The New Product Manager

A good start is half the success. and how do you ensure this at you new job? It's a serious challenge for product managers who are moving into a new job. The challenge becomes more stiff if you are moving into a newer domain, and are going to work with whole new set of professionals you never worked with.

From my experience I have coined down first few steps that a product manger should take as soon as he gets onto a new job. My fair assumption is that you would have learned and read enough about the domain in which you are going to operate, however knowing things from outside may not be as clear and absolute as you get to see when you get into the system.

Learning Steps

What Product Managers are Expected to do!!

"A picture is worth a thousand words". So irrespective what role you do within product management, be it 'Technical Product Manager', 'Software Product Manager', 'Product Owner', 'LOB Owner' etc. the picture below describes organizations expectation form the person who is supposed to be the captain of their (product) ship.

Read Collecting Requirements for better understanding on 'Designing your Radar' 

Related blog posts on expectations from Product Manager: 

1. Product Mantra: When did I last meet my customer
2. 5iees: Requirement gathering to Feature implementation

@mathurabhay

Ensuring Success: Top 10 Priorities of Product Manager

Managing opportunities is top most priority of a Product Manager, and a professional who does this religiously wins success. While there are many aspects of taking care of opportunity, I suggest following 10 as most important pieces that will ensure a complete picture of success. Having continuous focus on these 10 points is a must for any product manager who wish to get branded as success manager.

1. Problem to address / solve (why customers need you)
2. Habit to nurture (get customer used to you)
3. Customers to win (your bread and butter)
4. Technology to bank on (your weapon)
5. Team to trust (your confidence)
6. Regulation that guide (cop that guides you)
7. Competition to beat (your source of improvement)
8. Positioning to lead (your deadly move)
9. ROI for investors (your dharma / religion)
10. Feedback to improve (for you - must)

While all that I have mentioned above is not directly owned by a Product Manager, but if you are a success manager you would not like to let any of these go lose. Own or co-own, a success manager will always have above mentioned 10 points in his to-do list.