ambreenshussain

Fundamentals of Agile Product Management

Ambreen Hussain, Product Manager, HDM ahussain@hearst.com

Agenda• Intro

• On Agile

• The Role of Product Management in Agile

• Product Process & Lifecycle

• Characteristics of a Product Manager

Background

BA, English, The University of Texas at Austin

MFA, Design & Technology, Parsons New School for Design

Background

Front-End Developer, NBC, elle.com and Sony

Product Manager, Sony, General Assembly, Hearst

Instructor, Thinkful, Parsons

What I Thrive In• Beautifully Designed Products

(that I use)

• Inspiring Co-Workers

• Solving Problems

• Process That Allows For Innovation & Iteration

• Open and Transparent Dialogue

Soo… Agile.

Why is it such an obsession?

Here Was the Problem…

Things were slow. There were so many

layers. It took forever to start and approve anything.

PEOPLE.WERE.ANNOYED.DYING.

LOSING IT.

Agile Manifesto

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

2. Working software over comprehensive documentation

3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

4. Responding to change over following a plan

Waterfall vs Agile

Conception

Initiation

Analysis

Design

Construction

Testing

Deployment

Conception

Initiation

Analysis

Design

Construction

Testing

Deployment

Waterfall vs Agile

Agile Methodology

Waterfall Methodology

FEATURE 1 FEATURE 2 FEATURE 3

FEATURE 3FEATURE 2FEATURE 1

DEPARTMENT 1

DEPARTMENT 2

Agile Team Structure

Agile Team Structure7 (+/- 2) Cross

Functional Team Members

Product Owner Scrum Master

(Tech Lead)

Agile Software Development

• Division of tasks

• Division of teams

• Short phases of work

• Frequent reassessment on specified features

• Adaptation of plans

It works!Waterfall vs Agile

It works!Agile Assessment1. The team knows, for sure, that at any given time they are working on deliverables that have the greatest value for the business.

2. When the implementation team claims to be Done with something, the business stakeholder usually agrees that it is, in fact, done and Accepts it.

3. When something is Accepted, it is sufficiently well-built and well-tested that it would be safe to deploy or ship it immediately.

4. The team delivers Accepted product increments at least monthly.

5. When the product increments are shipped or deployed, the users and customers are generally satisfied.

It works!Agile Assessment6. If the business stakeholder changes the priorities or the requirements, the implementation team can adapt easily, switching gears to deliver according to the updated business needs within the next iteration.

7. The business stakeholders express confidence that they will get the capabilities they need in a timely manner.

8. The business can recognize real value from the deliverables: each product increment ultimately has a positive impact on the bottom line.

9. The team has been working at the same pace, delivering roughly the same amount every iteration, for a while.

10. The people on the implementation team agree that they could keep working at the current pace indefinitely.

Product Vision

Conception

Initiation

Analysis

Design

Construction

Testing

Deployment

Conception / Initiation

Conception

• What design problem are you trying to solve?

• What could be your initial success metrics?

Conception

• Who are your competitors?

• What is your competitive advantage?

Analysis

Conception

• Market Size

• Marketing Tactics

• Possible Business Models

Design

Design

User Stories

Agile Workflow

1. Backlog Grooming

• What do we need to prioritize or re-prioritize?

• What’s coming up next?

2. Sprint Planning

• Here’s what we committed to completing in our upcoming sprint!

3. Daily Stand Up

• What did you do yesterday?

• What are you doing today?

• Is anything blocking you from continuing your work?

4. Sprint Review

Show ‘em what you got!

5. Retrospective

• What made you happy?

• What was eh?

• What made you upset?

• What should we do about it!?

Product Owner

• user stories

• creates mock ups

• leads backlog grooming

• demos feature or product

Product Manager

• supports marketing and sales groups

• channel support

Product Lead

• roadmap

• P&L

Product Owner

Product ManagerProduct Lead

Cool.

So what are the characteristics that make someone a great

Product Owner / Manager / Lead?

History of Product Management

• Branding // Marketing & Ethnography Degree

• understand user needs

• understand where light sales can be improved

• be the voice of the brand

• try new things

You need to empathize.

1930’s Proctor & Gamble

Discipline: Ethnography, Marketing & Branding

• place, where to sell

• price, for how much

• promotion, and how to market

• product, develop

History of Product Management

You need to strategize.

1960’s Harvard

Discipline: Business Administration

• Prototype

• MVP

• UX Design

• User Testing, A/B Testing

History of Product Management

You need to build.

2000’s, Web 2.0

Discipline: Computer Science Design

Today’s Trifecta

Design

Tech Business

• I think a good product manager is Customer Driven. — Jason Evanish, Founder of Get Lighthouse, Formerly at Kiss Metrics

• I’m from the Ben Horowitz school that a Product Manager is the CEO of their product…you’re ultimately responsible for having a winning product. No excuses. — Sara Mauskopf, Director of Product at Postmates. Previously Twitter, YouTube, Google

• A positive net promoter score from the engineers and designers you have previously worked with.” — Dave Morin, CEO Path, Formerly Facebook

What Makes a Good PM?

• http://pragmaticmarketing.com/resources/expand-your-comfort-zone-a-product-management-quiz-to-point-you-in-the-right-direction-

• http://www.brainsnackscafe.com/Product_Manager_Aptitude_Quiz.php

PM Test

Future QuadDesign

Tech Business

Data

ambreenshussain

Thank you!

Ambreen Hussain, Product Manager, HDM ahussain@hearst.com