15 Product Management Terms and Concepts Everyone In Tech Should Know

Summary

In this informative video, Akash, a seasoned product manager and Harvard MBA, introduces 15 key terms essential for product management. He covers concepts from defining product requirements with a PRD to utilizing A/B testing and understanding disruptive innovation. Akash also explains the significance of MVPs, product-market fit, and the importance of adapting through pivots. The goal is to equip viewers with the language and foundational knowledge to excel in product management, encouraging further learning through a dedicated playlist.

Takeaways

• 📝 The importance of a Product Requirements Document (PRD) as a collaborative tool to communicate product specifications and the 'why' behind the product.
• 📋 Acceptance Criteria as a subset of the PRD, defining the minimum requirements for product launch, crucial for developers and QA testers.
• 🔄 A/B Testing as a method to determine which product version performs better by subjecting users to variations in features or design.
• 🧾 The Backlog as a comprehensive list of planned products and features, serving as a central repository for ideas and ensuring nothing is overlooked.
• 💥 Disruptive Innovation as a framework by Professor Clayton Christensen, describing how new market entrants can disrupt existing markets with simpler, cheaper, and easier-to-use products.
• 🏷 Feature Flags as a technique to hide or reveal parts of the code to specific users, allowing for testing and feature control without deploying new code.
• 🛠 Jobs to be Done (JTBD) as a framework to understand customer needs, emphasizing that people hire products to solve specific problems in their lives.
• 🏁 MVP or Minimum Viable Product as the basic version of a product with just enough features to address a customer's pain point and gather feedback for further development.
• 🔗 Product-Market Fit (PMF) as the stage where a product fully meets the needs of its target audience, indicating readiness for scaled growth and a key factor for investment.
• 🗺 Roadmap as a prioritized plan outlining the product team's direction, including key initiatives for each quarter and year, aligning all stakeholders.
• 💔 Technical Debt as the cost of maintaining a product hastily developed, which if neglected can lead to significant issues and bugs in the future.
• 👥 User Stories as a customer-centric way to articulate product features within the PRD, helping to understand the purpose and goal of each feature.
• 🎨 UX or User Experience as the overall experience a user has with a product, focusing on ease of use, visual appeal, and intuitiveness, typically designed in collaboration with product managers.
• 📐 Wireframe as a simplified representation of the UX design, a low-fidelity sketch used for initial stakeholder feedback and storytelling.
• 🔄 Pivot as a strategic change in product direction based on new information or market trends, allowing for adaptation and alignment with customer demands.

Q & A

What is the purpose of a Product Requirements Document (PRD)?

A PRD is a document that defines the requirements and specifications for how a product should be built. It's written by the product manager in collaboration with engineers, designers, and other team members, serving as a key tool for communication with the development team, stakeholders, and others involved in the product development process.

Can you explain the role of acceptance criteria in product management?

Acceptance criteria are usually written in the PRD and define the minimum requirements that need to be met by the product for it to be launched. They are crucial for developers and QA testers as they specify what must be built into the product to ensure it meets the necessary standards for launch.

What is A/B testing and how is it used in product management?

A/B testing is a method of launching two versions of a product to determine which performs better. It involves showing small variations of a product to different subsets of users to see if a change improves the user experience. Successful variations are then rolled out to all customers and incorporated into the final product.

How does a product backlog differ from a PRD?

A product backlog is a comprehensive list of features and products that a team plans to work on. It serves as a repository for all ideas coming from various stakeholders and ensures that nothing is overlooked. Unlike a PRD, which is more detailed and specific, a backlog is a high-level overview of potential work items.

What is disruptive innovation and how does it relate to product management?

Disruptive innovation is a framework that describes how new products or services can disrupt existing markets. It involves introducing a product that meets the needs of a customer segment that is underserved by existing offerings. These products often start with lower performance but improve rapidly, eventually outperforming established products in the market.

What are feature flags and how do they benefit product development?

Feature flags are a mechanism that allows product managers and development teams to hide parts of the code while in public. They enable the control of which features are visible to which customers, facilitating the testing of new features and the mapping of features to different product versions or customer segments.

Can you describe the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework and its significance?

Jobs To Be Done is a framework that focuses on understanding the needs of customers when they purchase a product. According to this framework, people hire products to solve specific needs or problems in their lives. This perspective is a profound mindset shift that influences product design and development to better meet customer needs.

What is the significance of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in product management?

An MVP is a version of the product with the minimum features required to address a customer's pain point. Its purpose is to quickly gather customer feedback and determine what to continue building. MVPs are essential for startups and companies to avoid investing in full-fledged products that may not meet actual customer needs.

What does Product-Market Fit (PMF) mean and why is it important?

Product-Market Fit (PMF) is the point at which a product has been built to fully address the needs and requirements of its target audience. Achieving PMF is crucial for a product's success and is an ongoing process of iteration and testing. It is often a prerequisite for venture capital investment in startups.

What is a roadmap in the context of product management?

A roadmap is a prioritized backlog that outlines what a product team and product manager plan to work on. It provides a high-level plan of what is coming in the pipeline, covering key products and initiatives for each quarter and year. A roadmap helps align the entire team and ensures everyone is working towards the same goals.

What is technical debt and how can it impact a product?

Technical debt is the cost of maintaining and supporting a product over time, often due to shortcuts taken during development to quickly release a product. If left unaddressed, technical debt can lead to significant problems, as the underlying infrastructure may become unstable, causing many things to stop working and bugs to emerge.

What are user stories and how do they contribute to product development?

User stories are a way of viewing product features from the customer's perspective. They are written from the customer's point of view, such as 'As a user, I want to see X because why.' This approach helps the team understand the purpose of each feature and ensures that the product is designed to meet the actual needs of the users.

What is the role of user experience (UX) in product management?

User experience (UX) refers to the overall experience a user has when interacting with a product, including ease of use, visual appeal, and intuitiveness of the flow. It is typically designed by product designers in collaboration with product managers to ensure the product effectively addresses the key customer problems or jobs to be done.

What is a wireframe and how does it aid in product development?

A wireframe is a simplified representation of the UX and visual design of a product. It is a low-fidelity design that provides a quick sketch of what the product will look like. Wireframes are used for storytelling, allowing product managers and designers to pitch the product and gain insights from stakeholders.

What does a pivot in product management entail and why is it important?

A pivot in product management is a change in direction for a product based on new information or market trends. It can involve shifting focus from certain products or features to others in response to customer feedback or competitive activity. Pivots are crucial for startups and product managers to adapt to changing market demands and ensure they are addressing real customer needs.