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by Matt LeMay
Product Management in Practice
Introduction
Why I Wrote This Book: My First Day as a Product Manager
Who This Book Is For
How This Book Is Organized
Stories from Working Product Managers
Templates
“Your Checklist”
O’Reilly Safari
How to Contact Us
Acknowledgments
1. The Practice of Product Management
What Is Product Management?
What Is Not Product Management?
What Is the Profile of a Great Product Manager?
What Is the Profile of a Bad Product Manager?
Summary: Sailing the Seas of Ambiguity
Your Checklist:
2. The CORE Connective Skills of Product Management
The “Hybrid” Model: UX/Tech/Business
The CORE Skills of Product Management: Communication, Organization, Research, and Execution
Communication
Organization
Research
Execution
…But What About “Hard Skills”?
Summary: Changing the Conversation About Product Management
Your Checklist:
3. Showing Up Curious
Taking a Genuine Interest
Cultivating a Growth Mindset
The Gift of Being Wrong
Spreading Curiosity
Summary: Curiosity Is Key
Your Checklist:
4. The Worst Thing About “Best Practices”
Don’t Believe the Hype
“But This Worked at the Last Place!”
Goals First, Then Practices
The Best Thing About Best Practices
Summary: A Place to Start, Not a Guarantee
Your Checklist:
5. The Art of Egregious Overcommunication
Asking the Obvious
Meetings Are Good, If You Want It
One Weird Trick for Better Meetings: Disagree and Commit
Creating and Protecting Space for Informal Communication
Working with Distributed Teams
Don’t Deflect, Be Direct
Accounting for Different Communication Styles
Egregious Overcommunication in Practice: Three Common Communication Scenarios for Product Managers
Scenario One
Scenario Two
Scenario Three
Summary: When in Doubt…
Your Checklist:
6. Working with Senior Stakeholders (Or, Throwing the Poker Game)
Managing Up for Clarity at All Costs
“Our Boss Is an Idiot,” or, Congratulations—You’ve Ruined Your Team
No Alarms and No Surprises
Staying User-Centric in a World of Company Politics
Tactical Trade-Offs, Not Emotional Manipulation
Throwing the Poker Game in Practice: Two Common Scenarios for Senior Stakeholder Management
Scenario One
Scenario Two
Summary: This Is Part of Your Job, Not an Impediment to Your Job
Your Checklist:
7. Talking to Users (Or, “What’s a Poker Game?”)
Stakeholders and Users Are Different
Yes, You Need to Learn How to Talk to Users
“Quick Wins” for Better User Research
Leveling Up Versus Zooming In, or Another Way to “Why”
Summary: No, Seriously, You Need to Learn How to Talk to Users
Your Checklist:
8. “Data, Take the Wheel!”
The Trouble with the “D” Word
Don’t Hide Your Assumptions—Document Them!
Focusing on Metrics That Matter
“Up and to the Right” Is a Signal, Not a Strategy
From “Accountability” to Action
Acknowledging the Limitations of Obfuscating Quantitative Proxies
Keeping It Accessible
Summary: No Shortcuts!
Your Checklist:
9. Realistic Roadmaps and Painless Prioritization
It’s Not the Roadmap, It’s How You Use the Roadmap
“The Product Manager Owns the Roadmap!”
Structure and Facilitate Ideas for the Roadmap, Don’t Own Them
Your Product Spec Is Not Your Product
Wait, You Mean We Actually Have to Build This Now?
SMART Goals, CLEAR Goals, OKRs, and so on
Taking Your Goals for a Test Drive
Making Room for Old Stuff and (Truly) New Stuff
But This Is an Emergency!
Prioritization in Practice: Same Features, Different Goals
Summary: Let Them In!
Your Checklist:
10. The Wonderful, Horrible Truth About Agile
Debunking Three Common Myths About Agile
Turning to the Agile Manifesto
From Manifesto to Monster
Using Alistair Cockburn’s “Heart of Agile” to Bridge Values and Practices
Four Steps to Future-Proof Agile
A Few General Caveats About Agile
You Are Here
Summary: Ambiguity Lives Here, Too
Your Checklist:
11. In Good Times and Bad
The Soothing Lull of an Organization on Autopilot
The Good Times Aren’t (Always) the Easy Times
Carrying the Weight of the World
Summary: It’s Hard Work, but It’s Worth It
Your Checklist:
12. Conclusion: Whatever It Takes
A. A Reading List for Expanding Your Product Management Practice
B. Articles and Blog Posts Cited in This Book
Index
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