NOVUS

The Product Management Club

of
IIM Visakhapatnam
Presents

THE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

COMPENDIUM
2023
Table of Contents
What is Product Management?...................................................................................................... 2
What does a Product Manager do? ................................................................................................ 2
Why are Product Managers important? ........................................................................................ 3
What is Product Lifecycle Management? ......................................................................................... 3
Roles and Responsibilities of a Product Manager: ............................................................................ 5
Different Product Management Frameworks: ................................................................................ 6
1) The RICE Framework: ......................................................................................................... 6
2) MoSCoW ............................................................................................................................ 7
3) High-Value, Low-Effort (HVLE): ......................................................................................... 9
What is Design Thinking? ............................................................................................................... 11
How is Design Thinking valuable for a Product Manager?........................................................... 12
What is the difference between a project manager and a product manager?............................. 14
How do you identify customers for your product? ..................................................................... 15
How do you identify and solve customer pain points? ............................................................... 15
How do you develop your product roadmap? ............................................................................ 17
What is a user persona? ................................................................................................................ 18
What is MVP? ................................................................................................................................ 19
Top Product Management Tools that are widely used ............................................................... 20
Key challenges in an end-of-life (EOL) process ............................................................................ 21
How to get into a PM role with no prior PM experience ........................................................... 23
Some other commonly asked questions in interviews ............................................................... 24
Useful resources to understand Product Management ............................................................. 25
Books to Read: .............................................................................................................................. 25
Podcasts to Listen: ........................................................................................................................ 25
Free Beginner Courses: .................................................................................................................. 25

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What is Product Management?
Product management is a company's organizational function that handles a
product's life cycle. This includes the development of new products as well as
the planning, production, pricing, marketing, and final product launch. Product
managers aim to develop a product thatis better or different from the company's
current offerings, which ensures the new product is valuable to its target
audience.

So, the field of product management primarily revolves around the creation
and development of new products or features for the company which enhances
customer value as well as impacts the revenue of the firm positively.

What does a Product Manager do?

Typically, product managers are responsible for putting product management

principles into action. This includes:

• Pitching and positioning new ideas for product and feature development.
• Working with engineering and design teams to bring the product to life.
• Ensuring that each product meets the needs of the target user or customer.

This is a key differentiator between product management and project

management, the latterof which is more focused on the actual organization and
resourcing for each initiative ratherthan setting the entire product vision.
Why are Product Managers important?
Product managers play an important role in the introduction of new products
and user experiences. They sit at the crossroads of UX or user experience
teams, engineering teams, and business leaders, acting as the glue that ties the
unified product vision together.

Most importantly, product managers define success for each product, establish
the product strategy, and show how it will benefit both the consumer and the
company's goals. Teams would struggle to navigate the diverse interests that
exist across both large and small enterprises without the voice of a product
owner.

What is Product Lifecycle Management?

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is the process of managing a product's
full lifecycle, beginning with its conceptualization, design, development, and
production and ending with its usage, maintenance, and eventual retirement.
PLM is a strategic approach that assists firms in optimizing their products and
processes over their entire lifespan. The PLM process is often divided into
multiple interrelated stages as visualized below,

Conceptualization and Ideation: This is the first stage in which new product
concepts are formed. It entails brainstorming, market research, and
determining customer requirements. The goal is to define a clear product
concept and determine its market worth.

Design and Development: The product concept is turned into specific designs at
this phase. Engineers and designers construct prototypes, simulate products,
and refine product specifications. This phase frequently involves team
involvement to ensure that the design is viable and matched with the
anticipated functionality.

Testing and Validation: Once the design is finalized, prototypes are

constructed and thoroughly tested. This phase tries to discover and correct any
defects in the design, functional issues, or potential dangers. Performance

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evaluations, quality control, and regulatory compliance checks are all
examples of testing.

Utilization and Maintenance: After the product has been delivered to the
customer, continuing support and maintenance are required. Addressing
consumer inquiries, providing technical support, and delivering updates or
patches as needed to improve the product's performance and address any issues
that develop are all part of this phase.

Monitoring and Feedback: Organizations collect consumer input and

monitor product performance in real-world scenarios throughout the product's
lifecycle. This feedback is used to identify areas for improvement, resolve
consumer problems, and make changes to the product or its supporting
services as needed.

Decline: When a product reaches the end of its useful life, decisions about its
retirement must be made. This phase entails planning for the product's
termination, maintaining leftover inventory, and dealing with environmental
issues associated to its disposal or recycling.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Product Manager:
The below chart describes different goals that a product manager seeks in the
four differentstages of the product lifecycle.

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Different Product Management Frameworks:
1) The RICE Framework:

Product managers use the RICE framework to evaluate and prioritize projects or
features based on four important factors: reach, impact, confidence, and effort.
You can prioritize efforts that are likely to bring the most value and impact to
your product and users by assigning scores to each of these variables.

Reach: The number of users who will be impacted by the project or feature is
referred to as its reach. It assists you in determining the size of the prospective
audience and the magnitude of the influence.

Impact: The positive change or benefit that the project or feature is

projected to provide is represented by impact. It could be in the form of
money, user engagement, customer satisfaction, or anything else.

Confidence: Your level of certainty regarding the prospective impact is reflected

in your level of confidence. It considers the degree of ambiguity, data, and
research available to back up yourassumptions about the project's results.

Effort: It estimates the resources (time, money, and staff) needed to implement
the project or feature. It assists you in determining the viability and expense of
each effort.

Each factor is assigned a numerical score, often on a scale of 1 to 10, and the RICE
score for eachproject or feature is calculated:

Projects or features with higher RICE scores are often prioritized because they
have a broad reach, big impact, high confidence, and reasonable effort.
2) MoSCoW
The MoSCoW framework is a prioritizing technique used in project
management and product development to identify and prioritize requirements,
features, or tasks based on the importance and urgency of their importance
and urgency. The framework assists teams in making educated judgments
about what should and should not be included in a project or release.

Must-Have: These are the critical requirements or features that are essential for
the project's success or for meeting user needs. Without these, the project would
not be considered viableor valuable. Must-have items are non-negotiable and must
be included in the scope.

Should Have: These are important requirements or features that significantly

enhance the

project's value but are not absolutely essential for the core functionality. Should-
have items are prioritized after must-have items and are included if resources and
time allow.
Could Have: These are desirable requirements or features that would be nice to
have but are not critical to the project's success. They add extra value or delight
to users but can be deferred to future releases if necessary.

Won't Have: These are requirements or features that are explicitly excluded
from the current scope. They may not align with project goals, have a low priority,
or require excessive resources. Won't-have items are deferred to future releases
or discarded altogether.

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The MoSCoW framework is particularly useful when there are limitations in
terms of time, resources, or budget. It helps teams focus on delivering the most
impactful and valuable features first, ensuring that the core objectives are met
before considering additional enhancements.
3) High-Value, Low-Effort (HVLE):
The Value vs. Effort Matrix is a visual tool and prioritization technique used in
project management and product development to assess and prioritize tasks,
features, or projects based on their potential value or impact compared to the
effort required to complete them.
This matrix helps teams make informed decisions about where to allocate
resources, focusing on initiatives that offer the highest value relative to the effort
invested.

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The matrix typically consists of four quadrants:

Quick Wins (High Value, Low Effort): This quadrant includes tasks or projects
that offer significant value to the organization or users and require relatively
low effort to complete. These are often seen as "low-hanging fruit" and can
deliver tangible benefits with minimal resources.

Major/Bigs Projects (High Value, High Effort): In this quadrant, tasks or projects
have the potential for substantial impact or value, but they also demand
significant effort, time, or resources to complete. These initiatives are important
but may need careful planning and allocation of resources.

Fill-Ins (Low Value, Low Effort): This quadrant includes tasks or projects that
offer limited value and require minimal effort. While these may not deliver
substantial benefits, they can be completed quickly and might be considered for
inclusion if there is spare capacity.

Time-Consuming/Sinks (Low Value, High Effort): Tasks or projects in this

quadrant demand significant effort but provide limited value or impact. These
initiatives should be carefully evaluated and may be deprioritized in favors of
those with greater potential.
What is Design Thinking?
Design thinking is a creative problem-solving approach that prioritizes
empathy, collaboration, and iteration to generate innovative solutions. It
emphasizes understanding the needs and perspectives of users, often through
immersive research and observation, to identify challenges and opportunities.
Design thinking typically follows a structured process involving stages like
empathizing, defining the problem, ideating, prototyping, and testing.

This iterative process encourages the exploration of diverse ideas, encourages

experimentation, and places user feedback at the core of refining and developing
solutions. It is widely used across various industries to foster user-centered
innovation and address complex problems effectively.

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How is Design Thinking valuable for a Product Manager?
Incorporating design thinking into product management can lead to more
innovative, user- centered, and successful product outcomes, fostering a deeper
connection between the product and its intended users.

1. User-Centric Approach: Design thinking encourages product managers to

deeply understand users' needs, behaviors, and pain points. By empathizing
with users, product managers can create products that truly address their
requirements, leading to higher user satisfaction and adoption rates.

2. Problem Definition: Clearly defining the problem is a crucial step in design

thinking. Product managers can use this approach to dissect and understand
the root causes of issues, ensuring that the products they develop effectively
solve real challenges.

3. Idea Generation and Innovation: Design thinking's ideation phase encourages

brainstorming and the exploration of diverse ideas. Product managers can
leverage this phase to come up with innovative features, functionalities, and
solutions that may not have been initially considered.

4. Rapid Prototyping: Design thinking promotes the creation of prototypes that

allow stakeholders to visualize and interact with the product early in the
development process. This approach helps product managers gather feedback
and make necessary adjustments before investing significant time and
resources.

5. User Testing and Feedback: Design thinking emphasizes continuous user

testing and feedback loops. Product managers can involve users throughout
the product development lifecycle, gaining insights that guide refinements and
iterations, ultimately resulting in products that align more closely with user
needs.
6. Collaboration and Cross-Functional Teams: Design thinking encourages
collaboration among cross-functional teams, including designers, engineers,
marketers, and more. This multidisciplinary approach fosters a holistic
understanding of the product and promotes diverse perspectives, leading to
more well-rounded solutions.

7. Iterative Improvement: Just as design thinking promotes iteration in the

design process, product managers can apply the same principle to product
development. By continually refining and enhancing products based on user
feedback, product managers can ensure ongoing relevance and success.

8. User Experience (UX) Design: Design thinking complements UX design

principles, ensuring that products are intuitive, user-friendly, and enjoyable to
use. Product managers can work closely with UX designers to create seamless
and delightful user experiences.

9. Adaptability and Agility: The iterative nature of design thinking aligns well
with agile methodologies commonly used in product management. Product
managers can adapt and pivot quickly based on changing market conditions,
user preferences, and emerging technologies.

10. Market Differentiation: By incorporating design thinking, product managers

can create products that stand out in the market by addressing unmet needs,
providing unique features, and delivering exceptional value to users.

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What is the difference between a project manager and a
product manager?
A project manager is responsible for overseeing the development, implementation, and
completion of a given project, making sure it stays on schedule and within budget for its
resources.
A product manager oversees the overall strategy, vision, and success of a product
throughout its lifecycle, including the definition of features, prioritization of features, and
alignment of features with customer wants and corporate objectives.
How do you identify customers for your product?
Finding a product's intended audience includes:
1. Market research is the study of a market to determine its requirements, wants,
and preferences.
2. User Personas: The process for creating thorough profiles of potential
customers based on their characteristics, habits, and objectives.
3. Segmentation: The process of breaking the market into smaller groups with
similar needs and features.
4. Customer interviews are conducted to discover more about the needs,
concerns, and opinions of potential customers.
5. Surveys and analytics: Gathering quantitative data about potential users
through surveys and data analytics.
6. Competitor Analysis: Analyzing your rivals' customers to determine who they
are and why they buy their items.
7. Feedback Loops: Constant relationship with current customers to make small
modifications.
8. Feedback from Sales and Support: Getting opinions from the teams who deal
directly with customers, sales, and customer support.

How do you identify and solve customer pain points?

There are various phases involved in identifying and resolving customer pain
points:
1. Listen and Collect Feedback: Actively communicate with clients through
interviews, surveys, customer support interactions, and social media to
comprehend their difficulties and worries.
2. Analyze Data: Make use of analytics tools to spot patterns in user behavior
that could besigns of problems, such as high bounce rates, low engagement, or
user path drop-offs.
3. Create User Personas: Create thorough user personas to understand your
consumers’ problems from their point of view.

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4. Map user journeys to spot touchpoints where users may run into problems or
become frustrated.
5. Priorities pain points by ranking them according to their influence on user
pleasure, customer retention, and corporate objectives.
6. Propose Solutions: While keeping the user experience in mind, brainstorm
alternative answers to each problem.
7. Prototype and Test: Develop prototypes or minimal viable products (MVPs)
to validate solutions with actual users through usability testing and feedback
loops.
8. Iterate and refine: Make improvements to solutions on a continuing basis to
increase their efficacy.
9. Implement and Monitor: Integrate the improved solutions into your product
and keep a careful eye on how they affect key performance indicators (KPIs)
and customer happiness.

By resolving user experience issues, the aim is to improve user satisfaction, which
can boost customer satisfaction, loyalty, and overall product success.
How do you develop your product roadmap?
Creating a product roadmap involves the following actions:
1. Define a vision and goals: Align your plan with the desired product and the
overall goals of the business.
2. Acquire Data: Gather data from stakeholders, customers, statistics, and
market trends.
3. Prioritize initiatives by placing them in order of importance, viability, and
strategic planning alignment.
4. Establish a time frame for each initiative, taking dependencies and resource
availability into consideration.
5. Create Phases: To demonstrate the progression of features, divide the
roadmap into time-based phases or releases.
6. Resources should be distributed equally among jobs for maintenance,
technical debt, and new features.
7. Make the Roadmap clear: Use a format that is easy to follow and understand,
such as a Gantt chart or timeline.
8. Sharing the roadmap with stakeholders can help you get their opinions and
ensure alignment.
9. Iterate and Modify: Constantly revise the plan considering fresh
information, user input, and shifting priorities.
10. Maintain Flexibility: Be willing to change the plan when market
circumstances and organizational requirements change.

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What is a user persona?
Personas are like pretend people that help product managers decide how to
create things that customers will really like. There are two main kinds of personas
— buyers and users. User personas show the people who use your product. They
help us imagine these users in a way that everyone can understand. Buyer
personas show what a perfect potential buyer would be like, and they give us
clues about the people who choose to buy your product or service. The buyer
and user are the same person in some cases, but they care about different things
based on whether they're buying or using the product.

The main advantages of making user personas are:

1. Focusing on what the most important groups of users need.
2. Explaining why we make certain product choices.
3. Adding new things to the product that fit how customers will use them.
4. Choosing which features to create to solve real user problems.
What is MVP?
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the simplest version of a new product or
service that can be created and released to customers. It has the basic features
needed to solve a specific problem or fulfil a certain need. The idea behind an
MVP is to quickly test the product's viability in the market, gather feedback
from users, and learn what works and what doesn't. This helps the creators
improve and refine the product based on real-world user experiences and
preferences. The MVP approach allows for faster development and reduces the
risk of investing a lot of time and resources into a product that might not meet
customer expectations.

Some examples are as below:

Twitter: Twitter's MVP was a very simple platform that allowed users to post
short status updates and follow others. It helped them gauge interest in the idea
of microblogging andsharing brief messages.

Dropbox: When Dropbox first launched, its MVP was a simple video that
demonstrated the concept of cloud storage and file sharing. This video garnered a
lot of interest and sign-ups, showing that there was a demand for the product
before they even built the full application.

Uber: Uber's MVP was a basic app that allowed users to request a ride from nearby
drivers. The app didn't have all the features and services that Uber now offers,
but it allowed them to test the concept of ride-sharing and gather user feedback.

Zappos: Zappos, the online shoe and clothing retailer, initially started with a basic
website displaying shoes from local stores. They would only purchase the shoes
from the store after a customer placed an order. This proved the demand for online
shoe shopping and helped them grow into the successful company they are today.

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Top Product Management Tools that are widely used
There are several widely used product management tools that help teams plan,
develop, and manage products. Some of the top ones are listed below:
Jira: Jira by Atlassian is a popular tool that offers various features for agile
project management, including product backlog management, sprint planning,
and issue tracking.

Trello: Trello is a visual project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards
to help teams organize tasks and track progress. It's particularly useful for its
simplicity and flexibility.

Asana: Asana is a versatile work management tool that supports product

management processes through task tracking, project planning, and collaboration
features.

Product board: The product board is a product management platform that helps
teams collect customer feedback, prioritize feature requests, and plan product
roadmaps.

Aha!: Aha! is a comprehensive product management platform that covers idea

management, road mapping, strategy planning, and collaboration for product
teams.

Pendo: Pendo offers product analytics and user feedback tools to help teams
understand user behaviours, make data-driven decisions, and improve the user
experience.

Miro: Miro is a collaborative online whiteboard platform that can be used for
brainstorming, wireframing, and visualizing product ideas.

Notion: Notion is an all-in-one workspace that can be customized for various

purposes, including product roadmaps, task tracking, and team collaboration.

Roadmunk: Roadmunk specializes in creating visual and interactive product

roadmaps that enable teams to communicate their plans effectively.
Key challenges in an end-of-life (EOL) process
The end-of-life (EOL) process refers to the phase in a product's lifecycle when it
is discontinued or retired from the market. This process can present several
challenges such as:

Customer Communication: Informing customers about the product's

discontinuation can be challenging, especially if they rely on it. Proper
communication is crucial to manage expectations and minimize negative impacts.

Transition Planning: If customers need to transition to an alternative product,

careful planning is required to ensure a smooth migration. This includes data
migration, training, and support for adopting the new solution.

Inventory Management: If the product involves physical goods, managing

remaining inventory can be complex. Deciding whether to sell off existing stock,
recycle, or dispose of it responsibly requires careful consideration.

Supplier and Vendor Relationships: If the product relies on components from

suppliers, the EOL process can impact these relationships. Ensuring suppliers are
aware of your plans and finding alternatives if needed is important.

Regulatory and Compliance Issues: Depending on the industry, there may be

regulations governing the discontinuation of products, especially if they contain
hazardous materials. Compliance with these regulations is essential.

Data and Security Concerns: If the product involves software or services,

ensuring that customer data is handled appropriately during the transition or
discontinuation process is crucial for maintaining trust.

Customer Support and Service: Customers may require ongoing support even
after a product is discontinued. Managing support requests and providing
assistance during the transition can be challenging.

Brand Reputation: Mishandling the EOL process can damage a company's

reputation. Customers may view it as abandonment or disregard for their needs.

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Financial Considerations: Balancing the costs of managing the EOL process,
including communication, inventory, and support, with potential revenue or cost
savings is a complex financial challenge.

Employee Impact: Discontinuing a product can impact employees who worked

on its development, support, and maintenance. Considerations such as
reassignment, retraining, or potential layoffs need to be addressed.

Legal and Contractual Obligations: Contracts, warranties, and legal agreements

associated with the product need to be considered. Meeting contractual
obligations while winding down the product can be intricate.

Knowledge Transfer: Ensuring that knowledge about the product's development,

maintenance, and support is transferred to relevant teams or individuals can
prevent the loss of critical information.

Navigating these challenges requires a well-planned EOL strategy that considers

customer needs, legal requirements, employee considerations, and the overall
impact on thecompany's reputation and operations.

For more product frameworks like HEART, AIDA, AARRR, Circles, etc.
follow Novus on Instagram
How to get into a PM role with no prior PM experience

1. Skills: Acquire skills in market research, data analysis, project management, UX design,
and agile methodologies through courses and certifications.

2. Transferable Skills: Highlight problem-solving, communication, leadership, strategic

thinking, and collaboration skills from past experiences.

3. Leverage Experience: Gain relevant experience in project management, business

analysis, customer support, or entrepreneurship.

4. Volunteer: Assist with product-related tasks in your current role or through volunteering
opportunities.

5. Build Portfolio: Create a portfolio showcasing your product management understanding

and problem-solving abilities.

6. Networking: Connect with PM professionals, attend events, and seek mentorship for
insights and recommendations.

7. Side Projects: Work on product concepts, market research, MVPs, or side business
ventures to demonstrate skills.

8. APM/Junior PM Roles: Apply for Associate Product Manager or Junior PM positions

to gain entry-level experience.

9. Persistence: Be proactive, tailor applications, and prepare for rigorous interviews.

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Some other commonly asked questions in interviews

1. In your opinion, what is the most critical skill a Product Manager should possess, and
how do you demonstrate that skill in your work?
2. What aspects of being a product manager do you find most rewarding?
3. What is the best thing about being a product manager?
4. What is the hardest thing about being a product manager?
5. Product Managers need to collaborate with cross-functional teams. How would you
approach working with teams like engineering, design, and marketing to achieve the
product's goals?
6. How do you envision your career progression as a Product Manager? Do you have any
long-term goals related to product management?
Useful resources to understand Product Management

Books to Read:

1. Decode & Conquer - https://amzn.to/3yIPDbl

2. Tech Simplified Book - https://amzn.to/3bTxsXK
3. Cracking the PM Interview- https://www.crackingthepminterview.com/
4. The Lean Product Playbook- https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Product-P...
5. Inspired- https://www.amazon.com/INSPIRED-Creat...
6. The Lean Startup-https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-E...
7. Shape Up- https://basecamp.com/shapeup
8. Escaping the Build Trap- https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Build...
9. The Influential Product Manager- https://www.amazon.com/Influential-Pr...

Podcasts to Listen:

1. The Product Podcast- https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast...

2. This is Product Management Podcast- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
3. Scrum Master Toolbox- https://open.spotify.com/show/4r6DQLC...
4. 100 PM Podcast-https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Free Beginner Courses:

1. Product Management course- great learning

2. Product Management Essentials- Future learn
3. The University of Maryland, College Park: Product Management Fundamentals
4. Product Management Foundation at Institute of Product Leadership, Bangalore
5. Google Project Management: Professional Certificate- Coursera

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For more information on Product Management visit social media handles of Novus:

Thank You.