The document provides information on product management roles and responsibilities. It discusses conducting competitive analysis, gathering requirements, designing user interfaces, managing multiple projects, overseeing product metrics, and establishing products as market leaders. It also outlines skills like holistic design thinking, ship-or-die accountability, specification writing, collaboration, and knowledge of customer needs. Finally, it presents a job description focusing on guiding products through execution, analyzing and positioning solutions, and bridling technical and business aspects of product development.

1. Stuart W. Volkow
Instructor
UCLA Extension and The Office of Custom Programs
svolkow@ucla.edu
Strategist
www.VentureDNA.com
Startup Advisory
svolkow@VentureDNA.com
Director of Technology and Digital Strategy
www.BodhiTree.com
Bodhi Tree House LLC
stuart@bodhitree.com

2. http://smnewtech.com
Silicon Beach Startup 101, August 2015

3. Stuart Wayne Volkow, Copyright 2007
3

4. It’s not the strongest of a species to
survive, nor the most intelligent, but
the ones most responsive to change.
Charles Darwin

5. Case Study
• 2 months late to market
• Inadequate research
• Burn rate too fast
• Flawed review and approval cycles
• Not Agile enough
• Testing and Launch tied together

6. “THE Nature of the performance becomes a necessity.”

9. Sprints, scrums, fast
failure, people not
things or process
A product has a life
that lasts beyond any
individual project.
A temporary endeavor
undertaken to create a unique
product, service or result.

13. • Approaches
• Voice of The Customer
• Outcome Driven
Innovation
• Workflow Analysis
• Inputs
• Interviews
• Bplans and Strategy
• Metrics, metrics,
metrics
• Requirements

14. Requirements: Remember Scope and Scale

16. 1.Strategy
2.Business Case
3.Roadmap
4.Requirements
5.Plan
6.Analysis
7.Design
8.Build
9.Test
10.Deploy
11.Operate
12.Retire
Product Lifecycle

17. Skills
•Holistic Design Thinking
•Leadership (software is a team sport)
•Ship-or-die: Accountability
•A “mini” CEO?
•Spec Writing
•Tenacity
•Collaboration
•Product over people
•Knowledge of the needs

18. • Responsible for managing and developing a growing product
portfolio.
• Work with management team to determine strategic
positioning and product roadmap
• Conduct competitive analysis and gather business
requirements
• Develop UI and technical design
• Develop use case scenarios and test plans
• Manage multiple projects to deliver enhanced features to the
product line
• Oversee product metrics and performance
• Develop product vision and features that will differentiate the
product
• from its competitors
• Evangelize product and establish it as a market leader in its
space

19. • Work closely with the VP of Product to spec and deliver products across the
Nativo portfolio
• Stay current on relevant technological developments, trends, and competitive
landscape
• Produce user flows, wireframes, specifications, and prototypes
• Contribute to the creation of product pitches and business plans that identify
market opportunities
• Collaborate with cross-departmental stakeholders to ensure the company’s
various functions are aligned with product strategy
• Design, develop, and maintain documentation for innovative products and
services
• Develop a clear understanding of products and services and translate them into
clearly documented guides
• Develop product guides and communication protocols
• Work with VP of Product to ensure product roadmap deadlines are understood
and met
• Suggest and implement improvements based on user metrics, data analysis
and customer feedback

20. Tools, Form, and
Function

21. Basecamp

22. Teamwork

23. Smartsheet

24. DaPulse

25. www.aha.io

27. What Would Google Do? Product Dev Fishbone
https://youtu.be/D5M4LGmR_8w?t=1m11s

28. With eyes focused squarely on the future, our team works closely with
creative and prolific engineers to help design and develop technologies that
improve access to the world's information. We're responsible for guiding
products throughout the execution cycle, focusing specifically on analyzing,
positioning, packaging, promoting and tailoring our solutions to all the
markets where Google does business.
At Google, we put our users first. From innovative software products like
Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, StreetView to mobile devices like the Android, we
build products that organize the world's information and make it universally
accessible to our users. Google products are the lifeblood of who we are.
The Product Management team works closely with our engineers to
guide products from conception to launch, and with our business
partners to generate profitable revenue streams.
As part of the Product Management team, you bridge technical and
business worlds as you design technologies with creative and prolific
engineers and then zoom out to lead matrix teams such as Sales,
Marketing and Finance, to name a few. You have a bias for action and can
break down complex problems into steps that drive product development at
Google speed. As a Product Manager, you can be part of shaping Google’s
next game-changer.

29. Product Managers at Google
https://youtu.be/or_dtJmgP-0