I’m overwhelmed – can you help?
“I’m 4 weeks into a new [product manager] job, having moved states for it, and I’ve recently become a parent for the first time. Currently, I am feeling overwhelmed.”
Tag: product discovery
Mission to Mars
Imagine you’ve just been told that you’ll be a member of the team responsible for the first manned mission to Mars.
Now imagine someone asks you how much the mission’s going to cost. The whole thing. There and back. By close of business on Thursday.
Image: Screengrab from Volvo Cars New Zealand on YouTube
73: You wouldn’t drive blindfolded – why you need user research
At best, organisations do a bit of user research up front and no more, then set off on their journey to create the product – they might as well have a blindfold on.
68: 4 common user persona mistakes
More often than not, user personas are just a laborious way to decorate the walls. Are you making these common mistakes?
Product management has evolved. Has your company?
This month’s topic was on product management in general. For most around the table, it was a completely or relatively new concept, so our lively discussion started with the fundamentals.
59: Find the tipping point in your user research
The more closely we examined the problem, the more complicated it became. When this happens to you, it can feel overwhelming. Don’t quit your research too soon.
What kinds of questions should I be asking in discovery?
I was recently asked this question:
During the problem exploration phase, what kinds of questions should I be asking and how do I go from 1000 problems to the core problems that will unlock the solution?
Read on for my answer:
How much evidence is sufficient for decision-making?
I was recently asked this question:
Do you have a rule of thumb for deciding how much evidence is sufficient for decision making? I often see decisions made on the basis of a sample of one.
Here’s my answer:
33: The “Field Of Dreams” is fiction
This is not “Field Of Dreams” and you’re not Kevin Costner. If you build it, the users will not come – unless they have a strong motivation to do so.
Drowning in product documentation? Start swimming – Part 1
Do you spend more time writing documents about your product than actually managing it?
Many companies with some kind of product management function become all caught up in the process, drowning themselves in increasing numbers of documents. These rapidly become overwhelming to manage, contain duplicated detail and ultimately obscure the real objective of product management, namely to create successful products.
