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A deep dive into internal product management

Lessons from my first year as a Prod Ops Manager

It’s the Strategy, stupid – Andrew Martinez-Fonts (VP Product, Honeysales)

Poll results: What tools are product managers using the most?

Leadership coaching: 5 reasons why you should do it

Andres is a freelance writer and digital marketer with a background in engineering and a keen interest in the latest technology advancements. He currently helps tech companies and startups tell their stories by turning their complex ideas into easy to understand material. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn

Andres Phillips

<p>Have you ever made a product or feature that no one wanted? In this <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/producttank-about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ProductTank</a></span> San Francisco talk, Jenny Shirey, then Senior UX Manager at <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.splunk.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Splunk</a></span>, explains how product people can avoid this problem by showing us how to use <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/category/product-discovery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">product discovery</a></span> the right way.</p>
<p>The key points of her talk include:</p>
<ul>
<li>We are not our users</li>
<li>Understanding what others want</li>
<li>Product discovery methods</li>
</ul>
<p>Watch the video to see Jenny’s talk in full. Or read on for an overview of her key points.</p>
<h2>We are not our users</h2>
<p>As product people, it’s common for us to develop various hypotheses about the features users want from our products and then try to implement these features. However, as Jenny illustrates with the help of some <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/tag/ab-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A/B testing</a></span> product examples from her time at <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.splunk.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Splunk</a></span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://business.trustpilot.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trust Pilot</a></span>, we’re not going to be right all the time. The key to understanding what users want is through  <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/category/product-discovery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">product discovery</a></span>.</p>
<h2>Understanding what others want</h2>
<p>As a product manager, finding out what your users want can be done by asking the right questions. According to Jenny, four key questions, in particular, can help with getting the correct answers.</p>
<ol>
<li>Will they use it? This indicates the value of the product.</li>
<li>Can they use it? This can provide answers to the usability of the product.</li>
<li>Can we build it? This answers questions about the product’s feasibility.</li>
<li>Can we support it? This explains if the product is viable for the business.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Product discovery methods</h2>
<p>Jenny highlights three product discovery methods that she has found particularly useful, explaining why to use it, how to use it, and things to watch out for with each method.</p>
<h3>Opportunity canvas</h3>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.jpattonassociates.com/opportunity-canvas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Opportunity canvas</a></span> is an excellent way to find out what you know and don’t know and help get the team on the same page. The canvas, which is similar to the business model canvas, should take roughly an hour to fill out. Still, product teams should avoid going into in-depth conversations or doing this instead of talking to users.</p>
<h3>Interview summary sheets</h3>
<p>Interview summary sheets provide a way to quickly synthesize learnings from interviews and get away from the computer. First, product teams should write sticky notes during user interviews and then place them on a sheet. Teams should be wary of multi-tasking and not writing notes. Also, some online tools can be used to do this remotely.</p>
<h3>Crazy eights</h3>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://designsprintkit.withgoogle.com/methodology/phase3-sketch/crazy-8s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Crazy eights</a></span> are useful in helping product teams think big and consider the user environment. After starting with a pain point, eight sketches should be created to come up with ways to solve that pain point. However, product managers should beware of spending too much time on one drawing and team member critiques when using this method.</p>
<p>While other product discovery methods are available, the most important thing is that the method you choose helps you find out what your users want and need.</p>
<p><em>Discover more <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/category/product-discovery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Product Discovery content</a> or, for a wide range of product management topics, visit our <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/content-a-z/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Content A-Z</a>.</em></p>
<h2>Enjoy more from ProductTank</h2>
<p>ProductTanks are informal meetups, created by <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mind the Product</a></span>, to bring local product people together and to enable speakers to share amazing product insights. Today we have ProductTanks in more than 200 cities across the globe and there’s probably one near you.</p>
<p>Learn more about <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/producttank-about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ProductTank</a></span> – find your local meetup, explore more ProductTank content, see the latest ProductTank news, and discover ways to get involved!</p>

core/freeform

The magic of making great products with Christian Idiodi

Continuous discovery by Konstantin Diener

Unusual business in the product discovery stage by Kristian Collin Berge

How to find out what your customers want by Janet Bumpas

From PO to CPO: How to drive your product career by Namrata Sarmah

How to recognise and beat the ‘knowing’ gap – Christina Wodtke at MTP Engage Hamburg

Get innovation-ready, your product manager is on fire! by Julia Shalet

Jedi discovery and delivery by Lisa Mo Wagner

From pandemic to pingdemic – Building through uncertainty

A designer, a product manager, and an engineer walk into a bar…by Karishma Irani

Using discovery methods to create products that people actually want by Jenny Shirey