What is Product Management?

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Welcome to What is Product Management?
After watching this video, you'll be able to define product management.
Explain basic product management models.
Recall the product management lifecycle.
Product management is the process of conceiving, planning, developing, testing,
launching, delivering and retiring products.
It focus is on product planning, development and launch activities.
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Product management is an essential critical success factor in industries that
feature consumer packaged goods, financial services, the hospitality industry,
healthcare, manufacturing, software development, and telecommunications.
Also, it is essential in both newly launched and mature industries.
Product management as a process has two distinct areas of focus.
There is an internal area within the organization's environment such as product
teams, management, and processes.
An external area focuses on elements such as the supply chain, distribution
networks, and the actual market for the products and services produced.
Most organizations develop organizational models that suit their requirements.
In most cases, however, a product manager reports directly to the CEO or
the lead in the strategic business unit.
The placement of the product manager in the organization depends on
overall product management objectives and how financial and
product success is measured and benchmarked.
These factors determine the area where the product manager will be impactful and
effective.
Product management deals with both upstream and downstream models.
Upstream models deal with portfolio management, product strategy development,
and new product development.
Downstream models focus on the active lifecycle management of existing in-market
products.
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Product management occurs within a structured seven phase process defined as
the product management lifecycle.
The phases in order include, the first phase is conceive,
which begins the journey through product management.
It is often defined as the fuzzy front end.
Phase one is concept identification,
where new product market opportunities are addressed.
Phase two is concept investigation, where the product concept is reviewed for
viability and attractiveness.
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The plan phase dives into further detail about the product if
the concept is approved.
Activities include how the product will be delivered,
marketing strategies, and the business case to support it.
In the development phase, the company invests and assigns resources to design,
create, and test the product to determine whether all deliverables defining
the product and plan to deliver match.
The qualify phase prepares the product for launch.
This phase includes market validation, launch preparation, and
a readiness assessment.
In the launch phase, the product is taken to market.
There are both successful pre-launch and
post-launch activities required to be successful.
In the delivery phase,
the product management lifecycle aligns with the product lifecycle.
The product lifecycle consists of the growth, maturity, and decline stages.
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Retire is the final phase.
The product is retired with minimal disruption to the customer and
other operational stakeholders.
In this video, you learned that product management is the process of conceiving,
planning, developing, testing, launching, delivering and retiring products.
Product management focuses on product planning, development, and
launch activities.
The placement of the product manager in the organization depends on overall
product management objectives and how financial and
product success is measured and benchmarked.
Product management deals with both upstream and downstream models.
Product management occurs within a structured seven phase process defined as
the product management lifecycle.
The seven phases are conceive, plan, develop, qualify, launch, deliver,
and retire.
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Communication and Collaboration Essentials

Welcome to Communications and Collaboration Essentials.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to explain the importance
of effective communication and collaboration.
Identify different stakeholders in a project,
describe various collaboration tools.
Communication is a vital component of any project,
playing a pivotal role in its success or failure.
Effective communication is the exchange
of ideas, thoughts, opinions, knowledge,
and data in a way that ensures that
the recipient receives and
understands the message clearly.
It's crucial during all phases
of the product management life cycle.
It ensures all stakeholders
involved in the project are on
the same page and collaborate
smoothly to achieve project goals.
Collaboration, on the other hand,
is the process where a group of
individuals collectively explore their ideas
to find solutions that
expand beyond their individual perspectives.
The practice of collaborating lies
at the heart of product management principles.
Let's now explore why effective communication
and collaboration are critical in product management.
The product manager must share the product,
the vision and goal effectively to gain
support and investment from important stakeholders,
throughout the entire product life cycle.
The product manager must guarantee a cohesive message,
incorporating a strong brand image that brings
stakeholders together and reduces any confusion.
A positive, dedicated, and motivated
internal team is essential to product management success.
Effective communication and collaboration are key here.
It helps align the team's efforts and ensure that
all stakeholders strive towards a shared objective.
Establishing a culture of trust and transparency
within an organization is particularly important.
Open and honest communication
become the norm when there is
a strong sense of trust
among team members and stakeholders.
As a result, collaboration and communication thrive.
It's important to understand that
a project manager is dependent upon
a host of stakeholders
whose support is essential for the success of a project.
The product manager needs to identify the roles and
importance of each stakeholder,
manage their expectations,
and develop a communication and collaboration methodology
that enhances positive engagement and meets their needs.
Let's identify the list of stakeholders
who support relies on a product manager.
These include other product managers,
program and project managers, project sponsors,
product owners, scrum master,
development team, business analyst,
engineering and customers.
Portfolio managers work with product managers to ensure
new product ideas and solutions
support the organization's mission,
vision and strategic initiatives.
Program and project managers focus on the execution of
numerous interrelated projects and
return on investment ROI.
Product managers focus on developing
new products or services, and customer satisfaction.
Project sponsors provide authority to develop
a new product and propose the required funding for it.
Product owners develop user stories
and the product backlog to
support new product launches being
developed using agile or scrum methods.
Scrum masters coach and
facilitate development teams to ensure they follow
scrum processes properly and
are effective in delivering what is required.
Development teams create new products
that meet the needs of stakeholders.
Business analysts perform needs assessments that
identify potential product opportunities
and solve customer problems.
Engineering helps develop technical solutions
to enhance product effectiveness and functionality.
Finally, customers provide feedback, insight,
and their impressions of a
product's value and feasibility.
A product manager must understand and utilize
a number of collaboration tools
to lead a project effectively.
Here are some of
the most frequently used collaboration tools.
Responsible, accountable, consult, and inform.
RACI, information radiators,
document naming conventions,
search engine optimization, SEO.
RACI stands for Responsible,
Accountable, Consult, and Inform.
RACI matrices define roles and responsibilities and
gain stakeholder agreement and
commitment to satisfy their assigned roles.
Information radiators are used in agile and scrum.
They are defined as a visual display that showcases
essential project information to keep
everyone on the team informed and on the same page.
Some common information radiators
include kanban boards and burndown charts.
Using a document naming convention can
help the product managers stay organized and
allow all stakeholders to quickly
identify the location and contents of files.
It helps others efficiently navigate work in
a shared or collaborative group file sharing setting.
It also saves time by keeping work organized.
Search engine optimization involves
making your website visible and
accessible to people who search for
your products or services online.
A key to product launch success is
ensuring your customers can access your products.
In this video, you learned that
communication is a vital component of any project,
playing a pivotal role in its success or failure.
Collaboration is the process where a group of
individuals collectively
explore their ideas to find solutions.
Effective communication and collaboration
are critical in product management.
A project manager is dependent upon a host of
stakeholders whose support is
essential for the success of a project.
Product managers must understand and utilize
a number of collaboration tools
to lead a project effectively.

Goal Setting
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Welcome to goal setting.
After watching this video, you'll be able to describe goal setting and
its importance.
Identify specific measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound, SMART goals.
Outline goal setting benefits.
Organizations employ various strategic tools to foster direction, motivation,
and growth.
By defining specific or measurable objectives such as goals,
organizations can create a shared vision that guides the efforts of individuals and
teams toward a common outcome.
Goals offer a focal point for employees channeling their energies and
talents into effective actions.
The process enhances motivation by defining work with a sense of purpose and
stimulates engagement as employees recognize their
contributions toward achieving tangible outcomes.
Product management paves the way for
companies to provide their customers with great products and services.
Product managers can enhance the chances of a successful launch and
delivery by setting goals that improve overall product understanding,
expectations, and product development.
Goal setting involves defining specific measurable achievable, relevant, and
time bound, SMART objectives you aim to achieve within a certain time frame.
The SMART criteria removes uncertainties, sets clear timelines,
eases progress tracking and helps identify missed milestones.
Let's explore the first criterion specific.
It highlights the necessity for goals to have clear and detailed definitions,
leaving no room for ambiguity.
A specific goal clearly outlines what to accomplish, why it's important, and
how to achieve it.
A specific goal helps avoid misunderstandings and
provides a clear direction for action.
For example, you aim to improve the customer service offered to clients.
How will you communicate this goal to the team?
The specific criterion is the solution.
Using the specific criterion, you can implement a new customer feedback system
within two weeks to enhance response time and boost overall satisfaction scores.
The second criterion is measurable.
It means that goals should be quantifiable,
allowing you to track progress and determine when you can achieve it.
The criterion involves defining specific indicators or
metrics to measure objectively, providing a clear way to track your progress.
For example, measure your goal of becoming the team lead by determining the required
skills and gaining relevant experience in two years.
The next criterion is achievable.
It refers to setting realistic and
attainable goals within the given resources, skills, and circumstances.
It encourages you to set objectives that challenge you, yet are achievable.
Considering your current experience and qualifications, it's important
to use the achievable criterion to see if attaining the skills necessary for
a team lead role is feasible.
The fourth criterion is relevant.
It refers to setting goals that align with your overall objectives, values, and
the nature of your work.
It ensures that your goals contribute meaningfully to your larger purpose and
are well suited to your current situation.
For example, considering whether your qualifications and
experience match the team lead role.
The last criterion is timebound.
It means setting a specific time frame or deadline for achieving a goal.
It adds a sense of urgency and helps manage priorities effectively.
For example, giving yourself a realistic time frame for
accomplishing the smaller goals necessary to become the team lead.
Let's now explore some benefits of goal setting.
Well-thought-out and substantive goals can accomplish
the following concrete goals involve reducing complaints,
conducting customer interviews, improving quality, and enhancing delivery processes.
A positive goal may improve overall production efficiency or quality.
These may include lean goals such as improving delivery speed, reducing waste,
or reducing resources.
Effective goals encompass enhancing customer satisfaction,
increasing retention, or boosting new customer activation rates.
Goals improve processes, enhance the supply chain, and
improve distribution channels.
They contribute to enhanced customer value and improved quality by providing a clear
focus and direction for the organization's efforts.
Goals improve customer engagement by providing a strategic framework for
organizations to prioritize, measure, and improve various customer engagement and
experience aspects.
Dynamic goals drive product improvements and
improve the product's viability from the customer standpoint.
They allow management to attain solid data they can use to make improved product
decisions for the future.
Finally, goals streamline communication and reduce communication blockers.
A product manager needs to be able to act as the voice of the customer effectively.
In this video, you learned that goals offer a focal point for
employees channeling their energies and talents into effective actions.
Goal setting involves defining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and
time bound, SMART objectives.
There are several benefits of goals that are well-thought-out and substantive.
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The Elevator Pitch

Welcome to the Elevator Pitch.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to describe
product vision and its role in product development,
define the purpose of the elevator pitch format,
illustrate the elevator pitch format.
Organizations developing products must
understand the importance of a product vision.
A product manager must develop
an effective and aspirational product vision to
provide team members of a clear sense
of purpose and direction.
Let's now learn more about product vision.
It's a high level statement that outlines
a product's long term goals and aspirations.
It serves as a guiding principle
for the development team and stakeholders,
helping them understand the purpose
and direction of the product.
A well defined product vision provides clarity,
alignment, and motivation for
everyone involved in the product's development.
An effective way to create
a product vision is to use the elevator pitch format.
It serves as a powerful tool for delivering
a precise and concise overview of the product,
outlining its purpose, target audience,
and what distinguishes it from its competitors.
An elevator pitch's objective is to
immediately capture the audience's attention,
and convey the most significant aspects of your message.
Let's now explore the elevator pitch format.
You can use a format for creating
a product vision which takes
the form of an elevator pitch.
It aims to tell the product's story in a way that conveys
all necessary information to potential stakeholders,
and includes these six elements.
We'll now learn about each element in detail.
The first element is For.
It identifies the intended users
and defines the product's target audience.
The second element is Who.
It describes the issues or needs of
the target audience that the product
aims to solve or leverage.
The third element is Our Product.
It defines the product's name or category and
helps identify and position the product,
within its market context.
The fourth element is That.
It defines a compelling reason or
benefit for stakeholders to buy the product.
The fifth element is Unlike.
It highlights what makes the product
unique compared to its competitors,
highlighting its suitability for the audience.
The last element is Our Product.
It describes the most important aspect
that sets the product apart,
which encompasses its core features
and primary selling point.
As an example, let's consider the product vision for
task Z using the elevator pitch format.
The product vision for task Z is to
provide virtual project managers,
with an innovative and user friendly
project and task management platform.
Task Z offers an affordable solution enabling
efficient workflow tracking using
the standard Kanban methodology,
and customizable features, ensuring
a smooth and productive project management experience.
The product vision for task Z clearly
identifies virtual project managers
as the intended users,
who must oversee and delegate multiple tasks remotely.
The vision highlights task Z as
a comprehensive digital platform
for project and task management.
It employs the standard Kanban methodology in templates,
offering a simple and intuitive user experience.
Unlike more complicated and costly platforms,
task Z is a user friendly and budget friendly platform.
It's easy to understand an affordable option.
With task Z, project managers can
customize the platform to
suit their needs and requirements,
ensuring a seamless and efficient
project management experience.
The elevator pitch format
offers a concise and compelling way to
communicate ideas or propositions,
providing several advantages.
It ensures the message is clear and concise.
The format is an invaluable tool for
effectively conveying key information,
and grabbing the audience's attention in a short time.
In this video, you learned that,
product vision is a high level statement that
outlines a product's long term goals, and aspirations.
The elevator pitch format is
a powerful tool for delivering
a concise product overview.
The elevator pitch format
aims to tell the products story in a way
that conveys all necessary information
to potential stakeholders.

The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team

Welcome to the Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to describe
the product manager's role in achieving results,
describe the Five Dysfunctions model.
A product manager is
responsible for overseeing the development,
marketing, and success of
a product throughout its life cycle.
They coordinate teams, gather requirements,
prioritize features, and ensure
the product meets customer needs and business goals.
Product managers are responsible for managing
various expectations from
different parts of the organization.
They lead product planning and
pinpointing the market's needs.
In short, they ensure that the product
aligns well with what the market demands.
The end result of a product manager's work
is to successfully launch and
deliver a product that not only
improves the organization's financial standing,
but also adds value to its customer base.
The product manager must work together with
the product team to achieve these results.
It's important to note that results
are not achieved easily,
there are different challenges along the way.
Let's now learn about the Five Dysfunctions model.
Patrick Lencioni acknowledged that accomplishing results
relies on addressing and
overcoming several key issues or challenges.
He refers to these issues or challenges as dysfunctions.
The illustration shares a
step-by-step approach that you must
take to eliminate the Five Dysfunctions
before achieving results.
The first dysfunction that must be
overcome is absence of trust.
A product manager needs to
create an environment where team members are
comfortable being open with each other and are
willing to share their strengths,
weaknesses, and mistakes.
For example, a team where team members are
hesitant to admit their mistakes or ask for help,
they fear criticism from colleagues and supervisors.
As a result, team members work in isolation,
avoid taking risks, and
don't share important information.
Once the team is completely open with one another,
you can expect improved productivity
and better project outcomes.
The second dysfunction is fear of conflict.
A team should actively participate in
enthusiastic discussions about crucial issues
and decisions to achieve success.
The product manager must create an atmosphere where
all team members willingly share
their ideas and engage in healthy debate.
Imagine a situation where
team members and a marketing team avoid
engaging in debates or discussions
about different campaign strategies.
They're afraid that disagreements might lead to
tension or affect their working relationships negatively.
As a result, they settle for mediocre ideas rather
than voicing their opinions and
challenging each other's perspectives.
By facilitating productive conflicts,
the team can arrive at more
creative and effective strategies
that drive better results.
The third dysfunction is lack of commitment.
Reaching an agreement on crucial decisions is important.
Even if the team doesn't completely
agree with the plan or solution.
The product manager should ensure everyone
on the team is able to share their thoughts and opinions.
In the end, the team must agree to move forward as one,
regardless of their individual opinions.
For example, a project management team
is working on a product launch,
the team member is not in agreement during meetings
but privately harbor reservations
about the project's direction.
Due to the lack of open discussion and clear commitment,
team members are uncertain about
their roles and responsibilities,
leading to a lack of accountability.
By facilitating active participation,
the team can develop a shared
commitment to the project's goals.
The fourth dysfunction is avoidance of accountability.
Once a team commits to meeting
crucial performance standards for success,
they must be ready to hold each other
responsible for fulfilling their agreed-upon commitments.
They must be willing to address issues at
the peer level and not be entirely dependent on leaders.
For example, a team is
developing a new software application,
the team members consistently fail
to complete their assigned tasks on time.
Instead of addressing the issue
openly and holding the individual accountable,
other team members adjust
their schedules to cover for the delays.
By fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility,
the team can enhance productivity
and meet project milestones.
The final dysfunction to
overcome is inattention to results.
Teams that trust each other, engage in conflict,
commit to decisions and hold each other accountable,
are likely to set aside
individual needs and focus on what is best for the team.
Imagine a situation where team members focus on
individual accomplishments and recognition
rather than the project's overall success.
The absence of a unified focus
on achieving measurable results,
hampers the team's ability
to generate meaningful outcomes.
By aligning individual efforts with
the larger objectives and
emphasizing measurable outcomes,
the team can enhance their collective performance
and contribute to the organization's success.
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions is a journey that is
crucial for every product manager to understand.
An effective product manager can lead the team through
the Five Dysfunctions and pave
the way to achieve great results for the organization.
In this video, you learned that
a product manager oversees a product's development,
marketing and success throughout its life cycle.
Product managers are responsible for managing
various expectations from
different parts of the organization.
The Five Dysfunctions model can pave
the way to achieve great results for an organization.

Key Product Manager Communication and

Interpersonal Skills
Welcome to a course on key product manager communications
and interpersonal skills.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to identify
key communication skills essential
to product management success,
identify interpersonal skills to target for development,
define storytelling, and describe
how this skill can be an effective tool.
Product managers can be impactful if they
possess effective communication skills.
Here's a brief overview of some of
the most critical communication skills
required by a product manager to be successful.
Storytelling helps the product manager create
a compelling vision for their products
by putting them in a larger context.
Product messaging is how you
communicate your product's value to customers.
Facilitation skills enhance your ability
to work with a group effectively.
Facilitation enables people to
get together to achieve a common goal,
and directs their focus and
attention in ways that serve the group itself.
In addition to facilitation
is effective public speaking skills.
Effective brainstorming allows a group
to share ideas and opinions in a manner that
enables the generation of
multiple new ideas and
thoughts about a subject in a short time.
Influencing can be simply defined as
motivating people to do what you need them to do.
Effective problem solving allows
a product manager to identify
a problem's potential causes,
identify root causes, and develop practical solutions.
Effective decision makers come to a decision
quickly and begin to act on that decision immediately.
They avoid analysis paralysis.
There are a number of interpersonal skills
essential to a product manager's success as well.
A product manager should have
some degree of technical knowledge and expertise.
They do not need to build the product,
but they must understand
the required product functionality
that the product must support when delivered.
An understanding of both predictive and adaptive
project management processes is also important.
The product manager needs to understand
the business and the stakeholders who drive it.
A product manager needs to effectively
interface with customers and other key stakeholders.
Marketing skills are a must.
In addition, they need to understand
the financial impact of their products and activities.
Product managers regularly perform
extensive market research to
determine what type of products their consumers want,
and how well their organization
compares to its competitors.
Good product managers know how
to use the data they can access to
address issues and develop solutions
that ultimately lead to a successful product launch.
The product manager requires an understanding of
the market to determine
the optimal method to launch a new product.
The product manager must
understand which tasks and duties
to prioritize to successfully
meet tight goals and deadlines.
Storytelling helps product managers create
a compelling vision for their products
by putting them in a larger context.
A well crafted product story helps
answer the why and how questions necessary to
bring a product to life across
the organization and throughout
the product development process.
Here are some tips to create
and share an effective story.
Explain the why. Here is a quote that amplifies this tip.
Your why set you apart from
other businesses with similar products,
helping customers choose you in
the first place and stay loyal to you.
Every good product has a North Star.
The trick is translating it in
a way that makes sense to your customers.
Next, explain the how.
Share your product strategy and how
you and your team will bring the product to life.
A solid product strategy describes what
a business plans to accomplish with its product,
and how it plans to achieve success.
Additionally, it answers key questions
such as who the product will serve,
and how it will benefit them.
The development of customer personas can enhance
the ability to ensure your story
resonates with the target audience.
In this video, you learned that product managers can be
impactful if they possess
effective communication skills such as storytelling,
product messaging, facilitation skills,
brainstorming, influencing, and decision making.
A product manager should have
interpersonal skills such as technical expertise,
business skills, research skills,
analytical skills, strategic thinking,
and prioritization.

Facilitation and Brainstorming

Welcome to Facilitation and Brainstorming.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to recognize the need
for effective facilitation in product management,
define brainstorming, brainwriting,
and nominal group facilitation techniques,
explain the significance of daily
stand-up meetings and retrospectives.
Product managers have the
responsibility of bringing together
individuals from various backgrounds
such as design, engineering,
marketing, and business, to develop successful products.
By skillfully facilitating meetings,
workshops, and discussions,
product managers can ensure that
everyone's perspectives are heard
and decisions are made efficiently.
Effective facilitation can improve
product management performance in a number of ways.
Some of these include exploring new areas.
Effective facilitation technique provides
an opportunity to actively listen and
learn about new ideas and
potential solutions to problems
that you would not have discovered on your own.
Setting concrete expectations,
it provides an avenue for discussion and
ideation ensuring that everyone
on the team shares a clear understanding of their roles,
tasks, and other relevant aspects which is crucial
for effective teamwork and successful project execution.
Let us now explore some constructive ways
for effective facilitation.
These are brainstorming, brainwriting,
nominal group facilitation technique.
Brainstorming is a group activity in which participants
generate ideas by sharing
their points of view and thoughts.
It encourages all team members to
participate and contribute to
the best of their abilities.
The primary goal of brainstorming is to
efficiently gather as many ideas as possible.
It holds significant importance as
a vital tool in the field of product management.
For example, during a team meeting
at an advertising agency,
creative professionals brainstorm ideas
for a new ad campaign.
Brainwriting is a technique that allows participants
to think about questions prior
to the brainstorming session.
Team members can document
their ideas on paper, sticky notes,
or electronically facilitating
easy sharing and discussion.
It enables stakeholders to
articulate their thoughts concisely.
For example, in a design workshop,
participants engage in brainwriting
to generate logo ideas for a client.
Each member writes down their concepts on sticky notes,
which are then circulated and expanded upon by others.
The nominal group technique is a structured method of
brainstorming that promotes discussion
and annotation of ideas.
Participants subsequently
rank these ideas aiding and effective
prioritization and preventing everything
from being labeled as the top priority.
For example, in a project planning meeting,
each team member independently
lists their project priorities,
which are consolidated and discussed.
Companies often develop products
using Agile or Scrum frameworks.
It is the responsibility of the product manager to employ
these frameworks and build
a positive relationship with
product owners and Scrum masters.
A product manager can also adopt
some effective techniques while
working with the product team.
These include daily stand-up meetings, and retrospectives.
Scrum teams conduct a daily stand-up
meeting where they review the previous day's work,
outline the current tasks,
and identify any obstacles to progress.
The product development status shared in
this meeting serves as valuable information for
a product manager to assess
the current state of development
of the product and its launch.
The Scrum team also conducts
retrospectives at the end of each iteration or sprint.
The primary goal of retrospectives
is to review the completed work,
suggest improvements, and adapt processes and
behaviors for enhanced performances
in the upcoming sprint.
A product manager can adopt this approach and regularly
hold retrospectives with the product team
to achieve similar benefits.
In this video, you learned
that effective facilitation can
improve product management performance
through exploring new areas,
and setting concrete expectations.
Some constructive ways for
effective facilitation are brainstorming,
brainwriting, and nominal group facilitation technique.
Product managers can adopt
effective techniques like daily
stand up meetings and retrospe

Influencing without Authority

Welcome to Influencing Without Authority.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to describe
the product manager's need to influence,
describe the Two Hat Syndrome,
identify the six sources of influence.
The role of a product manager is crucial for defining
a product's vision and
developing a strategy to achieve it.
To carry out these tasks,
product managers rely heavily
on their ability to influence.
Product managers need to balance the interests of
various stakeholders and guide a product
from inception to its market success.
While bearing responsibility for the product,
they may have limited influence
over its development, marketing, and support.
Consequently, product managers must
influence various stakeholders to
embrace their product vision and provide
support throughout the product management life cycle.
Their overarching goals are to garner
customer buy in and encourage good ideas.
Let's learn about the Two Hat Syndrome.
The term Two Hat Syndrome is
a situation where a project manager
simultaneously fulfills two distinct roles
or responsibilities within an organization.
The two responsibilities of
a product manager include
product planning and project management.
In product planning, the product manager
defines the product vision and strategy.
In project management,
the project manager often needs expertise in technology,
market trends, or both to
deliver the product on time and within budget.
The dual role can be quite
challenging and carries the risk of overloading.
One way to mitigate the Two Hat Syndrome
is to enlist the support of
a project management specialist who becomes
an on demand resource to
provide a service and support role.
It is important to clearly define
the roles and responsibilities of
the product manager and
the project management specialist
to avoid confusion and conflict.
To succeed, product managers need to
understand the sources of influence available to them.
The six sources of influence model
was developed by Kerry Patterson,
Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield,
Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler.
Their book, Influencer, The Power to Change Anything,
forms the basis of the model.
It focuses on two influencing drivers,
motivation and ability.
Let's now list and then explore
each of the six sources of influence.
These include personal motivation, personal ability,
social motivation, social ability,
structural motivation, structural ability.
First, let's explore personal motivation.
Be honest with yourself, you should
be clear about what you want to pursue.
Consciously connect to
your values and influence yourself.
From within, you can create
a personal motivation statement to motivate yourself.
It's a brief, written declaration of
an individual's aspirations and reasons
for pursuing specific goals or objectives.
Continually improve your skills and competencies.
Be deliberate in your actions.
Improving skills and competencies can increase
your confidence and desire
to take the lead and get things done.
It could also provide an expert position,
a positive influencing factor.
Leverage the influence of your peers and take the lead.
Identify key stakeholders who can
assist you in inspiring and mobilizing others.
Seek the support of stakeholders
with the capacity to empower
individuals to make commitments
and take necessary actions.
Harness the power of collective effort.
Assess commitment levels and devise
effective strategies for garnering support from others.
Initiate transformative discussions.
Expand your network, and try to
convince those who may be reluctant to join the team.
Design rewards that are
meaningful and linked to behavior.
By doing so, you can effectively encourage
positive behavior while discouraging negative ones.
A crucial aspect is holding
individuals accountable for their actions.
This ensures that the reward system
remains aligned with the goals and objectives.
Transform your surroundings by
taking control of your space.
Employ accepted and accessible tools
and techniques to facilitate this process.
Skillfully, establish boundaries and adjust
interpersonal distances to balance
between work and relationships harmoniously.
Adjust your verbal and non verbal communication
to ensure clarity and keep stakeholders engaged.
In this video, you learned that;
product managers rely heavily
on their ability to influence,
often needing to persuade without formal authority.
The Two Hat Syndrome is when
a project manager simultaneously
fulfills an organization's two
distinct roles or responsibilities.
It is important for product managers to understand
the sources of influence available to them to succeed.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Welcome to Problem Solving and Decision-Making.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to identify problem solving techniques that yield results.
Explain the step-by-step approach to solving problems.
Define the decision matrix and its role in decision-making.
The field of product management is both exciting and challenging.
As product managers face face numerous challenges each day.
It's important for them to be excellent problem solvers.
Challenges can arise across various domains.
It can involve communication inefficiencies,
the importance of meeting deadlines,
potential misalignment within the team,
the prospect of revising plans due to evolving customer requirements,
and wavering stakeholder commitment.
To overcome these challenges and achieve success,
the product manager must adopt a systematic problem-solving approach
capable of delivering tangible results.
Here's a proven step-by-step approach to solving problems to consider.
Step 1: clearly define the problem.
Step 2: use your facilitation skills.
Step 3: use nominal group technique.
Step 4: apply the Pareto principle.
Step 5: follow through.
The first step involves identifying the problem and
developing a concise problem statement.
Share the problem statement with key stakeholders impacted by the problem and
validate its accuracy.
The second step involves using techniques such as brainstorming or brainwriting.
Meet with key stakeholders to identify potential causes behind the problem.
Some common causes of problems include people, processes,
organizational policies, tools, and systems.
The nominal group technique is a structured group problem solving and
decision making technique.
It aims to gather input and
ideas from a group of individuals while ensuring equal participation.
Use the technique to prioritize and
rank the causes based on their level of contribution to the problem.
The fourth step is applying the Pareto Principle.
It suggests that approximately 80% of effects or
outcomes result from 20% of causes or inputs.
Identify the top 20% of the causes from step three and
develop a solution to address them.
The last step is to follow through.
Assess the resolution of the problem.
If it's resolved, take note of your findings as the issue may reoccur.
If the problem persists, reexamine the causes you have not yet
addressed from step three.
Formulate a fresh solution and make another attempt to resolve it.
Solving problems can be challenging and may not always yield immediate results.
Don't be discouraged if your initial efforts fall short.
Embrace the concept of failing fast.
Iterate through the process and in doing so,
you'll ultimately attain the desired outcomes.
Let's now learn about the decision matrix.
The product manager must also be a decision maker.
The product management and marketing body of knowledge, Prod Bach,
recommends the use of a decision matrix.
As one proven method to make decisions in a product management environment.
A decision matrix is a tool that evaluates a series of inputs to objectively
prioritize a set of requirements or criteria for making a decision.
There are many decision matrix models.
The illustration here shows an example of a sample decision matrix to evaluate
the merit and prioritize three ideas using impact,
level of effort, and risk evaluation factors.
As you can see, idea two has a high impact.
Requires a low level of effort and has moderate risk.
This idea scores eight points.
Therefore, this is priority one when compared to the other two ideas.
Enlist the support of knowledgeable and
impacted stakeholders to help you score each option.
The product team should concur with the ratings and
support the results recommended by the decision matrix.
In a situation where two or three stakeholders disagree with the rating,
average their inputs.
For example, stakeholder one chooses high impact.
Stakeholders two and three choose moderate impact.
Add three plus two plus two equals seven.
Divide seven by the number of stakeholders three to achieve a score.
Seven divided by three equals 2.33.
A successful decision is one that can be implemented,
whether it pertains to individual choices or an organizational level.
Personal dedication to the decisions and
the ability to convince others of its value are crucial factors.
In this video, you learned that.
As product managers face numerous challenges each day.
It's important for them to be excellent problem solvers.
A product manager must adopt a systematic problem solving approach capable of
delivering tangible results.
A decision matrix is a tool that evaluates a series of inputs to objectively
prioritize a set of requirements or criteria for making a decision.

Kotler’s Five Levels of a Product

Welcome to Kotler's Five Levels of a Product.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to summarize
Kotler's five levels of a product.
Explain the planning processes to
move through the five levels of a product.
Describe the process of implementing Kotler's model.
In the process of developing a new product or a service,
it's crucial to not only address
your customer's needs and requirements,
but also surpass their expectations.
Adopting this strategic approach is important for
setting yourself apart from competitors in the market.
Marketing professor Philip Kotler
established the concept that there
are five levels of a product
that constitute a value hierarchy.
Product managers and marketing managers
use Kotler's five product level model to help
determine how customers make
purchasing decisions and how
a product team can influence these decisions.
Kotler's five levels model
highlights five levels that can add value to a product.
These include core benefit,
basic product, expected product,
augmented product, potential product.
It's the main benefit that
the customers derive from the product.
Customers seek products and
services that possess features and
functionalities required to
fulfill their fundamental requirements.
For example, an individual buying a smartphone to fulfill
the fundamental need of staying connected
and accessing information conveniently,
it refers to the actual product.
The basic product provides
a set of attributes that satisfy
the customer's needs and
differentiate the product from the competition.
For example, smartphone features like calling
texting and Internet connectivity address
these fundamental needs.
It refers to higher levels of expectations
that customers have for the product
and the company selling it.
Kotler states that at this level,
not only do companies deliver core benefits,
but they also provide benefits
such as speed, quality, or support.
For example, a smartphone having good storage capacity,
battery life, and high processing power.
At this level, you identify
features in a product that exceed expectations.
Benefits such as extras at
no additional charge free shipping,
or extended warranties are examples of
an augmented product level.
It's the highest level of a product.
This is what the product can become in the future.
It refers to customization, personalization,
added features, or extensions to features over time.
Potential product fulfills needs,
meets expectations, and unveils
new opportunities for customers.
For example, incorporating cutting edge technology
like AI driven personal assistant in smartphones.
It's important to note that while each level
improves the overall product attractiveness,
the customer will not likely purchase
the product unless the basic core benefits are met.
Let's now explore the planning processes
to progress through each level.
Customers determine the value
of a product in three ways,
customer need, the purchase decision begins with need.
For example, a customer may need
a new wireless device to replace
an older outdated model. Customer want.
Once customers identify a basic product they need,
they shift their attention to what they want.
For example, a wireless device
with a high quality camera,
high speed and storage capability,
with an easy installment purchase plan. Customer demand.
Finally, customers may insist
on a high standard of quality,
one that they were willing to
purchase at a price they deem reasonable.
For example, customers may opt for a wireless device
from a flagship store that offers the latest technology.
Now let's explore how to implement the Kotler Model.
The product manager and marketing manager can
use the Kotler model to their advantage as follows.
Ensure the customer is aware of your product or service,
share how your product or
service can meet their basic wants and needs.
Ensure that the customer considers
your product as one of their options for purchase.
Show the customer the features and
functionality your product provides.
Distinguish your product from others that might
not fully meet the customer's requirements.
Understand customer needs and wants.
Show how your product meets every need of the customer,
meet their highest expectations,
now exceed the customer's expectations.
Show the customer that your product or
service not only meets their needs, but exceeds them.
Further, differentiate your product or service by showing
additional features or functionality
the competition can offer.
Finally, show the product's full potential.
Show how your product or
service has the potential to go beyond
the features and functionality that
were included in the augmented product.
Share the product or service,
not only for what it is, but what it can be.
In this video, you learned that
marketing professor Philip Kotler
established the concept that there are five levels
of a product that constitute a value hierarchy.
Kotler's five levels model highlights
five levels that can add value to a product.
Customers determine the value
of a product through customer need,
customer want, and customer demand.
The product manager and marketing manager can use
the Kotler model to their advantage
through its implementation.

Market Segmentation
[MUSIC]
Welcome to market segmentation.
After watching this video, you'll be able to, define the role of product manager in
an organization, describe market segmentation and its importance,
describe primary and secondary marketing research techniques.
A product manager serves as a pivotal link between the market and the organization,
playing a crucial role in bridging these two domains.
They must effectively represent the voice of the customer to succeed in their role.
Some of their key responsibilities involve conducting customer visits,
organizing customer panels and focus groups, and
frequently conducting insightful customer interviews.
Some product managers are market facing, they manage one or more products, and
have customers outside the organization that they must work
closely with to satisfy both current and future needs.
Some product managers are internal, they focus on creating and enhancing tools for
use by internal employees to improve their efficiency and
value delivery to the company.
They work closely with customers within the organization.
Regardless of position,
a product manager needs to understand markets and market segmentation.
They should be able to conduct effective research to clearly understand which
products add the most value for the organization and the customer.
The Product Management and Marketing Body of Knowledge, PRODBOK,
defines a market as groups of customers, current or potential,
who have specific unmet needs that could be met by products or services.
The product manager is responsible for understanding the needs of the market and
sharing this knowledge within the organization.
One of their main responsibilities involves ensuring balance in meeting
customer needs while considering organizational capabilities.
Let's now learn about market segmentation.
A diverse market can comprise varied demographics leading to distinct customer
preferences or smaller groups of potential customers, commonly known as segments.
Market segmentation is the group of consumers based on their needs, behavior,
interests, and demographics.
It allows businesses to tailor their products, services, and
marketing efforts to meet the specific requirements of each segment.
For example, a tech company developing smartphones for three segments.
The first segment is teenagers and young adults.
The second segment is working professionals, and
the last segment is seniors.
Market segmentation is crucial because it enables companies to understand and
cater to the diverse needs and preferences of their customer base.
By dividing a broader market into smaller,
more homogeneous groups of potential customers,
product managers enhance customer satisfaction and foster brand loyalty.
Let's now learn about primary and secondary marketing research.
A product manager must perform research to determine which products present
opportunities for both customers and the organizations.
There are two types of research that a product manager must perform,
they include primary research and secondary research.
Primary research involves gathering firsthand data from actual or
potential customers.
It enables precise questioning for specific segments,
provides up-to-date market insights, and delves into customer psychology.
However, it comes with costs, time consuming data collection, and
potential interviewer or interviewee bias.
For example, conducting surveys and interviews with a selected group of
customers about a product before it's launched.
Secondary research is a method of collecting information that relies on
indirect methods, such as published reports, public or commercial databases,
websites, agencies, surveys, and so on.
Secondary research saves time, is cost effective, and
can provide a broad perspective.
However, data quality may be low, you have no control over the content, and
it may not address all your questions.
For example, a company enters a new market and
decides to analyze existing market reports, government statistics, and
academic research studies to gain insights.
While both types have merit, primary research stands out as the superior
choice for achieving goals as a product manager.
In this video, you learned that a product manager serves
as a pivotal link between the market and the organization.
Product managers can be market facing or internal.
Market segmentation is the grouping of consumers based on their needs, behavior,
interests, and demographics.
There are two types of research that a product manager must perform,
they include primary research and secondary research.

The Ansoff Matrix

[MUSIC]
Welcome to the Ansoff Matrix.
After watching this video, you'll be able to describe business strategy and
its importance, explain the Ansoff Matrix with the help of an illustration,
summarize strategy options illustrated in the Ansoff Matrix.
Business strategy is a set of strategic initiatives
a company takes to generate value for the organization and
its stakeholders while establishing a competitive edge within the marketplace.
This strategic framework is pivotal to a company's success and
serves as the guiding blueprint prior to the production or
delivery of any products or services.
For example, a company manufacturing traditional computers initiates
a transformative business strategy to develop design-driven technology leading
to its success and growth.
Strategy is the foundation for businesses.
It forms the basis for decision-making, resource allocation, and
long-term planning.
By defining clear objectives, analyzing market dynamics, and identifying
competitive advantages, an effective strategy not only provides direction,
but also enables a company to adapt to changing circumstances and
capitalize on opportunities.
It's the keystone of long-term success, helping organizations to survive in
the complex and competitive worlds of business.
The highest level of strategy occurs at the company level.
A company must determine which markets it will compete in and
how it will use company resources and capabilities to achieve success.
One such tool that analysts and management teams employ is the Ansoff Matrix.
It's a strategic planning tool that helps businesses evaluate their growth
options and select the most appropriate strategy based on their current position,
risk tolerance, and growth objectives.
Let's now explore the four strategy options that the Ansoff Matrix provides
based on the following conditions.
Market, is the target market new or existing?
Product, is the product new or existing?
The first strategy is market penetration.
Organizations adopt it as a strategy when they have an existing product in
an existing market.
It achieves growth by expanding product sales within an existing market or
increasing purchases from existing customers.
For example, a fast food restaurant chain offering discounts and
promotions to attract more customers to its existing locations.
The next strategy is product development.
It's an optimal strategy when an organization wants to market a new product
in an existing market.
It requires innovative solutions and
a willingness to invest the resources necessary to achieve success.
For example, a technology company introducing a new and improved version of
its smartphone with advanced features and capabilities in the market.
The third strategy is market development.
Organizations use this strategy when they target a new market with existing
products.
Market development involves adapting products for new markets and
focusing on distribution and marketing efforts.
For example, a beverage company expands its product line of energy drinks to enter
a new geographic market,
such as in a country where they haven't been previously available.
The fourth strategy is diversification.
It requires the organization to develop new products for new or emerging markets.
Diversification strategy carries the highest risk, requiring identification,
analysis, and mitigation of new products and new markets.
For example, a tech company that specializes in producing smartphones and
laptops enters the electric vehicle market.
In this video, you learned that business strategy is a set of strategic initiatives
a company takes to generate value for the organization and its stakeholders.
Business strategy forms the basis for decision-making, resource allocation, and
long-term planning.
The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic planning tool that helps businesses evaluate their
growth options and select the most appropriate strategy.
The Ansoff Matrix comprises four strategy options based on the market and
product conditions, market penetration,
product development, market development, diversification.
[MUSIC]

Business Development
Welcome to a course on product
managers business development role.
After watching this video,
you'll be able to: define
the business development role of a product manager,
discuss key success factors
that drive effective business development,
review the SWOT concept,
illustrate a SWOT analysis
to support business development.
Product manager is responsible for
overseeing product development in an organization.
This role begins in the product conceived
phase and continues through the product retire phase.
This role includes business development activities,
including researching sales leads and convincing
potential customers that your organization's products
and services have the features,
functionality and quality customers seek.
Product managers communicate and collaborate
with both internal and external customers.
They must study customer purchase habits,
analyze customer feedback, and
identify current trends and
new opportunities in the market.
They also manage the product management life cycle
and innovate new products,
enhancements and redesigns to meet
the organization's financial goals
and provide value to their customer base.
A product manager must have knowledge and expertise
in several areas to
succeed in their business development role.
These factors include;
basic technical knowledge and subject matter expertise.
The product manager must be
able to share the product vision and
describe features and functions
specific to the products they manage.
Business acumen is the ability to
understand and manage various business situations.
Effective business development is
dependent upon being able
to understand and manage
an ever changing business environment.
The product manager must be able to
put themselves in the customer's shoes.
They must understand the customer's needs and wants.
The product manager must know about
both existing and new markets and be able to
develop appropriate strategies to launch
suitable new products or
augment current products successfully.
Innovation is the execution of
a new or improved product, processes, marketing methods,
or organizational methods in business practices,
workplace organization, or external relations.
Innovation plays a role in
the business development success.
The product manager must be able to perform
both primary and secondary research to help
the organization achieve its product management goals.
SWOT is an analysis tool for strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
This is an appropriate tool to help
guide business development objectives.
Here's a brief review of the SWOT criteria.
Strengths are generally internal
or can be internally controlled.
Using the success criteria shared earlier,
a product management team with
strong innovative skills can be
a positive trait that supports business development.
Weaknesses are generally internal
or can be internally controlled as well.
An example could be a lack of market knowledge.
This weakness needs to be addressed before
business development can be entirely successful.
Opportunities are based on external conditions.
Opportunities are typically identified
and achieved through strengths.
For example, innovation strengths
may lead to the development
of new products that serve
the needs of an expanding customer base.
Threats are based on external conditions as well.
They often occur because of weaknesses.
For example, a lack of market knowledge
may lead to products not serving
a broad market segment and
providing minimal value to customers.
Here is an illustration using
the six critical success factors needed to
drive successful business development
highlighted previously in the video.
This illustration randomly reflects
three essential success factors
as strengths and three as weaknesses.
First, take an inventory of your strengths.
Determine potential business development opportunities
that your strengths may allow you to achieve.
Develop strategies that will enable you to
turn the opportunities into realities.
Second, take an inventory of your weaknesses.
Define potential threats that
can stem from your weaknesses.
Develop an action plan to eliminate
your weaknesses and mitigate
the threats that could result.
You may have multiple opportunities or
threats that result from a single strength or weakness.
You may also require multiple strengths
to achieve an opportunity
or determine that a combination of
weaknesses may result in a single threat.
There's not always a one to one relationship
between strengths and opportunities,
and weaknesses and threats.
In this video, you learned that product managers
communicate and collaborate with
both internal and external customers.
A product manager also
manages the product management life cycle.
A product manager must have knowledge and expertise in
several areas to succeed
in their business development role.
SWOT is an analysis tool that stands for strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.