Product Management is not about:

• Asking customers about the requirements.

• Writing detailed specifications.

• Creating prototypes and wireframes.

• Assigning tasks to developers.

• Verifying and accepting the work of others.

• Obsessing over velocity, deadlines, and roadmaps.

• Mastering Scrum or any other framework to perfection.

• Acting like the CEO of the product.

Anyone can do that.

It’s about:

• Understanding customer's problems, needs, and desires.

• Understanding the market and the business in depth.

• Collaborating closely with engineers and designers.

• Identifying opportunities, finding solutions, and tackling the risks together.

• Marrying customer goals and business goals.

• Influencing others to work toward the common goal.

• Being humble (it's ok not to be the smartest person in the room).

• Experimenting to validate assumptions.

• Leading without authority.

• Turning chaos into clarity.

Start with these questions:

• Why are we building this thing?

• Why are we building it now?

• For whom are we building it?

• What's the unique value of our product?

• How is it aligned with the company's vision?

• How is it aligned with the business strategy?

• What does success look like? How can we measure it?

• What are the customer needs/jobs (functional, emotional, social)?

• How will it affect our customers and users?

• How will it create value for the business?

• Can we buy it instead of building it

• How can we make sure that our customers would love it?

• Will our customers know how to use it?

• Can our business support it (e.g., legal, finances)?

• Is it feasible? Can we build it with the existing technology?

• How can we bring it to the market?

• Do we have the required channels?

• Should we do it at all? Are there any ethical considerations?

• What are the riskiest assumptions? How can we validate them?

• What does the data tell us?

• How can we get maximum validating learning with minimum effort?

• What else can go wrong?

Be curious. Learn and experiment. Question solutions and push back on things handled down.

Remember that product management is about creating a "product customers love, yet also works for our business" (Marty Cagan, Inspired), not about pleasing stakeholders.

After 9 years, I'm still learning daily, and I do not know everything, but I can give you my perspective on any questions you have.

Drop them below.

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P.S. I shared more advice in my free post, What is Product Management: productcompass.pm/p/wha…