How To Succeed In Product Management | Jeffrey Shulman, Red Russak & Soumeya Benghanem

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman welcomes Charlton Washington, MBA (Johnson & Johnson) and Jake Wallack (Axon) to talk about hardware product management. As a PM, you might have to choose between hardware vs. software. Knowing the difference between the two fields, the process involved, and the varying customer needs will allow PMs to get familiar with the systems should they wish to transition from hardware to software and vice versa.   Disclaimer: All opinions of the speakers are their own.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 05:42 Metrics of success in hardware 08:22 Hardware vs. software 09:52 Other metrics  12:40 Meeting the needs of different consumers 16:06 Inclusivity is necessary 18:59 Product management in hardware vs. software 21:11 Hardware has longer development cycles 24:42 Hardware or software as a PM? 26:47 More long term strategy 27:40 Check your skills and experience 28:40 Single threaded leadership 31:07 Stakeholder management with hardware vs. software 33:55 Stakeholders are more directly involved in product 35:01 What can make people in hardware PM angry? 38:16 Transition from software to hardware 40:11 How to navigate hardware PM in the medical space 42:16 Resources for PM 45:40 Final thoughts

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board member Red Russak welcome Giselle Mota (ADP) to talk about product inclusion and product equity. With product inclusion, users feel seen and feel that their needs are met. This is why inclusion is an important aspect PMs must have and learn and how they can incorporate this in their products.     Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 06:15 Definition of inclusion 09:54 Making the business case 11:47 Educate to ensure product inclusion 15:21 Product inclusion is not just in the language but also data that’s used 19:20 How to test inclusivity 22:38 Product management is an iterative process 27:36 Book recommendations 29:23 Is there anything unique about product inclusion and equity? 31:52 Mainstream user vs. extreme user 33:55 Factors that are accelerating inclusivity 36:38 Improving AI voice 39:08 Roles dedicated to product inclusion and product equity 47:21 Advice for product managers to be more equitable and inclusive 50:11 Final thoughts

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Dontae Delgado (Compass) and Siddhartha Rabindran (Microsoft) to discuss managing assumptions and start ranking them from the top most important to the least important, and build a framework around it to help develop the product. Assumptions, when correctly utilized and tested in the right environment exponentially helps product leaders find success.    Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:42 The importance of managing assumptions and risk management 03:46 It’s easy to become comfortable with the flows of the product 05:11 Clarity plays an important role in managing assumptions 08:44 The different classifications of assumptions 10:45 Approach is the most important part of addressing assumptions 13:55 Assumption prompts to make assumptions explicit 15:52 The build versus buy evaluation 19:53 After generating assumptions, start ranking them 23:36 Critical path is about the solution and the framing 24:25 Proper documentation is key to effective communication 27:17 Situations that could happen when assumptions aren’t made 29:45 Reference books and resources for assumption management 37:04 How do you go about validating assumptions? 40:31 The product team considers four important things: product, market, channels, and business model 43:42 Producer and consumer framework in critical in managing expectations 47:31 Building a culture of domain empathy 50:28 Assumptions are an integral part of everything we do 54:13 Assumptions are linchpin to product success 55:29 Some assumptions, when utilized correctly or incorrectly, either hurt or help the products

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Saumil Shrivastava (UiPath) and Mark Cramer (Meta) to talk about the death to PRDs. What is a PRD and can it be removed from a company? How can this tool help a PM’s job and what is its relationship with backlogs? A PM should be able to understand the importance of PRD and how it can be a starting point to get anything done.    *Disclaimer: “All opinions of the speakers are their own.”   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 05:13 What is a PRD? 08:15 PRDs are the starting point to get anything done 09:25 Have a goal 11:41 Format doesn’t matter 12:28 Strategy documents 14:55 A part in PRDs that can be removed 17:20 Backlogs 19:16 Strategy depends on the size of the team 21:22 Relationship between PRDs and backlogs 24:59 Shifting focus from PRD to backlog overtime 27:18 Purpose is different 29:31 Backlogs are a PMs domain 30:43 Project managers and engineering manager on backlogs 33:46 Sometimes effectiveness is more important than efficiency 36:30 Advice for beginners in PRD 39:13 Find a mentor 40:39 Your job is not about the tool 42:42 Final thoughts

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board member Red Russak welcome Ben Waddle (Expedia Group) and Shivam Goyal (Tellus) to talk about how PMs can properly set goals. A good PM must know how to set goals and be able to identify how the team can achieve it, whether it’s too ambitious or difficult to reach, and the right percentage goals the team should be hitting. Goal setting is a good skill for a PM because it motivates you towards your outcome and gives you clarity on what you want to achieve.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 04:46 Why is goal setting important? 05:55 What happens when you’re not effective at setting goals 06:43 Know the reason why you’re setting a goal 07:26 Goals should be outcome oriented 08:18 Making sure everyone is aligned on the goal 09:21 Being specific is important 11:05 Anti-goals 13:23 The problem with setting a super ambitious goal 15:54 What is the right percentage of goals you should be hitting? 23:03 Who should be involved in goal setting 26:00 Technology for goal setting 32:53 Use a system that you are comfortable with 35:41 Does remote work change how you communicate towards goals? 38:21 When to abandon a goal 43:22 A good goal before COVID 46:53 Final thoughts

Today, in the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, Jeff and Red welcome our panel of experts on product management to talk about mentoring new product managers. They discuss how domain expertise can help new PMs grow in the field, the qualities one must have to understand and build relationships with customers, improving problem solving skills and building frameworks to tackle problems, and the roles senior PMs play in honing younger leaders.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 00:43 Building empathy and understanding for new Product Managers 02:31 Taking ownership and being proactive early on 04:06 Understand your customers and build relationships 06:52 PM’s must be curious and empathetic 08:40 Spend time to learn your product domain 13:39 Multiple variables affect what you end up focusing on as a PM 16:26 PMs often focus on the solution but don’t spend much time understanding the problem 19:01 The most important skill for new PM’s: actively ask questions 23:00 Promising books new PMs should read 26:40 Tools to help communicate with customers and conduct market research 31:27 How do you make problems and their solutions meaningful to the market? 35:40 Find a good mentor to guide you along the way 36:28 Difference between a mentor and a sponsor 38:14 Help coming from a senior product leader 42:42 Creating a psychologically safe space for new PMs 46:54 Challenges transitioning from B2B to B2C role 50:37 Observe patterns and build frameworks to tackle problems 51:35 Be that go-to person for the team 54:18 Are you spending time listening to your customers?

Today, in the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, Jeff and Red welcome a panel of experts on Product Management to discuss the importance of decision making in the success of any project. The panel of experts, known and respected in their respective expertise, share valuable tips and insights on what it takes to come up with the right decision.   Episode Resources: University of Washington The Product Management Center Jeff Shulman’s LinkedIn   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Soumeya Benghanem on the different styles of decision-making 03:44 “Understand the right process and structure to use to frame up decisions.” - Adam Grupp 05:37 “The expensive and scary are the ones where it's a long-term commitment you can’t change so easily.” - Greg Young 08:05 Sumathi Kadambi on the cost of failing to make a decision and the fear of decision-making. 12:17 “Create your own metrics for your own product.” Marily Nika 14:57 What’s your bold thought on decision-making?  16:37 Is data just confirming what you already know or do you have some wild changes based off of it? 20:02 Half of PM decisions are decisions they’re not even conscious of 21:26 Build an ecosystem of experts within the company to help make decisions 24:24 Favorite decision-making matrix regularly used 27:01 Go-to method for sourcing new ideas or iterating mature and new products 32:14 Hiring board at Mattress Firm, connect with Sumantro Das 34:23 Oftentimes, the best ideas come from unexpected places 37:15 Take what makes you successful but apply it in new places that can help make big changes 39:05 Be very clear on how everyone makes decisions 43:09 Decision-making takes time to build confidence on and to build the tool set 44:27 Some things are hard to let go but maybe they're not where our future is 46:24 Build a learning organization by understanding how decisions are made and documenting them

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Rajvi Bhatt (Walmart Global Tech), Prathyusha (Usha) Cheruku (UnitedHealth Group), and Arvind Dutta (Microsoft) to talk about how to write a good PRD. Do good PMs need to know how to write PRDs or product requirement documents? PRDs can be useful and a great way to help capture important information about your product in one place, so a good PM should learn how to write one as it is one of the most important documents a PM could create.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 02:31 What a PRD is? 04:46 PRDs are mechanisms to help stakeholders 07:29 What can go wrong in PRD? 10:09 PRDs are sometimes useless 12:20 Difference between PR/FAQ and PRD 14:10 Backlogs in PRD 16:29 One pagers  18:24 PRDs are a way to accomplish the goal of building a product 19:15 How PRDs help a product manager 22:20 Different documentations and how they change 27:31 Version controlling 28:28 Focus on the persona 29:09 Include a clear problem statement 32:21 Do you need a degree to become a PM? 34:42 Have interest and familiarize yourself towards the product role 36:04 Non-technical people can still be a PM 38:41 Adding new features in PRD 40:54 Ideas are part of an agile product development process 42:18 Adapting to an existing PRD 46:30 Document new ideas 48:38 Final thoughts

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Swapna Malekar (Microsoft) and Tony Poon (R-zero) to talk about whether having OCD is a superpower or a curse when it comes to being a PM. Product managers have to wear a different hat everyday, but if you're someone who pays too much attention to detail or gets too obsessed with data, how can you become a good PM?   The use of "OCD" a shorthand for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder within this episode is intended in the colloquial framing of concepts such as first principles thinking, deep curiosity and obsession with the customer, product or problem. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your mental health professional or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your condition. Never disregard professional advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or heard on the How to Succeed in Product Management.   Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 08:42 Is OCD a superpower or a curse for a PM? 10:39 Obsessive about being curious 12:11 The first principles thinking 13:25 Having too much attention to detail 15:50 Product managers being obsessed with data 17:22 How too much attention to detail can get in the way of product development 19:48 Application within the discovery & data analytics vs. solution & execution phase 26:58 PM having OCD 28:24 You can’t predict what a PM’s job will be everyday 29:20 Working with someone who has OCD 31:59 Time versus outcome 34:25 Becoming a PM post-COVID era 39:29 Being open to feedback 42:15 Retargeting becomes a collaborative work 46:16 Final thoughts

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Murtaza Chowdhury (Amazon Web Services) to discuss Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) - a goal-setting framework for outlining and planning product objectives up to the targeted results. OKR helps product managers plan and create frameworks which are shared within the team to set clear goals to align all efforts.    Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.   What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 00:42 Objective and Key Results (OKRs) and the need for alignment for outcomes and defining them 05:24 The benefits of the OKR approach 08:32 Have an objective that speaks for the company vision 11:53 Set a vision but don’t be too tactical in your approach  15:25 A sense of priority among the OKRs  19:22 Setting the objectives and key results 24:56 Everyone in the team is involved in the product team 26:44 OKR should be broken down into organizational level, team level, and then micro-teams level 28:34 Everyone working on the team has a say on the product development 31:04 User stories are what ties everything together 35:23 Solving team problems through prioritization and alignment 40:16 Everyone in the team is involved in creating the OKR 44:06 Should PMs stay in the background and let micro-teams solve the problem? 48:45 The 3 elements of an effective OKR 51:08 Set objectives that are futuristic, inspirational, and highly ambitious 52:47 Use OKRs with purpose