Product Management For Dummies
Häftad, Engelska, 2017
319 kr
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Fri frakt för medlemmar vid köp för minst 249 kr.Your one-stop guide to becoming a product management prodigy Product management plays a pivotal role in organizations. In fact, it's now considered the fourth most important title in corporate America—yet only a tiny fraction of product managers have been trained for this vital position. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people who hold this essential job—or simply aspire to break into a new role—Product Management For Dummies gives you the tools to increase your skill level and manage products like a pro. From defining what product management is—and isn't—to exploring the rising importance of product management in the corporate world, this friendly and accessible guide quickly gets you up to speed on everything it takes to thrive in this growing field. It offers plain-English explanations of the product life cycle, market research, competitive analysis, market and pricing strategy, product roadmaps, the people skills it takes to effectively influence and negotiate, and so much more. Create a winning strategy for your productGather and analyze customer and market feedbackPrioritize and convey requirements to engineering teams effectivelyMaximize revenues and profitabilityProduct managers are responsible for so much more than meets the eye—and this friendly, authoritative guide lifts the curtain on what it takes to succeed.
Produktinformation
- Utgivningsdatum2017-03-17
- Mått188 x 234 x 25 mm
- Vikt544 g
- FormatHäftad
- SpråkEngelska
- Antal sidor384
- FörlagJohn Wiley & Sons Inc
- ISBN9781119264026
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Brian Lawley is the CEO and founder of the 280 Group, the world's leading product management consulting and training firm. Pamela Schure is director of products and services with the 280 Group. She has worked in product management, product marketing, and marketing for Apple and Adaptec, among other companies.
- Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 3Icons Used in This Book 3Beyond the Book 4Where to Go from Here 4Part 1: Getting Started with Product Management 5Chapter 1: Welcome to the World of Product Management 7Understanding the Need for Product Management 8Recognizing the Critical Role of Project Management 9Defining product management 9Serving as a strategic driver for business 9Product Management in a Nutshell: Checking Out Your Day-to-Day Life 12Managing a product during every phase of its life 12Reaching in to your bag of tricks 13Chapter 2: Getting in Character: Discovering Your Role as a Product Manager 15Orientation Day: Examining Your Role as Product Manager 15Checking out the job description 17Pinpointing product management on the organizational chart 19Drafting your product management manifesto 20Comparing Product Management to Other Related Roles 21Checking out product marketing 22Looking into program management 23Exploring project management 25Knowing what other roles you interact with 27Conducting a Self-Assessment: Traits of a Great Product Manager 32Business acumen 32Industry knowledge and expertise 33Technical knowledge 33People skills 34Decision-making skills 34Problem-solving aptitude 35A cool head 35Leadership chops 36Scoring your product manager traits 37RACI and DACI: Understanding Responsibilities 38Going the RACI route 38Taking a DACI direction 39Using RACI and DACI effectively 40Chapter 3: Checking Out the Product Life Cycle 41Defining the Product Life Cycle: What It Is and Isn’t 41Phases and gates 42Mapping phase-gate to Agile methodologies 43It’s Just a Phase: Breaking Down the Product Life Cycle 46Phase I: Conceive 46Phase II: Plan 47Phase III: Develop 48Phase IV: Qualify 49Phase V: Launch 49Phase VI: Maximize 50Phase VII: Retire 51Detailing the Optimal Product Process 52Taking a look at how the process works 52Understanding the nine core documents 54Part 2: Discovering, Evaluating, and Planning for Great Products and Services 57Chapter 4: Coming Up with Great Product Ideas 59Getting a Handle on the Creative Process 59Exploring sources for new ideas 60Letting your team play 61Generating Creative Ideas: Techniques and Tips 63Brainstorming 63Consulting customer councils 65Tapping the power of mind mapping 66Trying a more structured approach: The four actions framework 67Chapter 5: Working to Understand Who Your Customer Is 69Moving from Markets to Segments 69Defining markets and segments 70Determining market segments 70Harnessing the Creativity of Personas 72What is included in a persona description 72Developing personas 74Making Sure You Cover All Persona Roles 77Visiting Customers 78Observing customer visit courtesies 78Interviewing customers 79Chapter 6: Doing Your Homework: Evaluating Your Ideas 83Understanding the Importance of Market Research and Competitive Intelligence 83Subdividing kinds of market research 85Looking for the right place to start 86Undertaking the Market Research Process 87Spelling out the market research process 88Asking the right questions 89Examining market research methods 91Studying Competitive Intelligence 93Identifying competitors 93Collecting all the competitive intelligence possible 93Keeping track of the competition 98Reality-Checking Your Ideas and Hypotheses 99Using a simple validation process 99An example of product validation 100Crunching the Numbers with Financial Forecasting 100Chapter 7: Prioritizing and Selecting Your Ideas 101Prioritizing Your Ideas 101Finding the right fit with the product-market fit triad 102Putting business canvases to use 104Weighing different opportunities 108Applying Scoring Models 110Scoring for differentiation: The Kano model 110Scoring for efficient use of development resources: Value versus effort analysis 111Filling out a prioritization matrix 112Collecting ballots: Dot voting 113Buying features 114Chapter 8: Planning to Plan: Choosing a Suitable Approach 115Adopting Planning Best Practices 115Starting early 116Including your team 116Treating your plan as a living document 117Deciding on the Right Amount of Planning 117Comparing Lean versus in-depth planning 118Completing the types of new products and services grid 119Finding the right level of planning for your company’s culture 120Considering your executives’ expectations 122Evaluating investment risk 123Streamlining the Planning Process with Lean and Simple Planning 124Understanding the Lean approach 125What numbers are you looking at? 125Taking a look at a popular business model canvas 126Being prepared to rapidly change and pivot 128Taking a More Thorough Approach: In-Depth Planning 128Deciding whether to document 129Using key documents and corresponding questions 130Estimating your time investment 132Chapter 9: Developing Your Business Case 133Making a Business Case for the New Product or Service 134Recognizing the importance of a business case 134Outlining your business case 135Gathering the necessary information 136Putting It All Together: Documenting Your Business Case 136Part I: Executive summary 136Part II: Problem and opportunity 137Part III: Market landscape 139Part IV: Competitive landscape 139Part V: Financial and resource impact analysis 141Part VI: Risks 143Parts VII through XI: Other sections 143Getting buy-in for your business case 146Chapter 10: Developing Your Market Strategy 147Grasping the Importance of a Market Strategy 148Setting Yourself Straight on Strategy Tools 149Go-to-market strategy 149Strategy models 150Considering Other Components of Marketing Strategy 156Whole product offering 156Brand promise 157Pricing 157Segmentation 161Positioning 161Naming your product 165Messaging 166Putting Your Market Strategy in Writing 168Part I: Executive summary 169Part II: Whole product offer 170Part III: Pricing 171Part IV: Segmentation 172Part V: Positioning 172Part VI: Messaging 173Part VII: Strategy 173Part VIII: Launch programs and activities 175Part IX: Budget 175Part X: Concluding sections 175Chapter 11: Developing a Plan: Market Needs, Product Description, and Road Maps 177Uncovering Market Need and Creating Product Feature Descriptions 178The problem space 178The solution space 178Comparing market needs and product features 178Keeping discussions clear 180Documenting Market Needs 181Questioning why “why” is so important 181Gathering the necessary information 183Detailing your market needs document 187Prioritizing detailed features and market needs 192Whipping Up a Product Feature Description 193Outlining the product description 194Completing the product description document 195Plotting Your Product’s Path to Success with a Product Road Map 199Part 3: Building and Maximizing Product Success: From Development to Retirement 201Chapter 12: Shepherding a Product Idea through the Development Phase 203Getting the Lowdown on Waterfall/Phase-Gate versus Agile Development 203Waterfall: Measure twice, cut once 204Agile: Plan and deliver rapidly 205Creating the backlog in Agile 207Assuming typical responsibilities 211Unlocking the Secrets of the Product Development Trade-Off Triangle 213Maintaining Best Practices during Development 215Chapter 13: Gearing up for Your Product Launch: The Qualify Phase 217Getting Up to Speed on the Qualify Phase 217Ensuring internal and external quality validation 218Creating a beta plan 219Dodging typical beta testing mistakes 220Putting a Beta Program in Place 221Setting appropriate goals 221Making your goals concrete 221Recruiting participants 222Making the Decision to Ship the Product 226Chapter 14: Liftoff! Planning and Executing an Effective Product Launch 227Unlocking the Do’s and Don’ts of a Successful Product Launch 228Understanding the importance of first impressions 228Detailing the elements of a successful product launch 229Setting Launch Goals 230Checking Out Different Launch Types 231Launches under Agile or very frequent releases 231Easy does it: The soft launch 231A small effort: The minimal launch 232Going all-in: The full scale launch 233Choosing a launch type: Key considerations 233Running a Smooth Product Launch 234Building your launch squad 235Tracking milestones and ensuring accountability 235Arming your sales team and other key stakeholders 236Creating a Product Launch Plan 237Recognizing the importance of the launch plan 237Filling out the launch plan template 238Validating the Plan against Your Launch Goals 241Chapter 15: Maximizing Your Product’s Revenue and Profits 243Grasping the Basics of Marketing 244Marketing mix 244Working with marcom and creating marketing collateral 248Fitting into the sales and marketing funnel 252Getting sales the tools to sell the product 254Becoming marketing aware 255Forecasting: A Look to the Future 256Collecting data for forecasting 256Making assumptions 259Creating an Effective Marketing Plan 260Recognizing the importance of a top-notch marketing plan 261Outlining your marketing plan: What to include 261Setting goals 263Monitoring Product Success Metrics 265Keeping tabs on the sales funnel: Leads, opportunities, and conversions 265Examining revenues and profitability 265Gauging market share 266Benchmarking: Tracking against the business plan 266Changing Course: Making Adjustments 267Beefing up sales support 268Enhancing the product 268Trimming costs 268Chapter 16: Retirement: Replacing a Product or Taking It off the Market 271Deciding How to Retire a Product 272Taking into account internal and external expectations 272Considering Critical Factors in a Product Retirement Plan 273Breaking down specific end-of-life issues by product type 273Distinguishing a product’s various end-of dates 275Checking out parts of a product retirement plan 276Following Best Practices when Retiring a Product 277Part 4: Becoming a Phenomenal Product Manager 279Chapter 17: Cultivating Your Product Management Leadership Skills 281Identifying Traits of an Effective Product Management Leader 282Developing Your Leadership Style 283Reaching for results and motivating people 283Handling stress 284Thinking, acting, and communicating like a leader 287Chapter 18: Mastering the Art of Persuasion 289Brushing Up on Persuasion Basics 289Active listening 290Convincing with the three reasons method 291Asking for what you want — concisely 292Getting Your Executive Team on Board 293Drawing up an influence map 293Building relationships with the key players 294Talking the talk: Executive-speak 295Winning Over Your Development Team 296Building your credibility 296Assessing your team and adjusting 298Sizing up different types of developers and how to handle them 299Fostering rapport with the team 300Getting Sales on Your Side 301Making it easy for sales to sell your product 302Chapter 19: Getting to the Next Level in Product Management 305Mapping Your Career Path: Setting Goals and Target Dates 305Establishing goals 306Building a career plan 307Writing one-, three-, and five-year action plans 309Remembering the favors 310Mastering Your Market and New Technologies 310Becoming the market and customer expert 311Increasing your technical expertise 312Part 5: Part of Tens 313Chapter 20: Ten Common Product Launch Mistakes to Avoid 315Failing to Plan Early Enough 316Not Having a Sustaining Marketing Plan in Place 316Shipping a Poor Quality Product 317Inadequately Funding Launch 318Underestimating the Required Marketing Exposure 319Driving Customers to Buy Your Competitor’s Products 319Announcing Too Early 320Not Having a Dedicated Product Review and Public Relations Program 321Delaying Communication 323Considering International Markets as an Afterthought 323Chapter 21: Ten (Plus One) Road Maps to Help You Succeed 325Theme-Based Product Road Maps 326Timed Release Product Road Maps 328Golden Feature Product Road Maps 329Market and Strategy Road Maps 329Visionary Road Maps 330Competitive, Market, and Technology Trends Road Map 331Technology Road Maps 331Technology across Products Road Map 332Platform Road Maps 333Matrix Product Road Maps 333Multiple Product Line Road Maps 334Chapter 22: Ten Ways Product Managers Fail 337Talking More Than Listening 337Focusing Only on Features 338Not Continuing to Learn 338Reinventing the Wheel 338Avoiding Seeking Help 339Digging In and Refusing to Compromise, Ever 339Never Visiting Customers 339Not Owning the Whole Product 340Adopting Agile but Losing Overall Business Focus 340Being a Product Janitor Rather Than a Product Manager 341Glossary 343Index 349