This presentation provides tips and tools for a professional who is new to Product Management function (in software). It does not cover the full lifecycle of a product and primarily focuses on the product development/product building phase. As such, it is more usable for professionals working on existing products than for those in the process of building new products from scratch.

1. Practical Product Management for new PMs Amarpreet Kalkat Co-founder & Chief Technologist @ Ciafo

3. Session 1 Introduction

4. Usefulness of PM Function Understanding an end-user’s pain points, and solving them through the product features. Balancing out the usually conflicting product expectations of stakeholders. Creating a ‘State Path’, with each state being a local business value maxima. Maximizing the overall business value, given the constraints . Getting buy-in, and creating an in-house (and sometimes outside) market for the product.

5. Key Aspects of PM Function Working with the stakeholders Planning a strategic roadmap Building the backlog Defining the product requirements Planning a release roadmap Feature prioritization

6. Session 2 Learning the Key Concepts

7. Learning the Key Concepts Working with the stakeholders Planning a strategic roadmap Building the backlog Defining the product requirements Planning a release roadmap Feature prioritization

9. Stakeholder Continuum Low Need Low High High Influence Key Stakeholders Stakeholders Others

11. Learning the Key Concepts Working with the stakeholders Planning a strategic roadmap Building the backlog Defining the user stories Planning a release roadmap Feature prioritization

12. Strategic Roadmap Objective Define a future for the product that key stakeholders know and agree upon . Provide an approximate direction for the product. Communicate product future to all stakeholders.

15. Strategic Roadmap Template 1H 2011 2H 2H Mission 1H Goals Key Needs & Challenges Mission Goals Key Needs & Challenges Mission Goals Key Needs & Challenges Mission Goals Key Needs & Challenges 2012

17. Learning the Key Concepts Working with the stakeholders Planning a strategic roadmap Building the backlog Defining the product requirements Planning a release roadmap Feature prioritization

18. Product Backlog Objective Have a prioritized list of possible features for the product. Make details available for those who are interested. Track all the requests made by various stakeholders.

21. Product Backlog Template Release Score Priority Commit- -ment Need Time--line User Story By PM Comment Requester Inputs Import- -ance Request

23. Learning the Key Concepts Working with the stakeholders Planning a strategic roadmap Building the backlog Defining the product requirements Planning a release roadmap Feature prioritization

24. Feature Prioritization Objective Know and let know what is the best for the product. Stagger all stakeholder requests in a workable order. Maximize Business Value generated by the product for each ‘state’.

28. Prioritization Matrix Yes Partial No Workaround Very Low Low High Low Feature Medium Medium Medium Sub-system High Low High System Showstopper Effort Impact Scope Criticality

29. Alternate Prioritization Matrix Score (sum of all) Effort (1-3) Work- around (3-1) Impact (3-1) Scope (3-1) Criti-cality (5-1) Backlog Item

30. Prioritized Backlog Template Release Score Priority Commit- -ment Need Time- -line User Story By PM Comment Requester Inputs Import- -ance Request

32. Learning the Key Concepts Working with the stakeholders Planning a strategic roadmap Building the backlog Defining the product requirements Planning a release roadmap Feature prioritization

33. Release Roadmap Objective Make detailed roadmap available for those who are interested. Define a ‘state path’ for the product, with each state representing a product release. Have a plan for the product that key stakeholders know and approve of .

37. Release Roadmap Template 1Q 3Q 1Q 3Q Release 3 Customers Release 1 Customers Release 2 Customers Release 2 Release 1.1 Release 1.2 Customer 1 Customer 2 Release 3 2010 2011 4Q 2Q 4Q 2012 2Q 4Q Existing Customer Confirmed New Customer Unconfirmed New Customer Release 1 Mission: Key Features: Release 2 Mission: Key Features: Release 3 Mission: Key Features:

38. Learning the Key Concepts Working with the stakeholders Planning a strategic roadmap Building the backlog Defining the product requirements Planning a release roadmap Feature prioritization

39. Product Requirements Objective Specify product features for your developers and testers in an easy to understand manner. Give your users and customers a chance to validate that the correct product is being built.

42. Feature Spec Template Benefits Acceptance Criteria Dependencies Wireframes Interfaces Specifications Stakeholders Feature Title

44. Session 3 Product Experience

45. Product Experience UI, Usability and UX Measurement of impact

46. What is UI, Usability and UX Simply put, UX is the art of making your users happy. UX is the overall experience that a user has interacting with the product – it includes UI and Usability. Usability is the ability to use the product for the intended purpose without any hassles – it partially includes UI. UI is the User Interface – the visual part of your product.

47. Why is UX important UX is the prism through which users sees your product. Same product is different things to different people, it is the experience of using it that shapes their opinion of it.

48. Improving UX Start with the basics – become a user of your product first! Not everybody uses the product the same way as you do. Try to see the product from many differing perspectives. Being perceived as a good product is equally important as being a good product.

49. Product UI Product UI is critically important – and it is a PM’s responsibility to make a good UI available. HCI/UX designers are the best people for the job, but a PM must have basic level in the area, at the minimum. Use wireframe creation tools to provide the first level of UI.

50. Product without a UI UX for a product without a UI needs a different paradigm – it needs alternate ways to communicate what it is useful for. Most such products become part of other products – so their users are ‘engineers’ building those other products. Documentation is usually the equivalent of UI here. Demos, videos etc. can be the other collaterals for such products.

51. Product Experience UI, Usability and UX Measurement of impact

52. Measurement of User Impact Build analytics into your product, if you can. Communicate regularly with users, use formal methods like surveys, A/B testing once in a while. Track usage of related artifacts – number of downloads, visits, documentation reads for example.

53. Measurement of Business Impact Business impact is primarily measured economically. In terms of revenues and profits, using P&L accounts. Concept of BV (Business Value) is a useful tool too, as it measures business impact across the product value chain.

54. Session 4 Case Study Analysis

55. Extra Slides