PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

101
Colleen Graneto
Portfolio Manager, Airbnb
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleengraneto
INTRODUCTIONS

Who is a current product manager?

Who is interviewing for a product manager role?
Who is originally from the Bay Area?
Who is currently in a marketing, sales, or design role?
Who has attended a class or workshop at GA before?
Who is currently in a project manager role?
Who is currently in professional services or consulting?
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 101

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Describe the Product Management job landscape and learning
opportunities for product management skills.
Describe the role of product management and the main
responsibilities of a Product Manager.
Craft problem statements and hypotheses for a product or feature
idea.
Identify key risks and assumptions.

Design a basic MVP to validate key assumptions.

UPCOMING CLASSES AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY

https://generalassemb.ly/education?format=courses&where=san-francisco&topic=2

Upcoming Courses:
Feb 25th (Saturdays)
Feb 27th, March 13 (Full Week)
March 21 (10 Week Course)
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

WHAT IS A PRODUCT?
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

A PRODUCT IS A
SOLUTION TO A
PROBLEM SHARED BY
MANY PEOPLE/
COMPANIES.
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

WHAT IS PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT?
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

WHAT IS A PRODUCT
MANAGER?
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

A PRODUCT MANAGER IS A PRODUCT MANAGER IS NOT

The mini CEO A project manager

Big picture thinker A developer
Technical A gopher
Expert on market Customer support
Voice of customers Scapegoat
The boss
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY?

Dev Team Standups (daily) to review progress on features in development
Acceptance Testing new features in staging / test environments
Meeting with stakeholders to review requirements for new features / tools
Writing specs / user stories to capture requirements
Meeting with UX Designer / Dev Team to clarify any questions on requirements,
priority, or strategy
Managing Product Roadmaps (longer term strategy), prioritizing and working in
new features, industry landscaping, presenting to internal / external
stakeholders
Meeting with CEO, CMO, Head of Product to review KPIs / analytics on in-flight
initiatives
Understand support issues that are coming up / contact users for further
questions
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE TECHNICAL

TO BE A PRODUCT MANAGER
(but it doesnt hurt)
PROBLEMS STATEMENTS

PROBLEM STATEMENTS
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

PRODUCTS EXIST TO SOLVE

PROBLEMS
PROBLEM STATEMENTS

Solves the problem of easily storing

and sharing files in the cloud.

Solves the problem of legally

streaming music.

Solves the problem of accepting

electronic payments anywhere.
PROBLEM STATEMENTS

WHAT PROBLEMS DID UBER

SOLVE FOR CUSTOMERS?
ACTIVITY: 99 PROBLEMS
DIRECTIONS (20 MINUTES)
1. As a group, brainstorm all of the different problems customers face
when trying to ride in a taxi. Aim for 10-15 different problems.

2. For each problem, give it a Pain score of 1-10 ( 10 = super painful!!)

based on how difficult you think this problem is for users when they
EXERCISE
experience it.

3. For each problem, give it a Prevalence score from 0-100% based on

how frequently you believe this problem is experienced.

4. Multiply the Pain and Prevalence scores and rank from highest to
lowest.

DELIVERABLE

A prioritized list of problem statements.

HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

HYPOTHESES, RISKS,
AND ASSUMPTIONS
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

Hypothesis: A supposition or
proposed explanation made on
the basis of limited evidence as
a starting point for further
investigation.

If
Then
Because
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

If we create an intuitive interface then users will

move their storage online

If we give consumers a legal option to stream at

a low price, they will sign up for subscriptions

If we allow any merchant to accept payments,

then we will be able to acquire merchants at a low
cost
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

LETS WRITE HYPOTHESES FOR

THE 3 TOP-RANKED TAXI
PROBLEMS
If
Then
Because
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

Assumption
Supposed information about our users or market that support our
hypothesis.

Risk
Key factors that may prevent our product from being successful.
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

Problem: Many taxis do not

accept electronic payments.

Assumption: If a user isnt

carrying cash, they are unlikely to
take a taxi
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

Problem: Many taxis do not

accept electronic payments.

Hypothesis: If we remove cash

from the experience and only use
electronic payments, consumers
will drive and take public transit
less often.

Risk: Drivers may be unwilling to

not accept cash
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

WHAT ARE OUR RISKIEST

HYPOTHESES?
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS
High Risk

Unknown Understood

Low Risk
ACTIVITY: 99 PROBLEMS
DIRECTIONS (20 MINUTES)

1. For your three taxi related hypotheses, write

down at least 3 assumptions and 3 potential
risks.

2. Plot your hypotheses on the chart based on

EXERCISE their assumption and risk level.

DELIVERABLE
An understanding of risk for each hypothesis you are considering.
HYPOTHESES, RISKS, AND ASSUMPTIONS

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE

RISKIEST HYPOTHESIS IS?
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

MINIMUM VIABLE
PRODUCT (MVP)
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

SMALLEST POSSIBLE PRODUCT THAT HAS THREE CRITICAL

CHARACTERISTICS: PEOPLE CHOOSE TO USE IT OR BUY IT; PEOPLE CAN
FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE IT; AND WE CAN DELIVER IT WHEN WE NEED IT
WITH THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE ALSO KNOWN AS VALUABLE,
USABLE AND FEASIBLE.
- MARTY CAGAN
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

MVP
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

Riskiest Assumption:
Businesses will sign-up and accept payments.

MVP Features:
Basic signup page, credit card dongle (hardware), basic mobile
application to accept payment.

Excluded Features:
Analytics, Email Receipts, Inventory Management, Debit Acceptance.
ACTIVITY: NOW OR LATER
DIRECTIONS (15 MINS)
1. Suppose you are building the MVP
for your taxi app.
2. Youve identified two main
problems to solve: calling a
dispatch is unreliable and many
taxis do not accept electronic
EXERCISE payments
3. Review the list of features and
classify each one as Now,
meaning they will be part of the
MVP, or Later.
DELIVERABLE
Understanding of MVP prioritization
A user can call a ride to their specific address.
Time estimate until the ride arrives.
GPS for Drivers.
Geolocation for the user.
Pay automatically with saved credit card.
Select your car type (Taxi vs Black Car vs
Hybrid)
Split your fare with friends.
Email receipt to user.
Rate driver
Rate passenger
Carpooling options.
Send ETA to a contact.
Send referral codes to a friend
Track mileage for drivers.
Pay with bitcoin.
Lost and Found Requests
Text your driver
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

STORYBOARDS
 STORYBOARDING

A PANEL OR SERIES OF PANELS OF ROUGH SKETCHES OUTLINING THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS THAT A
CUSTOMER WILL EXPERIENCE WHILE USING YOUR PRODUCT DURING A SPECIFIC ACTIVITY.
STORYBOARDING

WHY STORYBOARD?

GIVE CONTEXT AND

EXPLORE COMPLEX
INTERACTIONS
STORYBOARDING

STORYBOARD TIPS:
Focus on the happy path
Have a clear goal for the user
Do not worry about colors, branding, and specific
copy or images.
Start simple and lo-fidelity, add more detail as
required.
ACTIVITY: STORYBOARD YOUR MVP
DIRECTIONS (20 MINS)

1. Using the features from our taxi MVP, draw a

storyboard that show how a user interacts with
each feature to complete the process of booking
and taking a ride.

2. Tape your storyboard on the whiteboard when you

EXERCISE are finished.

3. After 15 minutes, well look at all of the different

storyboards and pick a few to discuss.

DELIVERABLE
Storyboard for the MVP
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 101

Q&A
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Business Model Canvas: http://nextjuggernaut.com/blog/how-uber-works-
business-model-revenue-uber-insights/
Marty Cagan - Silicon Valley Product Group: http://svpg.com/
Rich Mironov: http://www.mironov.com/
Silicon Valley Product Mgmt Association: http://svpma.org/
Medium - Learn by Shipping: https://medium.learningbyshipping.com/
Medium - Product Management: https://medium.com/tag/product-management
Google Ventures Design Sprint: http://www.gv.com/sprint/
Intercom on Product Management: https://www.intercom.com/books/product-
management
Recommended Books: https://www.kennorton.com/essays/books-for-product-
managers.html
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 101

EXIT TICKETS
DONT FORGET TO FILL OUT YOUR EXIT TICKET