Product Management For Dummies

Written by two authors who are passionate about product management.Passion is a must for great product management. Great products come from product managers who are passionate about their work, their marketplace, and their products. So do great books about product management. Reading this book, it’s clear that Brian Lawley and Pamela Shure are both passionate about product management and about sharing their philosophy and best practices with everyone who aspires to do great product management.The Introduction is the first sign of their passion. The very opening sentence is, “Product Management is a critical strategic driver in a company.” In other words, it’s not just compiling lists of random feature requests from customers or writing a data sheet and a blog post. As they continue, “It’s the only role in a company that grasps all aspects of the business, including customers, the market, competition, trends, strategy, business models, and more.” I couldn’t have said it better if I tried. And I agree 100%. It’s an exciting, expansive, strategic view of the job role.The Table of Contents is the next sign of their passion. It starts out with the job role. I really like Figure 1-1, in the first chapter, “Product Management, The Buck Stops Here” because it conveys the essence of the job: Only the product manager deals with so many different parts of the company, as well as outside groups, for his/her products. Also very important is Figure 1-2, “The Whole Product Offer.” The car repair example on the next page is a very real one for me personally.As much as Brian and Pamela are passionate, they aren’t starry-eyed idealists. Other reviews have commented on how this book addresses the key strategic concept and issues, such as the seven-phase Product Life Cycle model, so I won’t discuss those. This book isn’t just high-level principles. There is lots of hard-won experience about how things are done wrong. In Chapter 2, discussing the job role, they cite a survey that demonstrates that a majority of executives didn’t understand product management, followed by some sound advice to address the issue. Another key point is in their “manifesto,” which includes the advice that being a product manager involves a lot of trade-offs. Who said that being a product manager was easy? Also important in the same Chapter is the description of Product Marketing, with the comment that some companies expect one individual to do both product management and product marketing, with a recommended reading if you are in that situation.In Chapter 3, I really liked the “Isn’t Working breakout.” For me, this isn’t just an interesting read. It’s a great recitation of the many ways that a poor or broken process will sabotage success. And I have had first-hand experience with most of them, to my later chagrin.Another key point can be summed up by the sentence in the first chapter in Part 2. “The reality is that you aren’t Steve Jobs.” The message is to include your team for coming up with killer products. Management would be well-advised to truly understand this message.In Part 4 two great admonitions. First is, “Resist the temptation to cry wolf.” Find and read that paragraph. It’s an important practice to preserve your credibility with your engineering team. Second, “Don’t fall into the trap of wanting to get the product out at all costs.” And many more.There is an entire chapter about developing your product management leadership skills. Remember that product management is “all the responsibilities, but none of the authority” type of job. This chapter cover ideas and issues that you won’t find in the typical book about product management.If you are just starting out in product management, don’t just read this book and put it aside. Highlight it (or bookmark the e-book) and refer back to it often. If you are an experienced product manager, read this book for confirmation of the many ways that do already do excellent product management. Also, look for suggestions for how to solve the difficult problems, or to fill in the gaps in your knowledge. I’ve been doing product management for a long time, but I still learned something from the RACI vs. DACI discussion in Chapter 2 toI could go on and on with examples and quotes that demonstrate the value of this book. I wish I could have read it twenty years ago.Take my word for it, as one who has made the mistakes and has the scars to prove it, just go out and buy this book.

Product Management for Dummies is so much more than a beginner’s guide to Product Management. It is a comprehensive, well-written guide book, rich with advice and real world examples from industry leading companies. This book takes MBA level concepts and simplifies them into “dummies” terms.Product Management is a vast topic that encompasses the technical, leadership and managerial skill set required of a product manager, as well as the life cycle methodology through which the product manager drives the product. Is this book just for “dummies”? Absolutely not! This book is for EVERY Product Manager – a newbie or career veteran who manages a group of product managers.Product Management for Dummies is very well organized. It can be read from cover-to-cover or referenced by starting somewhere in the middle to answer a specific product management question. At every turn, there are tips and reminders. And, near the end, after learning so many best practices, there is a section on all the pitfalls, points of failure and traps a product manager can fall into on the way to becoming product janitor. What an excellent resource complete with a glossary of terms! I commend Brian Lawley and Pamela Schure for tackling this complex subject and writing this easy-to-understand guide.With purchase of this book, there is a huge bonus offer! I received a license to download the 280 Group Product Management Lifecycle Toolkit which is a collection of templates and tools for Product Managers to create documents needed in day-to-day product management duties. And, there is also a Cheat Sheet on dummies.com with answers to Product Management questions.This book, the cheat sheet, and the Product Management Lifecycle Toolkit provides everything that is needed to become a disciplined, level-headed product manager who manages successful products, builds business value, and leads by garnering the trust of others.

I like the way that it's so tangible with instructions and templates. It's structured along the product lifecycle, which makes sense to me. It could also have taken a more discipline focus - which I have seen in other frameworks. I might reread it while using the instructions directly on a new product that I am managing - it will likely uncover any gaps in the framework. The only bad thing I have to say about the book, is, that it makes a lot of references to courses and framework tools available (not for free) from the company owned by the authors.