The Influential Product Manager

How to Lead and Launch Successful Technology Products

Ken Sandy

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781523087488
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: History of Ancient Art
• Index: Business

This book is a comprehensive and practical guide to the core skills, activities, and behaviors that are required of product managers in modern technology companies. Product management is one of the fastest growing and most sought-after roles by job seekers and companies alike. The availability of trained and experienced talent can barely keep up with the accelerating demand for new and improved technology products. People from nontechnical and technical backgrounds alike are eager to master this exciting new role. The Influential Product Manager teaches product managers how to behave at each stage of the product life cycle to achieve the best outcome for the customer. Product managers are under pressure to drive spectacular results, often without wielding much direct power or authority. If you don't know how to influence people at all levels of the organization, how will you create the best possible product? This comprehensive entry-level textbook distills over twenty years of hard-won field experience and industry knowledge into lessons that will empower new product managers to act like pros right out of the gate. With teaching experience both from UC Berkeley and Lynda.com, the author boils down the most complex topics into principles that are easy to memorize and apply. This book methodically documents the tools product managers everywhere use to align their teams with market needs and organizational goals. From setting priorities to capturing requirements to navigating trade-offs, this book makes it easy. Not only will your product succeed, you'll succeed, too, when you read the final chapter on advancing your career. Let your product's success become your success!

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction: What being influential means for you, and how to use this book
• Chapter 1. First, Think Like a Product Manager: Differentiate yourself with four powerful mindsets
• Chapter 2. Lead through Influence: Establish context across your organization and communicate effectively with stakeholders
• Chapter 3. Understand Your Customer: Answer five key questions to define the customer you serve and why
• Chapter 4. Collaborate to Set Priorities: Focus on the highest-impact opportunities and align stakeholders behind your product’s goals
• Chapter 5. Discover and Validate Customer Needs: Test your assumptions and emergent product solutions through continuous customer feedback
• Chapter 6. Define the Right Product: Use hypothesis-driven specifications to get your team exploring solutions and delivering on outcomes
• Chapter 7. Capture User-Centric Requirements: Frame desired functionality from your user’s point of view and remain adaptable to new learning
• Chapter 8. Partner with Engineering: Build trusted relationships and execute smoothly in collaboration with your primary stakeholder
• Chapter 9. Navigate Challenging Trade-Offs: Generate value quickly and sustainably by managing the tension between scope, time, quality, and resources
• Chapter 10. Launch for Impact: Bring your product into the market smoothly, exciting customers and stakeholders with your solutions
• Chapter 11. Measure Success: Utilize meaningful metrics to track and increase the value you deliver to customers
• Chapter 12. Advance Your Career: Evaluate your skills and identify professional growth opportunities
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• About the Author