Software Product Management

This book is for product managers, product owners, product marketing managers, VPs and Heads of Product, CEOs, and start-up founders. In short, it serves anyone interested personally or professionally in software product management. You’ll learn how to plan, coordinate and execute all activities required for software product success. It enables you to find the right balance for delivering customer value and long-term product success. The book offers a comprehensive introduction for beginners as well as proven practices and a novel, holistic approach for experienced product managers. It provides much-needed clarity regarding the numerous tasks and responsibilities involved in the professional and successful management of software products. Readers can use this book as a reference book if they are interested in or have the urgent need to improve one of the following software product management dimensions: Product Viability, Product Development, Go-to-Market / Product Marketing, Software Demonstrations and Training, The Market / Your Customers, or Organizational Maturity. The book helps product people to maximize their impact and effectiveness. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner, new to software product management, or just want to learn more about the best-of-all disciplines and advance your skills, this book introduces a novel and “business” tested approach to structure and orchestrate the vital dimensions of software product management. You will learn how to create focus and alignment on the things that matter for product success. The book describes a holistic framework to keep the details that matter for product success in balance, taking into consideration the limiting factors, strategies and responsibilities that determine the overall product yield potential. It explains how to leverage and adapt the framework with regard to aspects like product viability, product development, product marketing and software demonstrations and training, as well as more general aspects like markets, customers and organizational maturity. The book focuses on the unique challenges of software product managers or any related roles, whether you are a founder of a small to mid-sized software company or working in the complex ecosystems of large software enterprises or corporate IT departments.

In an economy where efficiency and delivery are key, Software Product Management Essentials is required reading for any software product manager. This hands-on guide will help new product managers sift through the numerous tasks and responsibilities involved in this pinnacle job. The book is loaded with tips and best practices to help even experienced product managers optimize their time and effectiveness. The book focuses on the unique challenges of being a Product Manager in a small to mid-sized software company. It provides a framework for the role of the Product Manager in an environment where there are few resources available to help in tackling the many crucial tasks needed for a quality, on-time delivery of software. Whether you are already a Product Manager or considering a new career in product management, Software Product Management Essentials details a day-in-the-life experience of a PM with both the glory and challenges one faces in this role. Engineers, marketing personnel, quality assurance teams, technical writers, and anyone involved in the product delivery process will find this book extremely useful right away in optimizing the day-to-day interactions across a smaller software organization.Emphasizing that code is only part of the overall software product, Software Product Management Essentials stresses the importance of championing a product. Critical topics covered in the book include the product delivery process, beta testing, launching a software product, and software pricing. An entire chapter is dedicated to the issues of expanding the business internationally and the issues a Product Manager must consider before and during expansion. Numerous templates are provided to fast track the Product Manager's work including a sample non-disclosure agreement, product delivery checklist, and beta test agreement and summary.

If you’re new to software product management or just want to learn more about it, there’s plenty of advice available—but most of it is geared toward consumer products. Creating high-quality software for the enterprise involves a much different set of challenges. In this practical book, two expert product managers provide straightforward guidance for people looking to join the thriving enterprise market. Authors Blair Reeves and Benjamin Gaines explain critical differences between enterprise and consumer products, and deliver strategies for overcoming challenges when building for the enterprise. You’ll learn how to cultivate knowledge of your organization, the products you build, and the industry you serve. Explore why: Identifying customer vs user problems is an enterprise project manager’s main challenge Effective collaboration requires in-depth knowledge of the organization Analyzing data is key to understanding why users buy and retain your product Having experience in the industry you’re building products for is valuable Product longevity depends on knowing where the industry isheaded

This book gives a comprehensive overview on Software Product Management (SPM) for beginners as well as best practices, methodology and in-depth discussions for experienced product managers. This includes product strategy, product planning, participation in strategic management activities and orchestration of the functional units of the company. The book is based on the results of the International Software Product Management Association (ISPMA) which is led by a group of SPM experts from industry and research with the goal to foster software product management excellence across industries. This book can be used as textbook for ISPMA-based education and as guide for anybody interested in SPM as one of the most exciting and challenging disciplines in the business of software. Hans-Bernd Kittlaus is the Chairman of ISPMA and owner and managing director of InnoTivum Consulting, Germany. Samuel Fricker is Board Member of ISPMA and Professor at FHNW, Switzerland.

Software product management and pricing are key success factors for any organization providing software, be it a software company or an organization responsible for software in a company that belongs to a different industry. After defining the term "software product" and looking at the business and organizational sides, the core elements of software product management and pricing are discussed. Recommendations are given on how to deal with these elements depending on different types of organizations and products in order to achieve the long-term success.

In an economy where efficiency and delivery are key, Software Product Management Essentials is required reading for any software product manager. This hands-on guide will help new product managers sift through the numerous tasks and responsibilities involved in this pinnacle job. The book is loaded with tips and best practices to help even experienced product managers optimize their time and effectiveness. The book focuses on the unique challenges of being a Product Manager in a small to mid-sized software company. It provides a framework for the role of the Product Manager in an environment where there are few resources available to help in tackling the many crucial tasks needed for a quality, on-time delivery of software. Whether you are already a Product Manager or considering a new career in product management, Software Product Management Essentials details a day-in-the-life experience of a PM with both the glory and challenges one faces in this role. Engineers, marketing personnel, quality assurance teams, technical writers, and anyone involved in the product delivery process will find this book extremely useful right away in optimizing the day-to-day interactions across a smaller software organization.Emphasizing that code is only part of the overall software product, Software Product Management Essentials stresses the importance of championing a product. Critical topics covered in the book include the product delivery process, beta testing, launching a software product, and software pricing. An entire chapter is dedicated to the issues of expanding the business internationally and the issues a Product Manager must consider before and during expansion. Numerous templates are provided to fast track the Product Manager's work including a sample non-disclosure agreement, product delivery checklist, and beta test agreement and summary.

Gain all of the techniques, teachings, tools, and methodologies required to be an effective first-time product manager. The overarching goal of this book is to help you understand the product manager role, give you concrete examples of what a product manager does, and build the foundational skill-set that will gear you towards a career in product management. To be an effective PM in the tech industry, you need to have a basic understanding of technology. In this book you’ll get your feet wet by exploring the skills a PM needs in their toolset and cover enough ground to make you feel comfortable in a technical discussion. A PM is not expected to have the same level of depth or knowledge as a software engineer, but knowing enough to continue the conversation can be a benefit in your career in product management. A complete product manager will have a 360-degree understanding of user experience and how to craft beautiful products that are easy-to-use, with the end user in mind. You’ll continue your journey with a walk through basic UX principles and even go through the process of building a simple set of UI frames for a mock app. Aside from the technical and design expertise, a PM needs to master the social aspects of the role. Acting as a bridge between engineering, marketing, and other teams can be difficult, and this book will dive into the business and soft skills of product management. After reading Product Management Essentials you will be one of a select few technically-capable PMs who can interface with management, stakeholders, customers, and the engineering team. What You Will Learn Gain the traits of a successful PM from industry PMs, VCs, and other professionals See the day-to-day responsibilities of a PM and how the role differs across tech companies Absorb the technical knowledge necessary to interface with engineers and estimate timelines Design basic mocks, high-fidelity wireframes, and fully polished user interfaces Create core documents and handle business interactions Who This Book Is For Individuals who are eyeing a transition into a PM role or have just entered a PM role at a new organization for the first time. They currently hold positions as a software engineer, marketing manager, UX designer, or data analyst and want to move away from a feature-focused view to a high-level strategic view of the product vision.

Product management has become a critical connective role for modern organizations, from small technology startups to global corporate enterprises. And yet the day-to-day work of product management remains largely misunderstood. In theory, product management is about building products that people love. The real-world practice of product management is often about difficult conversations, practical compromises, and hard-won incremental gains. In this book, author Matt LeMay focuses on the CORE connective skills— communication, organization, research, execution—that can build a successful product management practice across industries, organizations, teams, andtoolsets. For current and aspiring product managers, this book explores:? On-the-ground tactics for facilitating collaboration and communication? How to talk to users and work with executives? The importance of setting clear and actionable goals? Using roadmaps to connect and align your team? A values-first approach to implementing Agile practices? Common behavioral traps that turn good product managers bad