» The best moment to teach a user to use a new feature is when it is valuable for them
» Uncompleted tasks stick in a person’s memory, completed tasks are more easily forgotten
» Provide a safe, controlled environment to help users experiment and learn a new skill
» Developers and managers often have conflicting views of what constitutes value in software
» Software engineers should ideally understand both what they are building and why
» Unforeseen edge cases can cause headaches at roll-out, but provide valuable lessons
Product managers of software and hardware platforms face unique challenges that PMs of ‘regular’ products do not.
In this panel discussion, Hans-Bernd Kittlaus discusses platform product management with Samira Negm, Peter Stadlinger and Jock Busuttil.
Hi Jock,
I was reading your article about growth product managers. What is the difference between ‘growth hacker’ and ‘growth product manager’?
There’s an ongoing debate about generalist product managers versus emerging product manager specialisms (such as ‘growth product manager’). I think there is room in our profession for both. Let me explain.
» Growth product managers are expected to focus primarily on revenue growth
» Growth hacking failed in part because it produced unsustainable growth
» Some companies stimulate growth by “infiltrating” offline communities
» With infrequent use products, market penetration is a better measure of product-market fit than retention
» There are 4 emerging product manager specialisms
» You can recruit different flavours of product manager by thinking along 3 axes
“I have a PM in my team who I regularly find digging into areas of the business that are unrelated to the initiatives they’re responsible for. [As a result,] they also have a track record of being extremely slow to bring anything to market.”
» Emotional intelligence is more important than technical skills
» Hire people who will increase your rate of learning
» A head of product needs prior experience as a product manager
» Good candidates have initiative and passion to pursue their opinions
» 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
