Digital Product Management

Prof. Anandakuttan B Unnithan

Movavi
Camtasia
Dashlane
Opera
Slack
Scrivener
Product Market Fit
What is a product
• In Layman’s Vocabulary
• A product is an item or substance that is manufactured or refined for sale
• A product is an item offered for sale
• For business professionals
• A product is a solution offered by a firm for customer’s problem
• A product is a bundle of benefits that address customer needs
• Product management is the business process of planning,
developing, launching, and managing a product or service. It
includes the entire lifecycle of a product, from ideation to
development to go to market (Wikipedia)
Neil H. McElroy 1931 , P&G
Roles of a Product Manager
• Defining a vision for a product.
• Aligning stakeholders around the vision for the product.
• Understanding and representing user needs.
• Monitoring the market and developing competitor analyses.
• Prioritizing product features and capabilities.
• Creating a shared agreement across teams to enable separate and
connected work
• Go to Market and ROI over the life cycle of the product
• Product improvements and revisions
 Product Manager Vs Product Owner

Product Manager Product Owner

• Works with outside stakeholders • Works with internal stakeholders
• Helps to define the product • Helps teams execute the shared
vision vision
• Helps define what successful • Outlines the plan for achieving
outcomes looks like success
• Responsible for vision, • Owns team plan and fulfillment
marketing, ROI work
• Works at a conceptual level • Involved in day-to-day activities
Skills of a Product Manager
• Strategic Thinking
• Good enough technical knowledge
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Detail Orientation
• User Science and Empathy
This course
• Learn to apply the principles and techniques of product discovery and
delivery processes including understanding the use context, product
framing, ideation, prototyping, and user validation.
• Understand and apply the principles and techniques of Design
Thinking including user empathy research, user personas, customer
journey maps, how might we statement, and collaborative and
iterative development and testing cycles.
• Learn to apply the principles and techniques of lean/agile
approaches towards building digital native businesses.
 Contents of the course

Session Topic
1 Introduction to digital product management : the contours
2 Roles and responsibilities of product managers and teams
3 Design of digital products: understanding the use context
4 Design of digital products : Framing problem space and solution space
5 Design of digital products : Discovery and Ideation
6 Design of digital products : Development, Prototyping and Testing
7 Lean Start Ups and Agile approach
8 Go to Market Strategy
Resources
• Resources :
• INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love – Second Edition.
Cagan, John Wiley & Sons, latest available edition
• Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days.
Knapp, Simon & Schuster, 2016.

• Other resources will be shared on lms.iimk.ac.in

Evaluation
• Class participation in exercises : 25%
• Group Project: 30%
• End Term exam : 45%
Products that sell
• Can we solve a customer problem in a way that is better than existing
solutions?
• For that
• We need to know the customer – Empathy
• We need to go through cycles of trial and error – Iteration
• We need to consider several possibilities – Divergent thinking
• We need to visualize our vague and abstract ideas to some thing more
concrete so that our customers can see and interact –Prototyping
• We need to have people from different expertise areas to work together-
Collaborate
• We need to ensure that our own ideas are acceptable to the users- testing
our assumptions
Activity 1
• Download the app ‘NewsOnAir’ , identify a song which you like, play
it.
• What aspects of the app do you LIKE and do you DISLIKE?
• If you are managing this app, what will you consider as successful outcomes?
Activity 2
• Go through your mobile and identify ONE app which all of you agree
is an example of a GREAT product
• What aspects do you like and what aspects do you think can be improved?
• If you are managing this app, what will you consider as successful outcomes?
Activity 3
• Think about the ‘’work from home’’ context and identify a
problem/opportunity that can be solved by a digital product
A Product Vision
• Align the product discovery and development with the purpose of the
Organization.
• Engage and inspire the team by aligning their efforts to a larger goal
• Help the team ideate and choose enhancements to the product
• Envision how the products would lead to a better future for the
customers.
Creating a Product Vision

• What is the value of the product? What do we offer?

• Who will use the product? Customers? Buyers, Users?
• Why would the customers/users need this product?
• Who are the competitors in this market space?
• How will your product compare to other competing products in the
market?
• What will differentiate this product and makes it unique?
Product Vision Template
• For [our users],
• whose [problem to solve, user needs],
• the [name of the product],
• is a [product category],
• that [key-benefits, reason to buy it].
• Different from [competition alternative],
• our product [key-difference, unique selling point].
What could be the Product Vision for Zoom
• For [our users],
• whose [problem to solve, user
needs],
• the [name of the product],
• is a [product category],
• that [key-benefits, reason to buy
it].
• Different from [competition
alternative],
• our product [key-difference, unique
selling point].
Product Vision-music streaming service
• For [our users], • For [paid subscribers and audiophiles],
• whose [problem to solve, user • who [want to listen to the best quality
needs], music on the go],
• The [Brand],
• the [name of the product],
• is a [streaming service],
• is a [product category],
• that [allows you to listen to anything
• that [key-benefits, reason to buy you’d like to from the world’s best
it]. artists].
• Different from [competition • Different from [Spotify],
alternative], • our product [lets you listen to
recording-studio quality HiFi].
• our product [key-difference, unique
selling point].
Product Vision simplified
• Our product vision is a world where the [target customer] no longer
suffers from the [identified problem] because of [product] they
[benefit].

• Our product vision is a world where [audiophiles] no longer suffer

from [poor music quality] because of [our lossless high-fidelity music]
they [experience music as the artist intended, as if they were in a
studio quality environment].
Product Vision further simplified

• Our product vision is to provide a high-fidelity music experience that

is as good as the experience of listening to music in a world-class
studio.
Product Vision further examples
• For [our users], • For young, eco-conscious
• whose [problem to solve, user consumers
needs], • Who want sustainable, homemade
• the [name of the product], candles
• is a [product category], • The Cookie Candles Formula is a
patented wax blend that uses
• that [key-benefits, reason to buy locally sourced materials
it]. • That creates a fragrant, but safe
• Different from [competition and healthy scent
alternative], • Unlike popular blends for candles
• our product [key-difference, unique • Our product does not harm
selling point]. consumers’ lungs or breathing
Product Vision further examples
• For [our users], • For marketing professionals
• whose [problem to solve, user • Who struggle to manage their
needs], calendars and workflow
• the [name of the product], • The Reimagined Workflow tool is a
• is a [product category], productivity software
• that [key-benefits, reason to buy • That simplifies the process of
it]. managing a marketing leader’s
schedule and workflow
• Different from [competition • Unlike other generic productivity
alternative], tools
• our product [key-difference, unique • Our product caters to the specific
selling point]. functions and needs of marketing
leaders
Testing the product vision statement
• Will it offer a specific benefit to your customers?
• Is it both broad and ambitious but short and sweet?
• Does it reflect your motivation for developing your products?
• Does it reflect your intent and inspire your stakeholders and team?
• Does it provide a picture of a desirable future that you want to work
for?
 Product Vision Prioritization

Less about this Our Product Vision More about this

should be
 Product Vision Board
What do you sell? Who buys it? What problem What benefit will Why do they buy it
does it solve for people enjoy from from you and not
them? owning it? from your
competitor?

Why do they really What motivates How do you make What is your When your work is
buy your products? your staff to work money from selling organization great done, why will the
(What is said and on this project it? at? world be a better
unsaid?, any other than money? place thanks to the
hidden motives?) existence of your
product?
Product Vision Template
• For [our users],
• whose [problem to solve, user needs],
• the [name of the product],
• is a [product category],
• that [key-benefits, reason to buy it].
• Different from [competition alternative],
• our product [key-difference, unique selling point].