Product Manager/Owner Challenges IT@Cork

CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE

Product Managers, Agile Product Owners and Building Great Products

Rich Mironov

IT@Cork 11 Feb 2014

1 ©  Rich  Mironov,  2014  

•  Veteran product manager/executive •  6 startups, including as CEO •  “The Art of Product Management” •  Founded Product Camp, chaired first

Agile conference product tracks

ABOUT RICH MIRONOV

2 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

•  “Product manager” is a job title •  Org charts, HR category, not necessarily agile •  Mostly in technology-as-revenue firms

•  “Product owner” is an agile team role •  Part of self-organizing team within Engineering or Program Office •  Internal IT or technology-as-revenue

•  Work has to get done, regardless of title •  Sprint-level stories, backlogs, priorities, acceptance… •  Engagement with users, buyers and corporate priorities

THE SET-UP

3 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE

market information, priorities, requirements, roadmaps, epics,

user stories, backlogs, personas, MRDs…

product bits

strategy, forecasts, commitments, roadmaps, competitive intelligence

budgets, staff, targets

Field input, Market feedback

Segmentation, messages, benefits/features, pricing,

qualification, demos…

Markets & Customers Development

Marketing& Sales

Executives

Product Management

WHAT DOES A PRODUCT MANAGER DO?

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M 4

•  “…represents the customer’s interest in backlog prioritization and requirements questions... available to the team at any time.”

•  Provides intense sprint-level focus: stories, backlog, prioritization, acceptance

•  Gets lots of love from Development •  Feeds the hungry agile beast

WHAT DOES A PRODUCT OWNER DO?

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M 5

Steam engine “firemen” need to shovel coal constantly, otherwise the train will stop

FEEDING THE AGILE BEAST

6 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE

backlog, priorities, epics, user stories,

personas, demo feedback

product bits

Markets & Customers Development

Marketing& Sales

Executives

Product Owner

‘small p’ PRODUCT OWNER

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

showcase customers

7

•  Engineering output •  Product features •  Order of delivery

•  Whole product/business model •  Pricing •  Competitive positioning •  Partners and Channels •  Services and Support •  Fit with corporate strategy •  Product split, merge or EOL

PRODUCT MANAGER HAS MORE LEVERS

8

Product manager

Product owner

A"er:  Greg  Cohen  

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

Analyzed 41 US tech product manager job postings •  76% want previous product manager

experience •  93% want a BS (68% prefer CS/EE) •  93% want excellent verbal and

written communication skills •  32% want MBAs •  88% want experience in that

company’s market segment

WHAT PM HIRING MANAGERS WANT

9 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

•  Naturally look for advanced users (SMEs) •  Huge premium on technical chops, story writing •  Rarely consider market-side experience •  Undervalue “deflection” skills •  Good match for IT project with strong champion •  Sucks for commercial (revenue) products

WHEN DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS CHOOSE THEIR PRODUCT OWNERS…

10 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

•  Most product management teams were already understaffed

•  Product ownership adds 40-60% more critical work •  One product manager can “do it all” for a single

agile team •  But typical Dev:PM ratio is

25:1, not 10:1

PROD MGMT: OVERSUBSCRIBED, OVERCOMMITTED, BURNING OUT

11 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

PRODUCT MANAGER FAILURE MODES

12 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

Product Manager fails agile team when… •  Part-timer, not engaged with team •  Lack of detail on stories •  Stale backlog •  Best of intentions, but pulled in

too many directions •  “Build what I meant”

PRODUCT OWNER FAILURE MODES

13 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

Product Owner fails the market when… •  Weak on market realities: pricing,

packaging, selling cycle, upgrades, discounting, service models, competitive dynamics

•  Disconnected from Marketing, Sales, Support •  Trading off company strategy for product features •  Confusing showcase customers with broader market

•  Delivering products that don’t sell •  Outdated plans •  Urgency to start coding

•  Titles don’t create revenue

MARKET FAILURES

14 W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M

CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE

MINIMAL PM/PO “ORGANIZATION”

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M 15

VP or Founders

more technical more market-focused

Heroic Single Product Manager/Owner

“management”

CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE

DYSFUNCTIONAL PO/PM ORGANIZATION

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M 16

VP Eng

Product Owners

more technical more market-focused

VP Marketing “management”

Product Managers

CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE

PM/PO ORGANIZATIONAL MAP: MARKET MENTORING

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M 17

GM / VP Eng / VP Products / CPO

more technical more market-focused

Product Owner

Senior Product

Manager

“management”

CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE

PM/PO ORGANIZATIONAL MAP: PRODUCT PEERS

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M 18

PM Director/ Product Strategist

GM / VP Eng / VP Products / CPO

more technical more market-focused

“management”

CLICK TO EDIT MASTER TITLE STYLE

CONTACT Rich Mironov, CEO Mironov Consulting 233 Franklin St, Suite #308 San Francisco, CA 94102

RichMironov  

@RichMironov

Rich@Mironov.com  

W W W . M I R O N O V . C O M 19