How to build winning products

1. How to build
WINNING
Products
Powered by
Talvinder Singh
2020
Life’s too short to build something nobody wants…

2. Copyright © 2020
Disclaimer
The material in this document is copyrighted. No part of this document can be reproduced either on
paper or electronic media without permission in writing from Talvinder Singh.

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Talvinder Singh
Founder @ Pragmatic Leaders
Product head @ OYO Flagship
Chief Product Officer @ Freecultr
Founder & CEO @ Tushky.com
500startups, GSF India
IIT Bombay
Currently, he is a Product coach and Product consultant for large
enterprises like Aditya Birla Finance and startups alike.
His past students include product managers from paytm, cardekho,
Makemytrip among others. He has helped many to transition to
Product Management. His past mentees have secured product
positions in coveted companies like Zoomcar, Webengage.
Apart from consulting, he mentors few startups on product and
entrepreneurship.
Current portfolio: Clinikk.com
talvinder.com
10 years Product Leadership and
entrepreneurship experience

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WINNING
PRODUCTS≠

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IN LARGE COMPANIES, THE
MISTAKES JUST HAVE
ADDITIONAL ZEROES IN
THEM.
- STEVE BLANK

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WHAT IS
PRODUCT

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WHAT IS
PRODUCT
Carrier of value,
that customers are
willing to pay for

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IMPORTANCE OF A Product Manager
Product Management is the discipline of
building products which can achieve
product-market fit and Product Manager is
the role who is responsible for building
these products.

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NASSCOM Guidance report 2017 - NEED FOR Product Managers in INDIA
Digital revolution is mainstream with top corporates
investing heavily to adopt digital technologies and to
re-skill their employees. India is already the 3rd
largest globally in start-up activity.
With a clear persistent push towards $1 trillion digital
economy, there is a humongous opportunity in front of
us to educate our youth and prepare them for the next
wave.
NASSCOM in its guidance report of 2017, lists
addition of Product Managers as an industry
imperative.
NASSCOM Guidance Report 2017 | NASSCOM Indian Startup ecosystem 16-17

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WHO IS A PRODUCT MANAGER
Being able to take an idea and turn it into a
product requires a certain discipline. Many things
have to be taken into consideration, from
competitive landscape, business requirements to
user needs and technical obstacles. That’s where
Product Managers come in.
Product Managers are often described as the
voice of the user, ensuring that every business
decision or technical consideration maps back to
solving a customer problem.
Product Managers understand the users, the
market, and their organisations better than
anyone; this allows them to create products and
features that succeed in the real world.

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FORMULA for WINNING PRODUCTS

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RIGHT PRODUCT?

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A product that:
• Meets customers’ needs
• Is better than other alternatives
• Is easy to use
• Has a good value/price
Definition of
product-market fit
The WHY

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Jobs to be done
Jobs to be done Old solution New solution
Ingest medicine Pills and shots Skin patches
Make many products for mass
market
Many craftsmen Production line
Detect enemy at night Flares Night vision
Keep windows clean Clean with Colin Self-cleaning glass
Clean teeth Manual brushing Automated with sound waves
Search for information Library Internet

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RIGHT PEOPLE

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“If I’d asked customers what they
wanted, they would have said a
faster horse”
- Henry Ford

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“People don’t know what they
want until you show it to them”
- Steve Jobs

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We have biases, assumptions and perspectives.
We are not our users.
We need to design for them and not for ourselves.
Only then their needs will be fulfilled.
User Persona
Why do
we need this?

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User Persona
Goals
Attitudes
Motivations
Mental Models
Relationships
Pain Points
Environment
Processes

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User Persona
If you design for everyone,
you make no one happy
You should design for
specific types of users

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We determine what types of users we serve with research.
We analyze that research to find segments of user types.
Each type of user is represented by a model or archetype and
a specific instance of this model is called a persona.
User Persona

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User Persona - A landscape of user research methods

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User Persona - Research methods, qualitative maps

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User Persona
What is persona?
Personas are a specific instance of archetypes
(models) that represent groups of real users who
have similar attributes.
Think fictional characters in your favourite movie
or TV series.
Each persona serves as a single surrogate for
many actual users, which produces a clear
target to aim for.

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User Persona
What Personas are not?
Average users Roles
Stereotypes
Market segments

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User Persona
What all should be captured?
Demographic Age, gender, education, address etc
Behaviour Hobbies, TV shows, movies, fav actor, topics of interest etc
Goals wants to make money, wants fame, wants iron throne
Sacrifice work extra hard, spend to learn new topics

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User Persona > Example Archetypes - based on spending habit (housing)

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User Persona > Example Persona (housing - buy)

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User Persona > Example Persona behaviour (slideshare)

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User Persona > Example Persona behaviour (Komli)

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What do they
THINK & FEEL & FEAR ?
what really counts
major preoccupations
worries & aspirations
What do they
HEAR ?
boss
colleagues
influencers
friends
What do they
SEE ?
environment
friends
colleagues
what work offers
What do they
SAY & DO ?
attitude in public
appearance
behaviour towards others
PAIN
fears
frustations
obstacles
GAIN
wants/needs
measure of success
benefits
User Persona > Who is your who?

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Right Product
Right People
WIN
+
=

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Thanks!
Talvinder Singh
talvindersingh@pragmaticleaders.io