Decoding Product Management

Decoding
Product
Management
Charles Neff
/CharlesRNeff
Agenda
1 What is a Product?
2 What is Product Management?
3 Product vs. Project Mindset
4 The Product Manager
5 The Product Owner

What is a
Product?
A product is
anything that
can be offered
to a market that
might satisfy a
want or need.
Every product has...
A customer who is a: A producer who receives a core

benefit through:
Consumer: Anyone who gets value from your
Revenue increase
product, whether or not they pay for it.
Cost decrease or avoidance
Buyer: Anyone who pays for your product,
Societal benefit
whether or not they use it
Both
A viable product is one
where the benefit is
realized.
The primary responsibility of the Product Manager is maximizing the ROI.

What is
Product
Management?
Product Management is a
strategic function in
organizations,
concentrating on the
complete product
lifecycle, including
ideation, development,
launch, and continuous
management.
What product Asking customers about the
requirements.
management is Writing detailed specifications.

Creating prototypes and wireframes.
NOT about?
Assigning tasks to developers.
Verifying and accepting the work of
others.
Obsessing over velocity, deadlines, and
roadmaps.
Acting like the CEO of the product.
Huryn, Paweł. "What is Product Management?" *The Product Compass*, 2024,

https://www.productcompass.pm/p/what-is-product-management.
Product Understanding customer's problems,
needs, and desires.
management about: Understanding the market and the

business in depth.
Collaborating closely with engineers and
designers.
Identifying opportunities, ideating
solutions, and tackling the risks
together.
Marrying customer goals and business
goals.
Influencing others to work toward the
common goal.
Being humble (it's ok not to be the
smartest person in the room).
Experimenting to validate assumptions.
Leading without authority.
Turning chaos into clarity.
Huryn, Paweł. "What is Product Management?" *The Product Compass*, 2024,
https://www.productcompass.pm/p/what-is-product-management.
Product
Management
is bigger
than Scrum
or being McGreal, Don, and Ralph Jocham. *The Professional Product Owner: Leveraging
Scrum as a Competitive Advantage*. Addison-Wesley Professional, 2018.
Agile.
Product vs.
Project
Mindset
Project Product
Success upfront defined Success is continuously
inside out: driven by business metrics
outside in:
Scope Scope
Time User adoption/retention
Revenue
Budget
Cost savings per feature
Leads to less business

Leads to less waste, more
involvement, more task
creativity, and more
management. Budget Ti me
releases.
A product mindset:
Encourages more Communicates Eliminates waste

frequent releases objectives vs
tasks
Receive earlier Teams get more Less dependicy on

feedback from the creative with their task assignment,
marketplace solutions and take reporting and
more ownership over management decisions
their plans
A project Less business involvement
mindset
More handoffs
leads to:
More task management
More people management

Project Thinking Product Thinking
“You are great Most important question When Why
at execution, Optimizes for Outputs Outcomes
the team loves Improves Efficiency Effectiveness
you, but you Most important capability Execution Insight
need to be
Biggest differenator Discipline Creative
Biggest Secrete Influence Simulation
more strategic” Effect on outcome Multiplicative Exponential
Most Important core value Action Empowerment
Shreyas Doshi on LinkedIn

There is a role
on a Product
team for those
with Project
Management
skills -- The
Delivery
Manager
The
Product
Manager
“The Product Manager
is responsible for
evaluating opportunities
and determining what
gets built and delivered
to customers.”
Cagan, Marty. *Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love*. 2nd ed., Wiley, 2018, p. 42.
Key
Deep Knowledge of the Customer
Respnsibilites
of a Strong
Become an acknowledged expert on the actual customer: their issues,
pains, desires, how they think, how they work, how they decide to buy.
Product
Manager Deep Knowlege of the Data
Both quantitative and qualitative skills are required in order
to understand what the customer is doing with your product.
Deep Knowlege of Your Business

Having a deep understanding of your business and how it
works, and the role your product plays in your business.
Deep Knowlege of Your Market and Insdusty
Not only knowing your competitors, but also key trends in

technology, customer behaviors and expectations following
the relevant industry analysists and regulatory landscape.
The
Product
Owner
Product Owner vs Product Manager
Product Manager Product Manager
Product
Product Owner Owner
Huryn, Paweł. "Product Owner vs Product Manager: What's the difference?" *The Product
Compass*, 2023, https://www.productcompass.pm/p/product-manager-vs-product-owner.
Product “The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing
the value of the product resulting from the work of
Ownership is the Scrum Team. How this is done may vary widely
across organizations, Scrum Teams, and individuals.
accountability.
The Product Owner is also accountable for effective
Product Backlog management (…)
The Product Owner is one person, not a committee.

The Product Owner may represent the needs of
many stakeholders in the Product Backlog. Those
wanting to change the Product Backlog can do so by
trying to convince the Product Owner.”
As the Scrum Guide 2020 explains:
Product Management
focuses on the complete
product lifecycle, values
outcomes over outputs,
and is responsible for
maximizing the
product’s ROI.
Thank you!
/CharlesRNeff

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Decoding

2 What is Product Management?

3 Product vs. Project Mindset

4 The Product Manager

5 The Product Owner

A customer who is a: A producer who receives a core

The primary responsibility of the Product Manager is maximizing the ROI.

management is Writing detailed specifications.

Huryn, Paweł. "What is Product Management?" *The Product Compass*, 2024,

management about: Understanding the market and the

Leads to less business

Encourages more Communicates Eliminates waste

Receive earlier Teams get more Less dependicy on

More people management

“You are great Most important question When Why

at execution, Optimizes for Outputs Outcomes

the team loves Improves Efficiency Effectiveness

you, but you Most important capability Execution Insight

Biggest Secrete Influence Simulation

more strategic” Effect on outcome Multiplicative Exponential

Most Important core value Action Empowerment

Shreyas Doshi on LinkedIn

Deep Knowlege of Your Business

Deep Knowlege of Your Market and Insdusty

Not only knowing your competitors, but also key trends in

Product Manager Product Manager

The Product Owner is one person, not a committee.

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Huryn, Paweł. "What is Product Management?" The Product Compass, 2024,