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1-Page Summary of Inspired
Overview
Improve Existing Products
Nine out of ten product releases fail. Most of the time, this is because the person in charge has not been trained properly or doesn’t have the right skills for that role. Many CEOs wonder what characteristics to look for when hiring someone to be a product manager. The best product managers solve customers’ problems and need to understand their customers and empathize with them at times so they can come up with solutions.
Product managers must be good communicators, as they interact with lots of different stakeholder groups. They need to understand both the technology and business sides of a product in order to do their job well.
Product managers are responsible for delivering products as promised. They need to have a strong work ethic and good time management skills, because they face long hours at work with an overload of tasks. It’s important to prioritize the most important things first.
So, where can you find great product managers? Look in your own company. They’re probably already there and just need to be identified. Great candidates are often interested in the role or have already shown some interest in it. Once you’ve found them, train and mentor them so they can fill the role successfully.
Great product managers are intelligent, have a deep understanding of technology and business, and can communicate with both groups.
Big Idea #1: Product managers need teams that are clearly defined.
A product manager’s job is to evaluate and define the products that will be built. She needs a team around her, just like a CEO does. The core of this team is made up of user experience designers who create the interface between customers and products.
Engineers are an important part of the team because they build the product that the product manager has defined. They should be involved early in the process and get to meet with customers, so that they can understand what is needed from them.
A project manager is recommended to manage the engineers during the execution phase. This allows the product manager to focus on discovering and defining new products while tracking and scheduling projects required for their building and launch.
A product marketing person should be hired to help the company market its products. The two of them should work together to develop marketing messages and requirements for the product.
Every company should seek out the smartest people in their organization and make them unofficial “deputy product managers.” These people can provide a lot of value to companies just by being smart.
Product managers need people around them who are experts at certain tasks.
Big Idea #2:
User experience design is important. To get the most out of user experience design, build a team dedicated to it and help them contribute to your company’s success.
Good user experience is critical to a good product. The iPod owes much of its success to the pleasant and effortless UX. A good UX involves working with a team that includes an interaction designer, visual designer, content strategist and information architect. These four roles are essential for creating the best possible user experience for your users.
It’s easy to overlook the importance of visual designers. Their work can evoke emotions in customers, and if Apple has shown us anything, it is that products that evoke strong emotions are successful.
In addition to these two roles, you need a rapid prototyper who can quickly create prototypes of the product and a usability tester who then has users test the product.
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To allow designers to contribute more, a product manager must let them experiment before giving the engineering team tasks. This is because good designers want to try out multiple ideas for an interface, but engineers are not able to work in an agile way.
