems most organizations are unclear on roles and responsibilities. MORE