What is Product Management?

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What is Product Management?

Who is Brainmates?
A Product Management consulting
and training business
To provide experienced Product
Management to businesses that want
to truly understand their customers’
needs ....
Our mission:
About Brainmates
2

... to develop innovative products that
their customers love.
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This presentation seeks to answer the following
questions:
What is product
management?
What do product
managers do?
Who does product
management?
How does one become a
product manager?

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A Definition of Product Management
“Product Management is the process of conceiving,
planning, developing, testing, launching, delivering
and withdrawing products in the market”
Internal: current teams, management
External: supply chain, market
Upstream: planning, development, launch
Downstream: ongoing lifecycle management
–ProdBOK pages 37-38
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Product Management’s Purpose
Is To Create…
Measurable Business
Benefits
Customer Value +
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By Identifying Unsolved Customer
Problems…
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To Create Product Experiences..
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That Outwit The Competition…
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Over A Sustainable Period
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Who Does Product Management

Most product managers have roots in other professions
Past lives of Product Managers

It’s a pretty safe bet to say that few – if any – product managers
have a Bachelor degree in Product Management
“Everyone comes from somewhere else”
Steven Haines – The Product Managers Desk Reference
The accidental profession

Strategic
Tactical / Operational
Marketing
/ Sales
Engineering
UX
Design
Project
Management
Product
Operations
Marketing
Communications
Sales
Development
Value
Definition
Marketing
Customer
Service
Market
Research
Technical
Support
Product Management Domain
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Role Specialisation Within Product Management
Strategic
Tactical / Operational
Marketing
/ Sales
Engineering
Value
Definition
Product
Marketer
Product
Manager
Technical Product
Champion
Sales Product
Champion
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So what do Product Managers do?

Product managers must
deliver value to the
business and play a
strategic role in
determining the actions to
achieve this.
But their role is also
hands-on and involves
collaboration with
multiple internal
stakeholders
Diagram Derived from original model published in:
The Product Manager's Handbook : The Complete
Product Management Resource, Linda Gorchels, 2000
Product
Manager
Senior
managers
Marketing
Sales
Customer
service
OperationsProduction
R&D
Finance
Strategy
Guiding product and market strategy

Past lives of product managers
PICTURE OF DUDE UNDER CAR
Product managers like to
solve problems

Product Managers spend time understanding
what customers need and want…

…Then develop solutions that solve these
problems and satisfy needs & wants

Product Managers have a duty to deliver and
maintain financial benefit to the business

Product Managers see things
differently

The carpenter doesn’t want a drill.
He wants a hole

How a Product Manager sees it
The carpenter has a problem. He needs a hole in the wall. A
drill can solve this problem, but there’s much more to it than just
creating a hole. The carpenter is concerned with multiple factors:
The speed at which the hole is made
The accuracy of the cut
The safety of the device that makes the hole
The ease of using the device
The reliability of the device
Where the device can be purchased or accessed
The price of the device
After sales support of the device
Product managers define the problem using criteria such as
these before working on possible solutions

Product Management
in action

Ideate
Explore
Focus
ImmerseDefine
Build
Prepare
Launch
Product Strategy
and
Lifecycle
Management
Ideate
Explore
Focus
ImmerseDefine
Build
Prepare
Launch
Product Strategy
and
Lifecycle
Management
The Brainmates Product Management
Framework
Two Operational Modes:
Product Development
Product Strategy and
Lifecycle Management
Ideate
Explore
Focus
ImmerseDefine
Build
Prepare
Launch
Product Strategy
and
Lifecycle
Management
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Lifecycle Product Management
Is The Starting Point.
‘Lifecycle Management’, Product Managers
must:
Grow product performance in the market
Monitor product performance
Report on the results
Respond to the issues
Plan for the future
Insights from Product Lifecycle Management
practices lead to new Product Development.
No product can survive by only doing without
adapting to changing market conditions.
Ideate
Explore
Focus
ImmerseDefine
Build
Prepare
Launch
Product Strategy
and
Lifecycle
Management
29

Ideate
Explore
Focus
ImmerseDefine
Build
Prepare
Launch
Product Strategy
and
Lifecycle
Management
Product Development
An area of focus for many
Product Managers.
Initiated when new ideas require
assessment and support from
development to launch.
Product and Market
Development initiatives help
extend the life of the product.
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Ideate
Explore
Focus
ImmerseDefine
Build
Prepare
Launch
Product Strategy
and
Lifecycle
Management
Product Development Process
3 Phases
1. Innovate
2. Design
3. Implement
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Brainmates Product Management Framework
Generate, source,
rank a wide variety of
ideas and business
problems.
Select and validate ideas
that have value in the
market place and will
survive against external
market conditions.
Turn the idea into a
concept and evaluate
the internal factors that
may affect the concept.
Engage deeply with
customers to deliver an
effective solution that
solves the target
market’s problem.
Analyse, define and
design the product
and consider alternate
solutions.
Plan external
messaging about the
value of the product to
the market, and
articulate product
differentiation.
Plan and implement the
launch process, activities
and event.
Work closely with the
development team to
check that the build
outcomes meet the
market’s requirements.
Ideate
Explore
Focus
ImmerseDefine
Build
Prepare
Launch
Product Strategy
and
Lifecycle
Management

How does one get into
product management?
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Becoming a Product Manager
Become good at understanding problems and following
a logical process to define and develop solutions that
could solve these problems.
Read books and blogs, listen to podcasts and watch
videos to learn more about the Product Management
profession
Talk to Product Managers
Use principles of Product Management in your current role
Look at products and services that you buy & use and apply a
Product Manager’s perspective to these
Apply for jobs in Product Management
Dream big!

So to summarise

In Summary
Good Product Management is about delivering
products that customers love.
Product Managers use logic, insight and a
degree of creativity in defining, developing,
deploying and maintaining these products.
Product managers must guide and collaborate
with other parts of the business and external
stakeholders.
Product managers have a duty to deliver
measurable benefits to their organisation.

brainmates helps clients to define, develop and deploy
products and services.
Our insight and expertise ensures these are compelling,
competitive and profitable.
Find out more about our Product Management services:
Training
Coaching
Events

Connect with Brainmates
Brainmates Group @Brainmates
#prodmgmt
Facebook.com/Brainmates
www.brainmates.com.au info@brainmates.com.au +61 1800 BRAINMATES
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What is Product Management?

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