Building & Engaging CommunitiesInnovators Network

March 8 2018

Product Anonymous

Jen

• Product Manager

• Online Communities

• e-mint founder

Liz

• Customer Experience Manager

• Product Manager

• Customer service agent

• Scientist

What is Product Anonymous?

• Melbourne folk unite to share product management experiences, learn from each other while sharing a beverage or two. If you get excited by making things and solving problems, join us…

What is Product Anonymous?

It’s what we make of it.

What is Product Anonymous?

A group of people trying to figure out

if the rest of the world is as insane

as we are!

ProdAnon Now

Origins & Early Days

• Product Camp

• ‘Product Anonymous’ (the name)

• Test & Learn• IDEO movie

• How do people find us?

• Book discussion / roundtable discussions

• Bad locations

• We presented at the beginning then started asking other people to present

• Organic Growth of the group• Later sticky growth (e.g. meetup, slack)

First ProdAnon – November 2011

2014

2015 2017

2018

Why we do this

• Our hopes• Grow the understanding of what product management is

• Increase the need for product people

• Share the knowledge

• Increase the collective skillset

• Share the love

• Personal reasons• Have friends / meet cool people / our tribe

• Employment

Why we do this

• We’re possibly insane• No money

• Time & effort every single week

How we do this

Product Management

Community Management

Product Market Fit

• Dogfooding

• Foster feedback • Annual survey

• Research sessions

• NPS

• Retro for camp volunteers

• Experiment• Coffee sessions

• Workshop ‘Moving into your 1st Product Role’

Community - Defining a Tribe

Connection - We are here for the members of the tribe and the change they seek to make. Are people in this for the long haul, the destination as well as the journey? What do we stand for? Are relationships being built, or is this merely an ATM?

Commitment - There's no cliff. This is a mission, a journey, a cultural covenant for the long haul. We'll be here tomorrow and next year and ten years after that.

Conversation - It might feel like a broadcast tool, but it's not. The tribe thrives when it talks to itself, not when it merely listens to you shout.

Seth Godin, 2014

Community - connection

• Humans need social interactions• Physical & mental health• Maslow – physiological needs, safety then social belonging

• Product can be an isolating role

• A safe place to share with people who understand your day-to-day

• Know your community• Welcome them!• Introduce to others• Encourage conversations between members• Let your community shine & rock!

Community - commitment

• As an organizer• Be consistent

• Do NOT take yourself too seriously!

• Be patient

• It’s not all about you

• Provide opportunities for members to commit• People will be able to commit at different levels so have options

• Use tools that help them commit

Community - conversation

• Provide spaces• Digital & f2f• Which serve their needs

• ProdAnon …• Allows time for conversation to happen between members and speakers both

in public & in private• Is a safe place to have conversations with people who understand what they

go through day to day• Provides a chance for reflection and learning from each session• Presentations are deliberately designed, even as they scale, to encourage 2-

way discussion, either through how we prep the speaker or encouraging the audience participation

Tips

• Use your product management hat to understand your tribe! • What do they need? • What value are they getting? • Does it align with what your organisation stands for?• At least have a guiding star of mission / vision

• Create room for conversations with & among members

• Commit to your community• Trust• Be consistent

• Be passionate!

Community Resources

Swarm Conference

August 30-31 Melbourne

swarmconference.com

The Community Roundtable

communityroundtable.com

Product Management Resources

Product Anonymous

March 22nd – Design vs Data

productanonymous.com

Brainmates

Product Consulting & Training

brainmates.com.au

Leading the Product

Melbourne Oct 18th – Sydney Oct 23rd

leadingtheproduct.com

Thank youInnovators Network

Questions?