I have published the following materials to help product managers working at all levels to get better at what we do, and to learn and develop:
- things you need to learn how to ‘do’ to become a successful Product Manager – guidance on this topic is published in this repository!
- things you need to learn how to ‘do’ to become a successful Product Leader - guidance on this topic is published in another repository [Product-Leadership-Skills] (https://github.com/alphagov/Product-Leadership-skills)
Product Managers are responsible for the quality of their products, and they use their knowledge of user needs and business goals to frame problems and set priorities for their delivery teams.
The Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) Capability Framework describes the role and skills you need to be a Product Manager, across 5 role levels; Associate Product Manager, Product Manager, Senior Product Manager, Lead Product Manager, Head of Product. [DDaT Capability Framework] (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/digital-data-and-technology-profession-capability-framework#product-and-delivery:-product-manager)
No one in the wider Product Management industry seems to have figured out exactly what people who are new to Product Management need to ‘do’, in order to learn and develop.
Things you need to ‘do’ to become a successful Product Manager (applies to the Associate Product Manager and Product Manager role levels)
So we've had a go at defining version one of this list of; things you need to ‘do’ to learn the Product Management craft, and develop into a successful Product Manager.
Based on the role description and skills described in the [Digital, Data and Technology Capability Framework] (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/digital-data-and-technology-profession-capability-framework), this list of activities and experiences helps people who are building their Product Management skills to take greater ownership over their personal development, and gives practical examples of the things we expect a successful Product Manager to be able to do.
This list of activities and experiences is not intended to be prescriptive, or a test of ability.
It is intended to be a guiding framework to support people who are building their Product Management skills become the best [#ProductPeople] (https://twitter.com/hashtag/productpeople) that they can be, and deliver the most valuable outcomes for their users.
Disclaimer - some of the suggested activities and experiences in this list overlap, or could apply to several skills (e.g. some of the Product ownership and Strategic ownership activities are very similar).
| Skill | Activities and experiences (You have...) |
|---|---|
| Agile Working | Learnt about common agile methodologies and techniques, and can describe how different methods are suited and can be applied in different circumstances |
| Agile Working | Defined the scope of an MVP |
| Agile Working | Set a sprint goal |
| Agile Working | Run a sprint review or show & tell or product demo |
| Agile Working | Worked in a cross-functional team |
| Agile Working | Switched product delivery teams |
| Lifecyle perspective | Supported or worked on a product moving between lifecycle phases (e.g. Alpha to Beta) |
| Lifecyle perspective | Supported the implementation of a full change, from idea to release, to outcome |
| Lifecyle perspective | Observed or supported pivoting a product (e.g. changing strategy to achieve the same vision) |
| Operational management | Worked on a live service in public beta |
| Operational management | Defined, updated or improved an operational process |
| Operational management | Worked-in or shadowed an operational support role |
| Operational management | Supported or managed an incident through to resolution |
| Operational management | Supported or managed a release to a deadline |
| Operational management | Understood non-functional requirements (NFRs) |
| Operational management | Dealt with a performance issue |
| Problem ownership | Analysed a problem to create an insight that can be acted upon |
| Problem ownership | Negotiated across teams to reach a positive outcome for my product or service |
| Product ownership | Written user stories |
| Product ownership | Refined user stories with my team |
| Product ownership | Defined acceptance criteria and judged them being met |
| Product ownership | Owned, managed and prioritised a backlog of activities which contribute to a product roadmap |
| Product ownership | Communicated and reviewed a product roadmap with stakeholders |
| Product ownership | Set product or service performance goals (e.g. Objectives and Key Results) |
| Product ownership | Monitored and managed product performance to meet performance goals (e.g. Objectives and Key Results) |
| Product ownership | Failed, and learnt from this |
| Strategic ownership | Conducted competitor analysis or market scanning, and created actions or recommendations |
| Strategic ownership | Defined a product or service vision |
| Strategic ownership | Described how a product or service vision contributes to the wider business goals |
| Strategic ownership | Created or updated a product strategy, including a value proposition (e.g. business model canvas) |
| Strategic ownership | Created or updated a product roadmap, including outcomes and performance goals |
| Strategic ownership | Identified and analysed stakeholders |
| Strategic ownership | Created and communicated stakeholder comms |
| Strategic ownership | Represented or evangelised for my product or service outside of my department or organisation |
| User focus | Created a user research plan, with a user researcher |
| User focus | Observed or supported a round of user research, and the subsequent analysis |
| User focus | Defined a user need(s) |
| User focus | Observed or supported an ideation session |
| User focus | Worked on a product discovery, and communicated key outputs to stakeholders (e.g. personas, user needs, experience maps, user journeys) |
| User focus | Observed or supported the creation of a service design |
| User focus | Observed or supported the creation of a user experience or interaction design |
| User focus | Incorporated a validated piece of feedback or insight into a product roadmap and backlog |
| User focus | Worked-in or shadowed a user support role |
| Digital perspective | Contributed to the wider product management community (e.g in their department or organisation or cross-government or industry) |
| Digital perspective | Shadowed other digital roles |
| Digital perspective | Supported recruitment of a digital role |
| Digital perspective | Understood the key technical architecture components of my product or service (e.g. the stack) and can describe their key features |
| Digital perspective | Considered the assisted digital needs for my product or service |
| Digital perspective | Assessed the barriers to use of my product or service and considered ways to increase inclusion |
| DDigital perspective | Understood the web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) and the implications of how these are typically applied to digital products and services |
| Financial ownership | Supported or managed the creation of a business case for a product or service including revenue sources, cost factors and financial forecasting |
| Financial ownership | Up-skilled in a new product domain, and am able to describe the features of the market, the key competitors, the needs of the users, value & benefits, and key constraints |
| Understanding constraints | Observed or supported a service standards assessment |
| Understanding constraints | Described and understood the implications of the key constraints for my product or service (e.g. financial, legislative, political, resource etc) |
| Skill | Skill description |
|---|---|
| Agile Working | A product Manager is able to identify and compare the best processes or delivery methods to use, including measuring and evaluating outcomes. They help the team to decide the best approach, manage and visualise outcomes, prioritise work, and work to agreed minimum viable product (MVP) scope. |
| Lifecyle perspective | A Product Manager recognises when to move from one stage of a product lifecycle to another. They Ensure that the team is working towards the appropriate service standards for the relevant phase. They are able to manage the delivery of products or services at different phases. |
| Operational management | A Product Manager is able to design operational processes for the running and maintenance of products or services throughout its life-cycle. They are able to redesign operational processes, amend existing processes, and plan and operationalise the stages of a new product or service development. They are the escalation point for operational issues, can fix complex operational issues, and can overcome operational constraints to deliver a successful product or service. |
| Problem ownership | A Product Manager ensures that the right actions are taken to investigate, resolve and anticipate problems. They co-ordinate the team to investigate problems, and implement solutions and preventative measures. |
| Product ownership | A Product Manager is experienced in applying tools, terms and concepts in a variety of ways. They are flexible, consider new ways of working, and adapt to change. |
| Strategic ownership | A Product Manager is able to get buy-in from the organisation. They are able to work with scant information and to articulate that in abstract terms, and develop a strategy. |
| User focus | A Product Manager is able to collaborate with user researchers and can sell or represent users internally. They understand the difference between user needs and desires of the user. They champion user research to focus on the totality of all users. They can prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so. They can offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to be used. |
| Digital perspective | A Product Manager is able to demonstrate a working understanding of design, technology and data principles. They understand the variety and complexity of users’ digital needs and how the product will meet those needs. They understand the importance of assisted digital, and can design services and make decisions to meet users needs. |
| Financial ownership | A Product Manager understands the market place, realising the benefit and persuading others that a product is the right one to use. They are able to integrate a product with other services, and are capable of planning and driving the adoption of their products. They are able to realise benefits by linking work in progress back to the business case, and can build business cases based on user need. |
| Understanding constraints | A Product Manager can identify and understand constraints, and is able to communicate these and work within them. They are able to challenge the validity of constraints, and ensure standards are being met. |
The content in this repository is covered by the [Open Government License] (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).