Leadership, Adaptability, and Story Mapping in Product Development

This week, Dan Neumann and Justin Thatil are joined by their colleague, Mike Guiler. In this episode, they explore how a Product Manager shifts from just management to leadership and how this transformation influences the role. Dan, Justin, and Mike discuss tools and strategies, including OKRs, Story Mapping, and Hackathons, among others.

Key Takeaways

• Product management must study the market and users, becoming customer-centric and ensuring it is still viable for the business at the same time.

• It takes more than one individual to effectively perform the discovery function. It's a Team effort (Product Designer, Product Owner, and a Technical member).

• Discovery and design sessions are opportunities for Teams to unlock the art of the possible.

• The Team has to learn from rapid feedback while ensuring steps are taken to not hurt organizational reputation.

• A Product Manager must first understand how to help the Team approach a particular problem. A great way is to identify OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and focus on the target market the Team is going after. Once the Team is aligned, the job can be done.

• A Product Manager sets an objective for the Team and allows them to work autonomously toward reaching it.

• Story Mapping: A Product Manager’s ally on the journey to product discovery.

• Story Mapping is an easy way to frame what the Team is trying to achieve and the tool that might be the most efficient for that purpose.

• Story Mapping can also help identify the target persona for which the Team is building a particular feature.

• There is tremendous value in having the Team involved in Story Mapping and, as a result, immersed in and knowledgeable about the problem at hand.

• Hackathons are a great way to keep a Team motivated.

• Allow the engineers to explore; you will keep them engaged and motivated.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs, by Uri Levine

Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love (Silicon Valley Product Group), by Marty Cagan

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