Noah Lucas is a mobile product manager who has worked at Expedia and as a consultant for startups. The document summarizes Lucas' presentation on mobile product management. It covers topics like what makes a good versus bad product manager, analyzing key metrics, creating useful and profitable products, and leveraging different product "loops" like data, social, compulsion, and viral loops. The goal is to provide strategies for managing a successful consumer product.

1. Mobile Product Management
Product design with a global perspective
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2. Noah Lucas
@Noah_Lucas
noahbanetlucas@gmail.com
noahlucas.com
San Francisco
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3. Noah Lucas
Mobile Product Manager
Expedia Global
Mentor
Thiel Foundation
Consultant
Early stage start-ups
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4. Expedia Hotels & Flights
70mm Shoppers
40mm Downloads
@noah_lucas 4

5. Takeaways
• How to manage a consumer internet product
• Get your idea to market
• Importance of design
• Create a robust product
But first…
@noah_lucas 5

6. What PM Is Not
Reactionary: firefighter, last minute features
Micromanage overly focused on “how”, not “what”
Passive: lack vision, indecisive prioritization
Dictator: improperly authoritative
Distracted: poor communication of big picture
Confused unable to deconstruct issues
@noah_lucas 6

7. What PM Is
Deep: knowledge of market, capabilities, competition
Executes: anticipate, prepare, ship
Precise: clear dictation of direction & goals
Influencer instead of dictator
Understands: defines goals and success metrics
Trusts the team to make decisions
@noah_lucas 7

8. A Good Product Manger
Deeply understands every aspect of the product.
Balances all internal and external influences.
Sets a clear prioritized strategy.
Crisply communicates the plan to each group.
Most of all, ships.
@noah_lucas 8

9. Good PM/Bad PM
Ben Horowitz
“Good product managers know the market,
the product, the product line and the
competition extremely well and operate
from a strong basis of knowledge and
confidence. A good product manager is the
CEO of the product.
cont…
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10. Org Structure
Design Management Development
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@noah_lucas

11. Tools
Primary Devices iPhone 6, Macbook Air 11”
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Task manager Workflowy
Email Sparrow, Apple Mail
Notebook Moleskine
Analytics Adobe, AD-X, iTunes Connect, App Annie
Design Sketch, Photoshop, iPhoto
File management Dropbox
Development Github
@noah_lucas

12. Communication
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Leadership
Development
Product Management
Design
Quality
Marketing
Legal
International
Customer
User Happiness
Customers
Translation
@noah_lucas

13. Product Design
Designing a good mobile app is about…
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@noah_lucas

14. Product Design
User Experience
Information
Interaction
Interface
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@noah_lucas

15. Types of PM
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Size Matters
Startups: Launch - Growth - Scale
Corporate
Consultant/Advisor
@noah_lucas

16. Product Fundamentals
Create a useful product
Research, plan, design, build, iterate for product-market fit
Create a smart product
Identify success metrics and enforce disciplined analysis
Create a successful product
Define the “4 loops”
Create a profitable product
Identify & test potential strategies
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@noah_lucas

17. Create A Useful Product
Identify an unmet need (a mismatch) and create
something to fill that gap.
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Market Research
Plan
Design
Prototype
Build
Test & Learn
@noah_lucas

18. Research
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Watch new companies
Follow emergent technologies
Understand trends
Listen to the consumer: wants, needs, frustrations
@noah_lucas

19. Plan
Identify the opportunity (the matching problem)
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Define your thesis
Set the vision
Build a roadmap
Choose your MVP
Scope out the sprint(s)
@noah_lucas

20. Design
"Design is a funny word. Some people
think design means how it looks. But
of course, if you dig deeper, it's really
how it works.”
Steve Jobs
Mobile Product Management 20

21. Design
What if you could …
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@noah_lucas

22. Design
Accomplish the desired outcome, gracefully
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Personal experience
Market Research
User testing
Social anecdotes
Dreams
@noah_lucas

23. Build
Define technical requirements
Identify country-specific requirements
Get translations
Set UX, Navigation, Interaction, and Interface
Isolate design elements
API and backend
Get client dev feedback for API and design teams
Begin client dev work
Continuous quality control
Begin defect fixes immediately
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@noah_lucas

24. @noah_lucas 24

25. Yesterday
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Topics
Good PM/Bad PM
Tools of a PM
Org Structure & Teams
Importance of Communication
Product Fundamentals: Create A Useful Product
Product Fundamentals: Test & Learn
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26. Day 2
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Topics
Product Fundamentals
Common Product “Loops”
Pros/Cons of Mobile First Strategy
Phases Of The Internet
User Patterns In Mobile
Megatrends
@noah_lucas

27. Build A Useful Product
"Truly successful apps offer a clear solution to a
problem their users face” - DeBow
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Observe a pattern
Develop your theory
Build the hypothesis
Measure in groups
Learn through data
@noah_lucas

28. Product Fundamentals
Create a useful product
Research, plan, design, build, iterate for product-market fit
Create a smart product
Identify success metrics and enforce disciplined analysis
Create a successful product
Define the “4 loops”
Create a profitable product
Identify & test potential strategies
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@noah_lucas

29. Build A Useful Product
"Truly successful apps offer a clear solution to a
problem their users face” - DeBow
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Observe a pattern
Develop your theory
Build the hypothesis
Measure in groups
Learn through data
@noah_lucas

30. Create A Smart Product
Analytics
KPIs: Key Performance Indicators
Only as intricate as you want
Only as useful if diligent
Test & Learn to validate hypotheses and optimize
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@noah_lucas

31. Create A Smart Product
KPI examples
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Usage
Lifetime Value (LTV)
Retention Rate
Active Users
Average Revenue Per User
User Happiness
@noah_lucas

32. KPIs of Expedia
• Install
• Launch
• Hotel + Flight Search
• Book & Conversion Funnel
• Itineraries
• Engagement
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33. Create A Smart Product
Dave McClure’s “Startup Metrics for Pirates”
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Acquisition
Activation
Retention
Referral
Revenue
@noah_lucas

34. AARRR
@noah_lucas 34

35. Create A Profitable Product
Paid app gaming
In-app purchases gaming
Freemium pro tools
Referral niche networks
Ad-based utility
Native advertising social
Subscription pro tools
Affiliate, last-click shopping
Dynamic Pricing logistics marketplaces
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@noah_lucas

36. Create A Successful Product
4 Common Product Loops
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Data
Social
Compulsion
Viral
@noah_lucas

37. Data Loop
Usage builds structured data.
Search
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Engage
Add Data
Enhance
@noah_lucas

38. Data Loop
App improves with usage
Foursquare - venues (and now tastes)
Instagram - photos
Facebook - posts
Twitter - updates, hashtags
Waze - crashes, construction
Google - relevant search results
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@noah_lucas

39. Data Loop - logistics
p2p, marketplaces
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Search
Engage
Add Data
Enhance
Sign Up
Availability
Accept bid
@noah_lucas

40. Data Loop - logistics
Delivery marketplaces
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Uber
Lyft
Airbnb
Postmates
Tastkrabbit
Fancyhands
Rinse
@noah_lucas

41. Social Loop
Enable & encourage user interactions
Discover
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Engage
Interact
Share
@noah_lucas

42. Social Loop
Users crave interaction, empower them!
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Primary interactions
Micro-interactions
Sharing
Commenting
Tagging
Reposting
@noah_lucas

43. Compulsion Loop
Create a habit-forming product to build loyalty.
Dopamine = anticipation of reward
Endorphin = achievement of a reward
Inconsistency increases anticipation
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44. Compulsion Loop
Trigger
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Action
Variable
Reward
Invested
Commitment
Dopamine!!!
Dopamine!!! Endorphins!
@noah_lucas

45. Compulsion Loop
The Trigger
Push Notification
Email
In-app messaging
Local Notification
iBeacon
Geofencing
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46. Compulsion Loop
Instagram
Zynga games
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Candy Crush
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47. Viral Loop
Enable and encourage organic growth so K > 1
Discover
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Engage
Interact
Share
@noah_lucas

48. Viral Loop
Enable and encourage organic growth so K > 1
Define you consumable content
Interactive and social functionality
Make user want to share (the hook)
Fast, simple on boarding (acquisition funnel)
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@noah_lucas

49. Mobile First?
Pros and Cons of a mobile-first strategy
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Push
Location
Performance
OS integration
Cost
Approval process
Speed to launch
Cohort testing ease
@noah_lucas

50. Phases of the Internet
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Phase 1: Infrastructure
Phase 2: Application
All-in-one Portals
Social Networking
Niche Specialty networks
Multi-use Apps
Single Use Apps
@noah_lucas

51. Patterns In Mobile
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Single Purpose app
Social component
Fast content creation
Consumable content
Primary Interaction
Micro-interaction
Asynchronous and
synchronous
Asymmetric follow model
Critical mass (Users before
money)
Global appeal
Fast loading
Defined Constraints
Unique in some way
@noah_lucas

52. “Megatrends”
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What’s Happened
Social
Cloud
Mobile
Global
Logistics
P2P/Sharing Economy
@noah_lucas

53. “Megatrends”
What’s Happened What’s Coming
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Social
Cloud
Mobile
Global
Logistics
P2P/Sharing Economy
Cross-Device
Internet of Things
Bitcoin/crypto
Wearables
Discovery: pull to push
Search: pull to push
@noah_lucas

54. Noah Lucas
@Noah_Lucas
noahbanetlucas@gmail.com
noahlucas.com
San Francisco
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55. References & Material
http://web.stanford.edu/class/e140/e140a/handouts/ProductMgmt.txt
http://www.svproduct.com/product-organizational-structure/
http://www.khoslaventures.com/wp-content/uploads/Good_Product_Manager_Bad_Product_Manager_KV.pdf
http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-characteristics-of-a-bad-product-manager
http://www.slideshare.net/dampy/good-product-manager-bad-product-manager-kv
http://www.quora.com/What-distinguishes-the-Top-1-of-Product-Managers-from-the-Top-10
http://www.amazon.com/Technological-Revolutions-Financial-Capital-Dynamics/dp/1840649224
http://youtu.be/irjgfW0BIrw
http://youtu.be/5bJi7k-y1Lo
http://theleanstartup.com/principles
http://andrewchen.co/2007/07/11/whats-your-viral-loop-understanding-the-engine-of-adoption/
http://mashable.com/2013/09/04/mobile-app-metrics/
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