Index
abandonment rate (dropout rate), 128
for beta releases, 290
in customer relationship funnel, 335–336
in product flows, 323
reduction of, 323
A|B tests. See split tests
acceptance criteria, for product requirements, 185, 197–200, 200t
acquisition: CPA, 338
stage, of customer relationship funnel, 334. See also customer acquisition cost
actionable metrics, 314
actionable value-based metrics, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 323–328
for B2B, 327
for enterprise applications, 326. See also B2B; business-to-business; enterprise; enterprise applications; Saas
action mode, 303
action plan: date slippage and, 260
product launch and, 297
for risk analysis, 96f-97f
activation rate, of actionable value-based metrics, 325
activation stage, of customer relationship funnel, 334–335
advertisers, 70
advertising. See marketing
affinity diagram. See KJ Method
alternatives: analyses of, 84–87
target customers and, 82–87
technology from, 84
ambiguity, vs. certainty, 31–32
analyses (analytics): of alternatives, 84–87
cohort, in split tests, 133
of competitors, 84–87
documentation of, 66–67
for market launch, 293
for opportunities, 65
in post-launch, 303
prioritization and, 102
by senior stakeholders, 46
user stories and, 194. See also cohort analysis; metrics
analysis paralysis, 31–32, 102
from over-scoping, 252
customer understanding from, 14–18
qualitative data for, 14–17
quantitative data for, 14–15
self-service for, 17–18
AOV. See average order value
APIs, 265
demos of, 239
prototypes and, 162
architecture design, 265–266
ARPC. See average revenue per customer
audience, 70
bias, 29
average engagement time, 315
average order value (AOV), 129
average revenue per customer (ARPC), 337
averages: insights and, 17
in metrics, 315–316
awareness stage, of customer relationship funnel, 334, 335
B2B. See business-to-business
backlog. See product backlog
bad news, communication of, 21
basic needs, 331
in Kano Method prioritization, 121f, 122
Bayesian inference, in split tests, 132
benchmarks, for customers, 82
beta release: bias in, 287–288
customer feedback for, 289–290
parallel deployment with, 288–289
of product launch, 279f, 280, 287–290
risk of, 287–288
testimonials from, 298
validation for, 289–290
bias: in beta releases, 287–288
confirmation, 20
in customer interviews, 155–158
hindsight, 294
in Kano Method prioritization, 123
with score-cards, 111
big wins, trade-offs with, 273
bounce rate: for beta releases, 290
for product flows, 320
brainstorming, 11
on abandonment rate, 323
for prioritization, 127–128
for product backlogs, 203
brand recognition, as differentiator, 89
Brook, Fred, 270
Brook’s law, 270
brown-bag meetings, by evangelist, 25
bubble sort, for prioritization, 123, 124f
bug-outs, 283
in beta releases, 290
hygiene factors and, 179. See also debugging
business goals (outcomes): prioritization for, 126–135
product governance and, 57
in product launch, 302
product manager for, 342–343
by product maturity, 173–174, 173t
of product specifications, 167, 169, 173–174, 174t
business operations, for market launch, 293
business plans, 67
business-to-business (B2B): actionable value-based metrics for, 327
target customers in, 67
buy-a-feature, for prioritization, 119–120
buy-in: by engineering, 239
by senior stakeholders, 49–51
of stakeholders, scope creep and, 255
CABs. See customer advisory boards
CAC. See customer acquisition cost
calls-to-action (CTA), 127
rapid testing of, 132
usability testing and, 163
canned reports, overuse of, 40
canvassing, for ideas, 10, 11–12
card, in user stories, 188–189, 188f
career advancement, 340–355
nonlinear trajectory of, 353–355, 354f
causation: correlation and, 316
from data, 41
certainty, vs. ambiguity, 31–32
risks and, 18–24
saying “no,” 23
change: acceptance of, 56
leading through influence and, 39–40, 42–43
clickable mock-ups, 161–162
client services, for market launch, 292
code review, 265–266
COGS. See cost of goods sold
cohort analysis: for customer relationship funnel, 336
in split tests, 133
collaboration: with engineering, 210–243
for prioritization, 98–135, 106f
by product manager, 347–348
for product requirements, 183–209
for product specifications, 166
collaborative voting, for prioritization, 116–120
commitment: to deadlines, 24, 258
product flows and, 322. See also buy-in
communication: of bad news, 21
with customers, 64
with engineering, 212, 220–221
with market launch, 294–297
personas for, 74
with senior stakeholders, 53–54
of time-to-market date slippage, 260
comparative metrics, 314
competitors: advantages of, 83
analyses of, 84–87
customer retention by, 83
feature parity with, 65, 86, 87, 88
innovation by, 85
knowledge from, 85
vs. market position, 82
as risk, 93
SWOT and, 87
target customers and, 82–87
testing of, 31
value summary for, 86
complementary customers, user stories and, 193–194
compromise, 2
for conflict avoidance, 32
of customer needs, 23
of stakeholders, 44
in user stories, 188f, 191–193
conflict avoidance, 32–33
with product specifications, 170
conflict of interest, with engineering, 214
consideration stage, of customer relationship funnel, 334
constraints, leading through influence and, 39–40, 42–43
constructive conflict, 32–33
context: with engineering, 224
evangelist and, 25–27
for leading through influence, 38–45
for personas, 75
for prioritization, 105
for product specifications, 166, 170–171
for stakeholders, 64
for time-to-market, 261–263
continuous deployment, 284
control cell, in split tests, 131
conversation, in user stories, 188f, 190–191
conversion rate, 127
of actionable value-based metrics, 325–326
from homepage, 317
in split tests, 129. See also customer conversion
core competency, 88
core functionality: of engineering, 225–226
mock-ups for, 160
in user stories, 196–197
correlation: causation and, 316
of data, 41
in metrics, 315–316
structure, as differentiator, 89
sunk-cost fallacy, 30. See also customer acquisition cost; opportunity costs
cost of goods sold (COGS), 337
cost per acquisition (CPA), 338
courage, with engineering, 216, 218
CPA. See cost per acquisition
criteria acceptance, in user stories, 188f, 191–193
Crossing the Chasm (Moore), 11
CTA. See calls-to-action
customer acquisition cost (CAC), 313t
LTV and, 338
strategies for, 339
customer advisory boards (CABs), 146
customer-assisted methods, for prioritization, 123–126
customer conversion, 173t
in customer relationship funnel, 335
landing-page optimizations for, 128
metrics for, 314
in weighted scorecards, 108
customer feedback: after post-launch, 92
for beta releases, 289–290
follow-up to, 146
for market launch, 294–297
in post-launch, 301–303
for product discovery, 136–163
product manager and, 343
for product requirements, 186
for validation, 136–163
customer interviews: bias in, 155–158
leading through influence and, 42
open-ended questions in, 31
probing questions in, 155
problem mode in, 157
for product discovery, 138
qualitative data from, 16
question checklist for, 159
rapport in, 155–158
in scope-design-test-learn cycle, 151–152
script for, 153
solution mode in, 157
of target customers, 156–157
usability testing with, 152–158, 156f
customer journey, 12
customer lifetime value (LTV), 133
formula for, 337f
metrics for, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 336–339
strategies for, 339
compromise of, 23
product manager and, 346–347
customer relationship funnel: goals and, 251
metrics for, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 333–336, 334f
customer requests, 252
in features buckets, 116
short-term goals and, 272
customer retention, 294
actionable value-based metrics and, 312–313t, 326
cohort analysis for, 133
of competitors, 83
in customer relationship funnel, 335, 336
customers: benchmarks for, 82
for collaborative voting prioritization, 116–120
communication with, 64
from competitors, 83
complementary, user stories and, 193–194
as dissenters, 20
five key questions on, 63f, 64–66
ideas from, 11
launch for, 278–281
MRDs for, 66–67
not knowing what they want, 140–141
over-scoping and, 252
prioritization from, 106–107
problem mode for, 82–87. See also end users; target customers
customer satisfaction: Kano Method prioritization for, 120–123, 121f
metrics for, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 328–333, 329f, 332f
over-scoping and, 249
prioritization for, 333
qualitative data on, 333
resource allocation and, 271
in split tests, 129
in weighted scorecards, 108
customer service (support): emails from, qualitative data from, 16
leading through influence and, 42
by senior stakeholders, 47
for market launch, 292
customer understanding, 59–95
from analyst, 14–18
data warehousing, 317
deadlines: arbitrariness of, 256–257, 256f
for engineering, 227
trade-offs with, 255–263, 256f
debugging, 232
technical debt and, 267
for technical deployment, 282
user stories and, 192
decision-making unit (DMU), 75
delighters: in features buckets, 116
in Kano Method prioritization, 121
demographics, of target customers, 73
demos, with engineering, 239–240
dependencies: collaboration and, 184
leading through influence and, 37, 46
in product requirements, 205t
senior stakeholders and, 103
deployment plan, for technical deployment, 283
de-scoping, 251
desires, as opportunities, 79
development team: in engineering, 214, 215t
in post-launch, 300–301. See also engineering
device platform, product specifications for, 175
differentiators: defined, 89–91
for LTV, 339
for problem mode, 88–91
in product requirements, 205t
direct costs, 22
of resource allocation, 270
directly-responsible individual (DRI), 342
discounts, 128
discoverability problem, risk of, 92, 93
discovery. See product discovery
dissention, challenger and, 19, 20–21
DMU. See decision-making unit
documentation: of analyses, 66–67
of product requirements, 347
of product specifications, 166, 347
technical debt and, 269
dogfooding (internal beta), 288
DRI. See directly-responsible individual
dropout rate. See abandonment rate
early adopters, 79
business goals for, 173t
differentiators for, 91
expectations of, 298
opt-in beta for, 288
economic buyers, 70
Edison, Thomas, 283
elevator pitch, by evangelist, 25
emails: for beta releases, 290
from customer-service, qualitative data from, 16
by evangelist, 25
for product updates, 51–52, 53
value propositions in, 80
empathy: for customers, 10, 69, 74, 145
for engineering, 227
personas for, 73
end users, 70
personas for, 75. See also user experience
engagement stage, of customer relationship funnel, 335
engagement time, of actionable value-based metrics, 326
engineering: brainstorming with, 224, 243
buy-in by, 239
collaboration with, 210–243
commitment of, 232
communication with, 212
conflict of interest with, 214
context with, 224
core functionality of, 225–226
deadlines for, 227
demos with, 239–240
development team in, 214, 215t
distractions and interruptions with, 220
empathy for, 227
execution phases for, 228–243, 229f
features and, 227
geographic location of, 221–223
goals with, 224
implementation and check-in with, 229, 229f, 232–237
informal relationships with, 221–222
kick-off and planning with, 229, 229f, 230–232
lifecycle stage and, 224
meetings with, 220
one-on-ones with, 221
post-mortem of, 229, 229f, 241–243
prioritization with, 115, 212, 224
product backlogs and, 203
in product discovery, 225
product requirements and, 192, 224, 241
product review of, 229, 229f, 237–241
product specifications and, 167, 226–227
project manager in, 213–214, 215t
QA with, 241
relationship with, 215–228
remote teams from, 223
respect of, 232
responsibilities of, 213–215, 215t, 220
senior stakeholders and, 46, 236–237, 238
in solution mode, 225–226
stakeholder alignment with, 224
stand-ups with, 233–234
timelines and, 23–24
trade-offs with, 235–236
transparency with, 217, 219, 220, 234
trust with, 221–222
enhancers, in features buckets, 116
enterprise applications: actionable value-based metrics for, 326
personas for, 74
product specifications for, 175
scope-design-test-learn cycle for, 152
user experience in, 70
Eriksson, Martin, 342
error conditions, for product flows, 321
error messages, product flows and, 322
context and, 25–27
momentum from, 24–27
Excel, for self-service analytics, 17, 18
execution insights, from competitors, 83
executive sponsor, for market launch, 291–292
exploration mode, 303
for innovation, 10–14
opportunities of, 13
for target customers, 10–11
fail fast, 144
feature-benefit-value map, in value propositions, 80–82, 81f
feature buckets, for prioritization, 115–116
feature-flags, in technical deployments, 286
features: in buy-a-feature prioritization, 119–120
engineering and, 227
in Kano Method prioritization, 122
out of scope, 109
parity of, with competitors, 65, 86, 87, 88
in weighted scorecards, 108–110
feedback: from engineering, 212, 221
leading through influence with, 41
over-scoping and, 251
post-launch, market launch and, 295–297
from product roadmaps, 146
with prototypes, 10, 12–14. See also customer feedback
fidelity, 127
high-fidelity prototypes, 162, 225
product backlog and, 260
validation and, 159–160
50/50 split test, 133
finance: for market launch, 293
user stories and, 194
first-time visitors: in customer relationship funnel, 336
as target customers, 71
five-whys, 31
for prioritization, 126
for technical deployments, 285
focus: with engineering, 216–217, 218
groups, 142
Fortune 500, 72
frequency of use (stickiness ratio): of actionable value-based metrics, 326
scope creep and, 255
vanity metrics and, 327
frequentists inference, in split tests, 132
gaming sites, target customers on, 70
geographic location: of engineering, 221–223
for product specifications, 175
in split tests, 132
of target customers, 73
goals: with engineering, 224
for market launch, 293–294
metrics and, 314–315
over-scoping and, 251
prioritization of, 101, 103–104
product discovery and, 138
of target customers, 73. See also business goals; short-term goals
grooming, of product backlog, 207–209, 208f
groupthink (herd mentality), 20, 30
halo effect, 30
heat maps, 320–321
herd mentality (groupthink), 20, 30
hidden customers, 68–69
hidden requirements, 241
high-fidelity prototypes, 162, 225
hindsight bias, for market launch, 294
homepage: conversion rate from, 317
mock-up of, 12
value propositions in, 80
Hopper, Grace, 283
hundred-dollar test, 120
hybrid solutions, 13
hygiene factors: for metrics, 317
for product specifications, 179
hypotheses: for competitor analyses, 86
in customer interviews, 153
disproving, 31
on ideas, 129
opportunities as, 19–20
personas as, 75
prioritization of, 145
for product specifications, 165–180
icebox backlog, 201
idea backlog, 201
ideas, 8
early dismissal of, 33
halo effect of, 30
hypotheses on, 129
prioritization of, 19, 22–24, 101
split tests for, 20
on surface area, 131
IDP. See individual development plan
impartiality, leading through influence and, 40–41
implementation and check-in, with engineering, 229, 229f, 232–237
indifferent features, in Kano Method prioritization, 122
Industry Classification, 72
influence, 36f
leading through, 34–58
positional power and, 37
informal relationships: with engineering, 221–222
with senior stakeholders, 49
inhibitors, of target customers, 73
innovation: by competitors, 85
explorer for, 10–14
Innovation Games (Hohmann), 119, 124
in-page progressive revealing, product flows and, 322
in-product education, for market launch, 297
insights: averages and, 17
leading through influence and, 41
instincts, trust of, 33
intellectual property (IP), in technology, 90
interactive prototypes, 163
internal beta (dogfooding), 288
interoperability, 264
interviews. See customer interviews
investment, from competitors, 83
IP. See intellectual property
Kano, Noriaki, 120
Kano Method, 107, 120–123, 121f
key performance indicators (KPIs): beta releases and, 290
from competitors, 83
leading through influence and, 42
for market launch, 293–294
for post-launch, 300
product governance and, 57
stakeholders and, 15
in theme-based prioritization frameworks, 112
user stories and, 194
kick-offs: with engineering, 229, 229f, 230–232
MRD and, 67
PMM and, 297
KJ Method (affinity diagram): for prioritization, 117–119, 129
in split tests, 129
KPIs. See key performance indicators
landing-page optimization, 128
lapsed (former) customers, as target customers, 71
launch. See product
launch leading through influence, 34–58
context for, 38–45
customer interviews and, 42
customer service and, 42
with feedback, 41
impartiality and, 40–41
insights and, 41
KPIs and, 42
opportunities, 41–45
product governance and, 56–58
with qualitative data, 40–41
with quantitative data, 40–41
with recommendations, 41
stakeholders and, 41–45
tactics for, 42–43
Lean Business Model Canvas, 67
learnability, 264
technical debt and, 269
legal: for market launch, 293
user stories and, 194
level of effort (LOE), 111
for product backlog, 206
for product requirements, 185
lifecycle stage: customer relationship funnel in, 333
engineering and, 224
for product specifications, 175
target customers in, 71
technical debt in, 268
user stories and, 193
limited beta, 288
LOE. See level of effort
long pole, in product requirements, 205t
loyal repeat customers, as target customers, 71
loyalty stage, of customer relationship funnel, 335
LTV. See customer lifetime value
maintainability, 264
managing-up, of senior stakeholders, 45–56, 45f
marketing: averages in, 315
competitors and, 83–84
as risk, 93
value propositions in, 80. See also sales
market launch: communication with, 294–297
customer feedback for, 294–297
customer service and, 295
in-product education for, 297
KPIs for, 293–294
point person for, 291–293
post-launch feedback and, 295–297
of product launch, 279f, 280, 290–297, 292f, 296f
roll-out program for, 295, 296f
stakeholders and, 294–297
marketplaces, target customers on, 70
market position: vs. competitors, 82
product specifications and, 178–179
Market Requirement Documents (MRDs), 66–67
market-research companies, for self-service analytics, 18
market share, in weighted scorecards, 108
match rate, of actionable value-based
metrics, 326
McAllister, Ian, 113–114
median, 315
media sites, target customers on, 70
mentors, senior stakeholders as, 47
metrics, 308–339
actionable, 314
for actionable value-based indicators, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 323–328
attributes of, 314–318
averages in, 315–316
correlation in, 315–316
for customer relationship funnel, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 333–336, 334f
for customer satisfaction, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 328–333, 329f, 332f
goals and, 314–315
hygiene factors for, 317
for LTV, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 336–339
out of range, 317
for product flows, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 318–323, 319f
robustness of, 316
for sales, 327
stakeholder alignment for, 317
sub-segments of, 317
transparency with, 316
vanity, 323–328. See also key performance indicators; qualitative data; quantitative data
metrics movers, in features buckets, 116
micromanagement, 227
milestones, sunk-cost fallacy and, 30
mitigation plans, product governance and, 57
mock-ups: of homepage, 12
in scope-design-test-learn cycle, 149
for stakeholders, 13
for validation and product discovery, 160–162, 161f
momentum, from evangelist, 24–27
Moore, Geoffrey, 11
motivators, of target customers, 73
MRDs. See Market Requirement Documents
multivariate split test, 133
NAICS. See North American Industry Classification System
Nash, Adam, 115–116
needs. See basic needs; customer needs
Net Promoter Score (NPS), 328–330, 329f, 333
network effect, as differentiator, 89
non-functional product requirements, 266–267
nonprofits, target customers in, 70
non-technical product managers, 351–353
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 72
NPS. See Net Promoter Score
null hypothesis, 19
objectives-and-key results (OKRs), 42, 112, 113
one-and-done product initiatives, 170
onion model, for customer interviews, 156, 156f
open-ended questions, in customer interviews, 31
openness. See transparency
opportunities: analyses for, 65
early dismissal of, 33
of explorer, 13
as hypotheses, 19–20
leading through influence, 41–45
LTV and, 339
validation of, 19–20
in value propositions, 77–79
opportunity costs, 22
avoidance of, 64
over-scoping and, 250
of resource allocation, 270
opt-in beta, 288
order-takers, 23
out of range metrics, 317
paid customers, as target customers, 71
pain points, value propositions and, 77, 78–79
pair-programming, 271
Pareto Principle, 102
patents, for differentiators, 89
path branching, 320
people, product management and, 347–348
performance needs, in Kano Method prioritization, 121
personalized experience, as differentiator, 89
personas: for end users, 75
for target customers, 73–75
persuasive power, 36
pivot, 144
P&L. See Profit and Loss statement
PMM. See product marketing
positional power, 36
influence and, 37
post-launch: analyses in, 303
celebrations for, 306
checklist for, 305
customer feedback in, 92, 301–303
development team in, 300–301
feedback, market launch and, 295–297
KPIs for, 300
post-mortem in, 304–305
root cause issue analysis during, 307f
in scope-design-test-learn cycle, 150–151
success criteria for, 64–65
of technical deployments, 284–287
technical operations in, 303
post-mortem (retrospective): of engineering, 229, 229f, 241–243
in post-launch, 304–305
price testing, 339
prioritization: analyses and, 102
brainstorming for, 127–128
for business outcomes, 126–135
buy-a-feature for, 119–120
collaboration for, 98–135, 106f
collaborative voting for, 116–120
context for, 105
customer-assisted methods for, 123–126
from customers, 106–107
for customer satisfaction, 333
difficulty of, 100–104
disruptions in, 104
with engineering, 115, 212, 224
external approaches to, 106–107, 106f
feature buckets for, 115–116
five-whys for, 126
of hypotheses, 145
internal approaches to, 106, 106f
Kano Method for, 107, 120–123, 121f
McAllister on, 113–114
over-scoping and, 254
by PMM, 297
of product backlog, 202–204, 205t
of product discovery, 91
by product manager, 346
of product requirements, 202–204, 205t
qualitative data for, 105–106, 106f
quantitative data for, 105, 106f
saying “no” and, 101–102
of senior stakeholders, 46, 103–104
split tests for, 128–135, 134f
with stakeholders, 100–101, 107
techniques for, 104–107
theme-based frameworks for, 112–116
weighted scorecards for, 107–112, 110f
problem mode, 10
in customer interviews, 157
for customers, 82–87
differentiators for, 88–91
vs. solution mode, 64
two potentials in, 31
problem statement, for value proposition, 76–77
process, product management and, 345–347, 345f
product: governance, 56–58
ideas from, 11
integration, as differentiator, 89
product management and, 345, 345f
review, of engineering, 229, 229f, 237–241
tear-downs, 12
product backlog: engineering and, 203
fidelity and, 260
prioritization of, 202–204, 205t
product discovery and, 202
for product requirements, 187, 200–209, 200f
start of, 203
types of, 201
product discovery: challenges of, 140–145
customer feedback for, 136–163
engineering in, 225
prioritization of, 91
product backlog and, 202
product requirements and, 205t
risk in, 94
scope-design-test-learn cycle for, 147–152, 148f
time-to-market and, 257–258, 259
product flows: metrics for, 310, 311f, 312–313t, 318–323, 319f
optimization strategies for, 322
step optimization for, 323
product launch: beta release of, 279f, 280, 287–290
business goals in, 302
for customers, 278–281
evangelist and, 27
for impact, 276–306
maintenance phase of, 302
market launch of, 279f, 280, 290–297, 292f, 296f
by product manager, 347
small vs. big-bang, 281
for stakeholders, 278–281
technical deployment of, 278–280, 279f, 281–287. See also post-launch
product managers: for business goals, 342–343
career advancement of, 340–355
collaboration by, 347–348
customer feedback and, 343
customer needs and, 346–347
customer understanding by, 59–95
as DRI, 342
intersecting role of, 343f
non-technical, 351–353
people and, 347–348
pitfalls to
avoid, 27–33
prioritization by, 346
product launch by, 347
product requirements and, 347
product specifications and, 347
stakeholders and, 347–348
strengths of, 27–28
superpowers of, 348–351
technology and, 344
for user experience, 343. See also analyst; challenger; evangelist; explorer; leading through influence
product marketing (PMM): for market launch, 292
for product launch, 297–300, 299f
product requirements: acceptance criteria for, 185, 197–200, 200t
avoidance of wasteful requirements, 186
collaboration for, 183–209
dependencies in, 205t
differentiators in, 205t
engineering and, 192, 224, 241
hidden, 241
long pole in, 205t
non-functional, 266–267
prioritization of, 202–204, 205t
product backlog for, 187, 200–209, 200f
product discovery and, 205t
product manager and, 347
QA with, 193
risk in, 205t
user stories for, 187–199
buy-in and, 50
feedback from, 146
product governance and, 57
product specifications: business goals of, 167, 169, 173–174, 174t
cross-business checklist for, 178
functionality of, 177–180
hypotheses for, 165–180
product manager and, 347
scope limitations for, 168–170
stakeholders and, 167, 170–171
template for, 180
time-to-market and, 169
user stories and, 176–177, 177t
product updates: by evangelist, 25
to senior stakeholders, 51–52, 53
product validation. See validation
product vision, 33
of explorer, 10–11
kick-off and, 230
reinforcement of, 39
Profit and Loss statement (P&L), 67
proof-of-concept, 197, 205t, 258, 265
proprietary technology, as differentiator, 89
prototypes: feedback with, 10, 12–14
focus groups for, 142
interactive, 163
prioritization and, 102
for product discovery, 161f, 162
in scope-design-test-learn cycle, 149
simplicity of, 14
for stakeholders, 14
usability testing with, 139
for validation, 10, 12–14, 161f, 162
prune-the-product-tree, 124
QA. See quality assurance
qualitative data: for analyst, 14–17
from customer interviews, 16
on customer satisfaction, 333
leading through influence with, 40–41
levels of detail of, 40
methodology for, 40–41
for prioritization, 105–106, 106f
in scope-design-test-learn cycle, 150
quality, trade-offs with, 246–247, 263–269, 265f, 267f
quality assurance (QA), 145
with engineering, 241
with product requirements, 193
by senior stakeholders, 46
for technical deployments, 282
quantitative data: for analyst, 14–15
leading through influence with, 40–41
levels of detail of, 40
methodology for, 40–41
in scope-design-test-learn cycle, 150
subcomponents of, 15
in theme-based prioritization frameworks, 114
random allocation, in beta release, 288
rates, 314
ratios, 314
Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort/Ease (RICE), 130–131, 131t
readiness review, for market launch, 293
ready-response team, 300
recommendations: leading through influence with, 41
to senior stakeholders, 54, 55
recoverability, 264
referral rate, of actionable value-based metrics, 326
regulation, risk of, 93
reporting requirements, 15
reputation risk, 30
requirements. See product requirements
resource allocation: product governance and, 57
in theme-based prioritization frameworks, 112, 113, 114
trade-offs with, 269–271, 270f
respect: buy-in and, 50
constructive conflict and, 20
retention. See customer retention
retrospective. See post-mortem
return-on-investment (ROI), over-scoping and, 252–253
reusability, 264
reverse features, in Kano Method prioritization, 122
RICE. See Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort/Ease
risk: aversion to, trade-offs with, 273
of beta releases, 287–288
challenger and, 18–24
competitors as, 93
of discoverability problem, 92, 93
in engineering prioritization, 115
evangelist and, 25
marketing as, 93
in product discovery, 94
product governance and, 57
in product requirements, 205t
of regulation, 93
reputation, 30
stakeholders and, 92
risk analysis, 91–95
action plan for, 96f-97f
for risks not in your control, 93
roadmap. See product roadmap
robustness, 264
of metrics, 316
ROI. See return-on-investment
role models, senior stakeholders as, 47
roll-back plan, for technical deployment, 286–287
roll-out program, for market launch, 295, 296f
root-cause analysis, 303
market launch of, 295. See also; enterprise applications
sales: for market launch, 292–293
metrics for, 327
senior stakeholders and, 47
trust with, 152
user stories and, 194
saying “no,” 23
prioritization and, 101–102
scalability, 264
schedule slippage, from over-scoping, 253–254
scientific wild-ass guesses (SWAGs), 67
in theme-based prioritization frameworks, 114
scope: additions to, 254
features out of, 109
trade-offs with, 246, 248–255, 248f
validation and, 249
stakeholder buy-in and, 255
scope-design-test-learn cycle: for product discovery, 147–152, 148f
search engine optimization (SEO), 127
metrics for, 317
secondary information, product flows and, 322
senior stakeholders: alignment of, 101
buy-in by, 49–51
communication with, 53–54
over-scoping and, 251
prioritization of, 46, 103–104
product governance of, 56–58
relationship with, 46–49
SEO. See search engine optimization
session time, for product flows, 321
short-term goals, 38
trade-offs with, 272
single points of failure (SPOFs), 302
skepticism, of challenger, 19
SLA. See support-level agreement
small-medium businesses (SMB), 72t
small-medium enterprises (SME), 72t
social enterprises, target customers in, 70
social media, target customers on, 70
sole proprietors, 72
solution mode, 10
in customer interviews, 157
defining solutions for, 65
engineering in, 225–226
jumping into solutions in, 63, 65
vs. problem mode, 64
specifications. See product specifications
spikes, in user stories, 197
split releases, over-scoping and, 250
split tests (A|B tests): for beta releases, 289
for causality, 316
for customer relationship funnel, 333
for ideas, 20
for prioritization, 128–135, 134f
for product flows, 318
SPOFs. See single points of failure
SQL, for self-service analytics, 17, 18
stakeholder alignment, 22, 64, 76
with engineering, 224
for market launch, 293
for metrics, 317
stakeholders, 4
buy-in of, scope creep and, 255
for collaborative voting prioritization, 116–120
compromise of, 44
context for, 64
as dissenters, 20
evangelist and, 24
ideas from, 11
KPIs and, 15
launch for, 278–281
leading through influence and, 41–45
market launch and, 294–297
misalignment of, 44
mock-ups for, 13
MRDs for, 66
prioritization with, 100–101, 107
product backlogs and, 203
product manager and, 347–348
product specifications and, 167, 170–171
prototypes for, 14
risk and, 92
time-to-market and, 261–263
user stories and, 194
value propositions and, 76
weighted scorecards for, 107–112, 110f. See also senior stakeholders
stand-ups, with engineering, 233–234
step optimization, for product flows, 323
stickiness ratio. See frequency of use
strategy: competitors and, 84, 87
in features buckets, 116
pivots and, 144
reinforcement of, 39
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT), 87
stress tests, 200
sub-segments: of metrics, 317
of target customers, 71–73, 72t
sunk-cost fallacy, 30
support-level agreement (SLA), 284–285
surface area: ideas on, 131
product specifications for, 175
survivor bias, 29
sustainability, as differentiator, 90
SWAGs. See scientific wild-ass guesses
SWOT. See strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
target customers (users), 62, 63
alternatives and, 82–87
assumptions of, 91–95
attributes of, 73
competitors and, 82–87
customer interviews of, 156–157
for enterprise applications, 70, 72
explorer for, 10–11
hidden, 68–69
identification of, 67–75
on marketplaces, 70
on media sites, 70
in nonprofits, 70
personas for, 73–75
in social enterprises, 70
user stories and, 193
value propositions for, 75–82, 81f. See also customers
technical debt, 24
in lifecycle stage, 268
trade-offs with, 263–269, 265f
technical deployment: checklist for, 287
continuous deployment of, 284
debugging for, 282
deployment plan for, 283
feature-flags in, 286
post-launch of, 284–287
of product launch, 278–280, 279f, 281–287
QA for, 282
roll-back plan for, 286–287
technical operations, in post-launch, 303
technology: from alternatives, 84
IP in, 90
product manager and, 344
target customers and, 73
templates, for vision statement, 11
testimonials, from beta release, 298
theme-based frameworks, for prioritization, 112–116
3Ps, for product manager, 344–348, 345f
timelines, engineering and, 23–24
time-on-page, for product flows, 321
time-to-market: confidence level of, 260
context for, 261–263
contingency for, 259
date range for, 259
date slippage for, 260
product discovery and, 257–258, 259
product manager and, 345
product specifications and, 169
resource allocation and, 271
stakeholders and, 261–263
trade-offs with, 246, 255–263, 256f. See also deadlines
time tracking, product flows and, 322
top-down product specifications, 171–180
tracking requirements, 15
trade-offs, 244–274
difficulty of, 272–274
with engineering, 235–236
with quality, 246–247, 263–269, 265f, 267f
with resource allocation, 269–271, 270f
with scope, 246, 248–255, 248f
with technical debt, 263–269, 265f
with time-to-market, 246, 255–263, 256f
transparency (openness), 79
with engineering, 217, 219, 220, 234
with metrics, 316
trust from, 104
trial users, as target customers, 71
trust: from brand recognition, 89
buy-in and, 50
with engineering, 221–222
of instincts, 33
with sales, 152
of senior stakeholders, 50, 54–56
from transparency, 104
unique selling propositions (USPs), 88
unit economics, from competitors, 83
urgency, from competitors, 83
usability testing: CTA and, 163
with customer interviews, 152–158, 156f
with prototypes, 139
user experience: in enterprise applications, 70
product manager for, 343
usability testing for, 145, 146
user experience team, 1, 26, 145–147
product flows and, 322
user interface, 196
for beta releases, 290
demos of, 239
user interviews. See customer interviews
user stories: breaking down, 194–197, 195f
confirmation in, 188f, 191–193
conversation in, 188f, 190–191
criteria acceptance in, 188f, 191–193
for product requirements, 187–199
product specifications and, 176–177, 177t
spikes in, 197
template for, 187–193
USPs. See unique selling propositions
validation: for beta releases, 289–290
from competitors, 83
customer feedback for, 136–163
customer interviews for, 152–159, 156f
fidelity and, 159–160
levels of, 139f
MRDs and, 67
of opportunities, 19–20
pivots in, 144
prioritization and, 102
of product specifications, 166, 169
prototypes for, 10, 12–14, 161f, 162
scope and, 249
testing for, 151
in theme-based prioritization frameworks, 112
user experience team for, 145–146
value propositions: advantages of, 76
feature-benefit-value map in, 80–82, 81f
opportunities in, 77–79
for target customers, 75–82
three statements for, 79–80
values, of target customers, 73
value summary, for competitors, 86
vanity metrics, 323–328
dangers of, 327
variant cell, in split tests, 131
VBA, 18
view analysis, 320–321
virtual user testing, 163
vision statement, templates for, 11
wants, as opportunities, 79
weighted scorecards, for prioritization, 107–112, 110f
win-back (reactivation), in customer relationship funnel, 335
wireframes: drawings with, 162
for validation and product discovery, 160, 161f