foundation level information on what a Product manager should be doing, the pitfalls in their career, and the ways for managers to get back on the path of success.

1. BECOME THE PRODUCT MANAGER YOU
ALWAYS THOUGHT YOU COULD BE
ProductCamp 16
Ray R Hernandez

2. Sponsors
Advocates
In Kind
Supporters

3. Overview
• How PM is supposed to work, at least in theory
• And how it really works today…The magic triangle
• What skills do you really need
• Downhill from day one (role definitions)
• Companies vs. startup
• Okay, how do you fix this?

4. What is Product Management?

5. Ideal match of skills
Solid PM
Role
Definition
Product-centric
company structure

6. What every Prod Mgr. needs to know...
Market
Who is the buyer?
Who is the main user?
What is their journey?
How big is the opportunity?
What are the barriers of entry?
Product
What are the features and
benefits?
Strengths and weaknesses?
How does it compete against
others?
Business
Who is the competition?
How will you charge?
What is the 2-3 year plan?
Is adoption or profitability
more important?
How are you funded?
Tools and Frameworks
Business Canvas, Lean, Business Model, SWOT analysis…

7. Jack of all trades, master of one!

10. RESPONSIBILITIES
• Work with business partners to understand prioritization, so you can own and manage the
product roadmap
• Gather requirements for business problems to be solved, which includes discovery
documentation, business process diagrams, user story requirements
• Manage product lifecycle of an initiative, which is focused on the requirements gathering
process, iteration planning, and UAT support
• Focus on asking ‘why’ to ensure we are providing solutions that meet the customer's need.
• Challenge the norm if it results in a better way of operating
REQUIREMENTS
• Experience with Enterprise Systems
• Expert experience in requirements gathering, including GAP analysis
• Very strong listening skills
• Experience in an Agile environment, with focus on user story creation, backlog management,
and roadmap planning
• Experience working with other product managers, developers, QA, business owners, and
upper management
• Experience working with users during the UAT phase
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
• You are experienced and happy in a fast moving, continuous flow environment.
1

11. Primary Responsibilities
• You will research, investigate, communicate, champion, evangelize, and be the
primary market expert in all relevant products and solutions;
• You will define and manage assigned products and features within Education
Partners’ portfolio;
• You will conduct and facilitate market analysis and strategic product planning;
• You will define a forward-looking portfolio and product roadmap based on both
strategic and tactical needs;
• You will clearly communicate and participate in the refinement of feature
requirements to assigned Business Analysts and the Engineering teams;
• You will develop Epics, User Stories, Features, and Benefits, and supporting
materials to guide the design, development, and implementation of product
features and enhancements;
• You will support Agile/Scrum development and release processes to deliver
products to the market on time and within scope;
• You will work with our software Quality Assurance, Release, and Knowledge
Management teams to deliver high quality, high value, low risk documented
solutions, features, specifications;
• You will define and track key metrics for product feature adoption, usage, and
success
2

12. Responsibilities:
• Own the growth of the product line
• Know your customers, the problems they face, and how they find solutions.
• Deliver engaging and differentiated messages to drive awareness and high volume
demand.
• Drive your products’ success by leading a small team and collaborating with
product marketing, demand generation, and sales to execute integrated go-to-
market strategies.
• Increase team productivity while improving results by streamlining product
marketing processes that are in alignment with the company’s go-to-market model
• Conduct regular market, customer and competitive research to improve go-to-
market strategies, messaging, positioning, and execution.
• Be a product evangelist with prospects, analysts, press, customers, partners, and
employees
3

13. Job Duties
• Determine and evaluate new opportunities to increase revenues and profits.
• Drive discovery from both a qualitative and quantitative context to build solid, data driven,
business plans and strategies.
• Manage appropriate ROI and related financial analysis of products. Identify product
enhancements to balance a favorable return on investment with customer needs.
• Manage the coordination and analysis of market research to understand customer behavior,
product satisfaction, and emerging business opportunities.
• Define product strategy and product roadmaps with clear objectives and long-term vision.
Ensure delivery of innovation and customer value through product development process.
Determine clear prioritization and appropriate trade-offs regarding implementation issues
based upon understanding constraints, dependencies, costs, resources and customer
benefits
• Define value positioning for products to assist other areas of the organization in product
marketing and positioning.
• Work with prospects, customers and partners to define product requirements and
functionality. Engage in customer-facing activities such as customer conferences, customer
visits and tradeshows.
• Team with product development to orchestrate the development and release process.
Suggest and drive partnerships for products. Collaborate with various departments to ensure
product delivery and quality goals are achieved and maintained.
• Achieve revenue goals.

14. Responsibilities:
• Own the growth of the product line
• Know your customers, the problems they face, and how
they find solutions.
• Deliver engaging and differentiated messages to drive
awareness and high volume demand.
• Drive your products’ success by leading a small team
and collaborating with product marketing, demand
generation, and sales to execute integrated go-to-market
strategies.
• Increase team productivity while improving results by
streamlining product marketing processes that are in
alignment with the company’s go-to-market model
• Conduct regular market, customer and competitive
research to improve go-to-market strategies, messaging,
positioning, and execution.
• Be a product evangelist with prospects, analysts, press,
customers, partners, and employees
Primary Responsibilities
• You will research, investigate, communicate,
champion, evangelize, and be the primary market
expert in all relevant products and solutions;
• You will define and manage assigned products and
features within Education Partners’ portfolio;
• You will conduct and facilitate market analysis and
strategic product planning;
• You will define a forward-looking portfolio and product
roadmap based on both strategic and tactical needs;
• You will clearly communicate and participate in the
refinement of feature requirements to assigned
Business Analysts and the Engineering teams;
• You will develop Epics, User Stories, Features, and
Benefits, and supporting materials to guide the
design, development, and implementation of product
features and enhancements;
• You will support Agile/Scrum development and
release processes to deliver products to the market on
time and within scope;
• You will work with our software Quality Assurance,
Release, and Knowledge Management teams to
deliver high quality, high value, low risk documented
solutions, features, specifications;
• You will define and track key metrics for product
feature adoption, usage, and success;
Job Duties
• Determine and evaluate new opportunities to
increase revenues and profits.
• Drive discovery from both a qualitative and
quantitative context to build solid, data driven,
business plans and strategies.
• Manage appropriate ROI and related financial
analysis of products. Identify product
enhancements to balance a favorable return
on investment with customer needs.
• Manage the coordination and analysis of
market research to understand customer
behavior, product satisfaction, and emerging
business opportunities.
• Define product strategy and product
roadmaps with clear objectives and long-term
vision. Ensure delivery of innovation and
customer value through product development
process. Determine clear prioritization and
appropriate trade-offs regarding
implementation issues based upon
understanding constraints, dependencies,
costs, resources and customer benefits
• Define value positioning for products to assist
other areas of the organization in product
marketing and positioning.
• Work with prospects, customers and partners
to define product requirements and
functionality. Engage in customer-facing
activities such as customer conferences,
customer visits and tradeshows.
• Team with product development to
orchestrate the development and release
process. Suggest and drive partnerships for
products. Collaborate with various
departments to ensure product delivery and
quality goals are achieved and maintained.
• Achieve revenue goals.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Work with business partners to understand
prioritization, so you can own and manage the
product roadmap
• Gather requirements for business problems to be
solved, which includes discovery documentation,
business process diagrams, user story
requirements
• Manage product lifecycle of an initiative, which is
focused on the requirements gathering process,
iteration planning, and UAT support
• Focus on asking ‘why’ to ensure we are providing
solutions that meet the customer's need.
• Challenge the norm if it results in a better way of
operating
REQUIREMENTS
• Experience with Enterprise Systems
• Expert experience in requirements gathering,
including GAP analysis
• Very strong listening skills
• Experience in an Agile environment, with focus on
user story creation, backlog management, and
roadmap planning
• Experience working with other product managers,
developers, QA, business owners, and upper
management
• Experience working with users during the UAT
phase
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and
written
• You are experienced and happy in a fast moving,
continuous flow environment.
1 2
3

15. Responsibilities:
• Own the growth of the product line
• Know your customers, the problems they face, and how
they find solutions.
• Deliver engaging and differentiated messages to drive
awareness and high volume demand.
• Drive your products’ success by leading a small team
and collaborating with product marketing, demand
generation, and sales to execute integrated go-to-market
strategies.
• Increase team productivity while improving results by
streamlining product marketing processes that are in
alignment with the company’s go-to-market model
• Conduct regular market, customer and competitive
research to improve go-to-market strategies, messaging,
positioning, and execution.
• Be a product evangelist with prospects, analysts, press,
customers, partners, and employees
Primary Responsibilities
• You will research, investigate, communicate,
champion, evangelize, and be the primary market
expert in all relevant products and solutions;
• You will define and manage assigned products and
features within Education Partners’ portfolio;
• You will conduct and facilitate market analysis and
strategic product planning;
• You will define a forward-looking portfolio and product
roadmap based on both strategic and tactical needs;
• You will clearly communicate and participate in the
refinement of feature requirements to assigned
Business Analysts and the Engineering teams;
• You will develop Epics, User Stories, Features, and
Benefits, and supporting materials to guide the
design, development, and implementation of product
features and enhancements;
• You will support Agile/Scrum development and
release processes to deliver products to the market on
time and within scope;
• You will work with our software Quality Assurance,
Release, and Knowledge Management teams to
deliver high quality, high value, low risk documented
solutions, features, specifications;
• You will define and track key metrics for product
feature adoption, usage, and success;
Job Duties
• Determine and evaluate new opportunities to
increase revenues and profits.
• Drive discovery from both a qualitative and
quantitative context to build solid, data driven,
business plans and strategies.
• Manage appropriate ROI and related financial
analysis of products. Identify product
enhancements to balance a favorable return
on investment with customer needs.
• Manage the coordination and analysis of
market research to understand customer
behavior, product satisfaction, and emerging
business opportunities.
• Define product strategy and product
roadmaps with clear objectives and long-term
vision. Ensure delivery of innovation and
customer value through product development
process. Determine clear prioritization and
appropriate trade-offs regarding
implementation issues based upon
understanding constraints, dependencies,
costs, resources and customer benefits
• Define value positioning for products to assist
other areas of the organization in product
marketing and positioning.
• Work with prospects, customers and partners
to define product requirements and
functionality. Engage in customer-facing
activities such as customer conferences,
customer visits and tradeshows.
• Team with product development to
orchestrate the development and release
process. Suggest and drive partnerships for
products. Collaborate with various
departments to ensure product delivery and
quality goals are achieved and maintained.
• Achieve revenue goals.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Work with business partners to understand
prioritization, so you can own and manage the
product roadmap
• Gather requirements for business problems to be
solved, which includes discovery documentation,
business process diagrams, user story
requirements
• Manage product lifecycle of an initiative, which is
focused on the requirements gathering process,
iteration planning, and UAT support
• Focus on asking ‘why’ to ensure we are providing
solutions that meet the customer's need.
• Challenge the norm if it results in a better way of
operating
REQUIREMENTS
• Experience with Enterprise Systems
• Expert experience in requirements gathering,
including GAP analysis
• Very strong listening skills
• Experience in an Agile environment, with focus on
user story creation, backlog management, and
roadmap planning
• Experience working with other product managers,
developers, QA, business owners, and upper
management
• Experience working with users during the UAT
phase
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and
written
• You are experienced and happy in a fast moving,
continuous flow environment.

17. Role Teams Skills Environment
Large
Companies
• One of many PMs
• Dedicated to a piece of
one specific product.
• Responsible for
increasing dedicated
KPIs, writing specs, and
managing all stakeholders
• Not much autonomy on
product strategy
• All resources on your
team - designers,
developers, project
manager, marketing
• Usually 6-10 developers
per product. Developers
typically have a manager
or leader.
• Communication
skills very
important
• Technical skills
desired
• Product strategy
• Design skills not
as important
• Very structured
environment
• Little interaction with
upper management,
most directives handed
down
• Routine and patterns
• May see “internal”
products
Mid-Sized
Companies
• One of a few PMs
• Responsible for
increasing dedicated
KPIs, writing specs, and
managing all stakeholders
• Not all work is consumer
focused, could be
technical focused.
• Most resources on your
team depending on your
strengths.
• Usually 4-5 developers
per product.
• You will managed by VP
of Product.
• Developers typically have
a manager or leader.
• Technical skills
desired
• Knowledge of Agile
• Project management
• May be more design
focused or tech
focused.
• Not as structured as
corporate, but more
direction than a startup.
• More interaction between
levels of department,
working mostly with VP
of Product and other
PMs
• Carefully planned
Product Roadmaps
Small
Companies
• Only PM or one of few
• Will own product
• Jack of all trades
• Wireframing,
communicating with
stakeholders, managing
developers
• The teams may be
sparse, usually only a few
developers working on
many different things
• You will have to work with
other PMs to prioritize
design & development
resources
• A lot of managing of day
to day development
activities
• You may be the only
designer besides a
graphic designer
• Prioritization skills
• Technical skills very
desired
• Product strategy and
direction crucial -
you will have a lot of
influence
• Wireframing skills
and good design
sense
• Needs to be able to
work quickly and
efficiently
• Unstructured
environment, focused on
selling anything quickly
• Will probably work
closely with the CEO
• Chances to try new
things and implement
your own ideas
• Lots of autonomy
• Direction changes
quickly (Chase bright,
shiny objects)
Courtesy: General Assembly

18. Beware of what you ask for in a company
Company Employees
Responsibility
Sanity

19. Find out about the company org chart
Is there a head of product? (beware of “CEO” answer)
Who makes product approvals? (beware of “everyone” answer)
How many other product managers are there?

20. ROLES WITHIN PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

21. Learn about the companies (do research)
Reading job descriptions is not enough:
• Learn how the company is organized
• Learn who their leaders are and their backgrounds
• How big is the company?
• How new is the company?
• How profitable is the company?
• Who does current PM report to…Product, Marketing,
Development?
Most of this info can be found on: LinkedIn, SEC Filings,
Crunchbase, Bloomberg, Google Finance, WSJ

22. “You will have executive exposure…”

23. Skills that you need but no one asks…
• How to break up fights
• How to keep people focused
• How to tell someone “yes” when you are really telling
them “no”
• How to figure out the real decision makers in the company
• How to keep everyone organized
• How to be proactive
• How to work with someone you do not like

24. Sponsors
Advocates
In Kind
Supporters

25. Thank you!
Ray R Hernandez
hernandez.ray.r@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayrhernandez
@mobilitysoup