Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/26962/okrs-and-product-roadmaps.mp3 What are OKRs? OKRs are a method for setting and tracking goals. The acronym stands for objectives and key results. The objective is the goal, which describes what you want to achieve. The key results state the specific criteria that have to be fulfilled to meet the objective. To make this more concrete, let’s look at an example: Objective: Grow the product management team. Key result 1: Three product managers are hired. Key result 2: The onboarding system is improved ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/25582/product-portfolio-strategy.mp3 What Is a Product Portfolio Strategy and Why Does It Matter? A product portfolio strategy is a high-level plan that helps you maximise the value a group of products creates. It achieves this by setting overarching goals for the entire portfolio. These guide and align the strategies of the portfolio members, as Figure 1 illustrates. Figure 1: The Product Portfolio and Product Strategy Using Microsoft Office as an Example In Figure 1, the strategies of the individual pro ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/24755/decoding-product-leadership.mp3 Leading as the Person in Charge of the Product When you hear the term leadership, you might first and foremost think of a senior manager like the head of product, Director of Product Management, VP of Product, or Chief Product Officer.[1] In fact, some people argue that product leadership can only be exercised by a management role. But in my mind, that’s a misunderstanding of what it means to lead. Leadership is present when an individual guides a group of people to a ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/24122/double-vision-choosing-the-right-approach-to-capture-the-product-vision.mp3 Option 1: The Vision Captures Strategic Decisions Your first option is to view the product vision as a statement that captures strategic decisions like the product’s users and customers, its value proposition, and its standout features. A popular template to capture such a vision is the formula developed by Geoffrey Moore in his book Crossing the Chasm: For (target customers …) Who are dissatisfied with (the current market ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/23752/leveraging-new-technologies-tips-for-product-people.mp3 Make Time to Keep up with Technology Trends As new technologies come and go, it’s important for you—the person in charge of the product—to stay on top of the developments. You should be aware of new trends, be able to make an informed guess if they are likely to impact your market and product, and decide if a technology needs to be further investigated. This usually doesn’t require in-depth technical skills like being able to write code or unde ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/23615/head-of-product-and-product-strategy.mp3 The Head of Product Role in a Nutshell A head of product manages a group of product people—individuals who look after one or more products and who may be called product managers or product owners. Depending on the company size and org structure, the role might also be referred to as Director of Product Management, VP Product, and Chief Product Officer. Working as a head of product includes the following three duties, as I discuss in more detail in the article ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/23473/what-is-a-product-strategy.mp3 What Information Should a Product Strategy Provide? I like to think of the product strategy as a high-level plan that helps you realise your vision and that answers the following four questions: Who is the product for? Who are the users and, if appropriate, who are the customers? Why would people want to use and buy it? What specific problem does it address, or which tangible benefit does it offer? What kind of product is it and what makes it stand out? How does it di ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/23414/succeeding-with-product-delivery-and-scrum.mp3 1 Complement Scrum with a Product Discovery and Strategy Process Scrum is a simple framework that helps teams develop successful products. It achieves this by using sprints to create product increments, collecting feedback from users and stakeholders, and adapting the product with the insights gained.[1] As simple as this sounds, there is a catch: To create value with Scrum, you must understand who the users and customers are, why people would want to u ..read more

Overview The checklist below is structured according to the five elements of the product vision board. These are vision, target group, needs, product, and business goals. You can download the list together with the product vision board template by clicking on the image below. Vision Inspiring: Describes the positive change the product should create. Shared: Unites people, creates alignment, and facilitates collaboration. Ethical: Gives rise to a product that does not cause any harm to people and the planet. Concise: Easy to understand and remember. Ambitious: Describes a big, audacious goal ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this article: https://www.romanpichler.com/podcast-player/23307/a-product-owner-career-path.mp3 Mapping Out the Path The career path for Scrum product owners I like to recommend consists of five steps, which are shown in figure 1. Figure 1: A Product Owner Career Path The first step on the career path in figure 1 is working as a feature or component owner who looks after a product part. The second step is taking on the role of a junior Scrum product owner and owning a product in its entirety. The next step consists of becoming a senior Scrum product owner and ma ..read more