People often debate the usefulness of the Product Requirements Document (PRD). With the rise of Agile development practices, many argued that PRDs were a relic of the past and that people shouldn’t waste their time with it. In practice, however, I’ve seen clear benefits from well-written and maintained PRDs in every team I’ve worked, all…
All posts in Product Management
Business metrics vs. user value (why I quit Facebook)
I love data. A great dashboard with useful KPIs is beautiful and useful. If you haven’t yet, take the time to define and track success metrics for your product. It forces clarity and reflection of your goals. Use data to prove or disprove your hypotheses. Use data to calibrate your efforts and see whether you’re…
Storytelling is your PM superpower
I was recently reflecting on the following quote Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Howard Thurman The first thing that came to my mind was, languages. I’ve had some of the…
How to ramp up as a Product Manager. Gain context before you try to change things.
I always remember a song I heard as a child by Guatemalan singer Ricardo Arjona. It said (with a profanity substituted) “aquí no es bueno el que ayuda, sino el que no [molesta], acuérdese.” This translates to “here the good are not those who help, but those who don’t [bother], remember that.” Having recently completed…
Learning resources for new product managers
A reader asked for learning resources I found useful when starting as a product manager without a computer science background. Below is a list of learning resources that I found helpful and rewarding as a new product manager. Most of the online resources are free. General Management [web] Ian McAllister’s Quora answers. Ian McAllister shares…
From consulting, customer success into Product Management
Three years ago, I transitioned from Customer Success into Product Management full-time. Here is what my résumé included: Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering Healthcare Consulting (3 years) Customer Success Management (1 year) I transitioned into Product Management at BloomReach, a Software-as-a-Service company. It was particularly important to me to do Product Management at a company in…
Don’t defend your product prioritization. Instead, show how you got there.
A critical part of a product manager’s job is prioritizing what to build. You must decide what to build now in order to make your product successful in the long term. More importantly, you decide what not to build. This will always draw plenty of opinions. Your colleagues have an example of clients that loved…
Becoming a Product Manager without a Computer Science degree
“Can I become a product manager without a computer science degree?” I asked that question to many product managers, friends, and anyone who’d listen when I was considering a transition into product management. I eventually transitioned into a product manager role at a startup, and now work as a product manager at Google, without ever…
Developing skills to be a great Product Manager
Finding a consistent definition for what a Product Manager (PM) role entails is no easy feat, as I have quickly figured out while starting to dip my toes into the product management world. This is true even when try to narrow my scope to thinking about product management within tech companies in the San Francisco…
Focusing on Product Management – how I am planning to develop my product management skills
Update 11/5/2019: I compiled a list of resources I found helpful while transitioning into Product Management. After 5 years working as a PM, those are the things I’d recommend. I have always found intrigue in the idea of writing posts for this blog, but the reality is that my focus has jumped around from topic…