PRODUCTHEAD: Wrap your ears around these podcasts
» Recommendations of product podcasts
PRODUCTHEAD: The what, why and how of user research
» User research needs to be proactive as well as reactive validation
» Some research techniques are more useful than others at different stages
» You must safeguard the welfare of your user research participants
» There are many ways to recruit participants for your research without outsourcing
» Use a simple format for sharing research findings memorably
78: How to start a new product manager job
Starting a new product manager job can be daunting, particularly if you don’t change jobs very often. I work freelance, so I find myself in a new organisation roughly every 3-6 months. Let me share with you my tips for your first few months in a new role.
PRODUCTHEAD: Remind me, what am I meant to be doing?
» A product manager works at the intersection between business, technology and user experience
» A product manager is not a replacement for absent specialists
» The product manager is accountable for ensuring the solution is both valuable and viable
» Product managers use their knowledge of user needs and business goals to frame problems and set priorities for their delivery teams
PRODUCTHEAD: Rethinking product roadmaps
» Remove the timelines from your product roadmap
» Use roadmap themes to focus on solving user problems
» User outcomes are more important than delivering features
» Roadmaps help to make strategic decisions when there’s low certainty
» Rethinking your roadmap approach can help when managing mature products
Q&A: What technical skills do I need to be a product manager?
“I was looking for inspiration and guidance as I am searching for a career change and Product Management/ Project Management are my areas of interest. I was looking to understand if in such roles technical skills are required.”
PRODUCTHEAD: Creativity is borne of constraints
» Constraints that motivate and focus are most effective
» Boredom can trigger a creative and productive state of mind
» It’s important not to stave off boredom immediately with distractions
» You can optimise your working environment for greater productivity on different types of task
PRODUCTHEAD: Pricing – everything and nothing has changed
» Pricing determines the structure of the business that produces it
» Start with consumer research to determine potential demand and feasibility of the product
» A step-by-step guide to pricing software
» Scalpers have made $82M in sales of consumer tech in under three months
77: The only article you’ll ever need on prioritization
When faced with all the things you could and should be doing, it can be tremendously hard to decide which to do, let alone which to do first.
PRODUCTHEAD: The good, the bad and the ugly of machine learning
» Machine learning is the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed
» DeepMind’s AlphaFold solves a complex protein folding problem in days rather than years
» Netflix and the BBFC automate age certifications for content with a staff-trained algorithm
» YouTube’s recommendation algorithm has the unintended consequence of creating echo chambers
» An algorithm widely used in US courts for predicting future criminality exhibits racial bias
» Filmmaker Shalini Kantayya explores the impact of biased facial recognition algorithms on human rights