The transformation from a rookie to a product manager is a story of blood and tears

In the past six months, I have transformed from a product novice to a real product manager. Along the way, I have stumbled and got help from many friends and colleagues, and I have also invested a lot of money. The following is my sad and tearful history along the way.

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Before I became a PM, I worked as a demand consultant for CRM products. I had a certain understanding of user needs, but that was a very stereotyped and fixed communication. Compared with Internet products and Internet product managers, they have always been full of mystery, and I seem to understand them in a fog.

After joining the company, my first project was a 4G speed test app. This seemingly simple app actually contains a lot of mysteries. For example, how to display the network speed to give users a better experience, how to display ads on the points wall to make users more eager to download, software upgrade channels, backend report display, similar competitive product analysis, etc. These details were not something I paid attention to before I became a product manager. In this project, I got some new skills: Axure, mind map, workflow, framework design, etc. This product was stopped after I finished drawing the front-end prototype. Later I learned that it was an app for me to practice.

*** PC product

Then, I started working on a real product in my career as a product manager: the company's official website. Although this is a customized product, it can go through the entire product design and development process from 0 to 1, and the front-end, back-end, and interface are all comprehensive. Fortunately, in this project, I experienced the early stages of demand communication, prototype design, demand presentation, UI design, communication with R&D, testing, and online launch. I had the experience of building a product from scratch so early, and experienced the entire life cycle of the product from design to R&D.

*** mobile apps

The second product I was responsible for was an app game. Compared with PC products, mobile Internet products have more interactions and details. How to scientifically distribute materials on the tiny screen of a mobile phone is very particular.

After analyzing competitors and sorting out mind maps, I quickly entered the prototype phase. Because of the previous accumulation, I finished drawing the prototype very quickly. The next step is product review. The participating technicians and PMs will raise many challenging questions in this phase. Facing the challenges of technology and bosses, you must be fully prepared for the needs, be familiar with each design point of the product, and clearly explain user needs, functions, and competitor performance.

The next step is research and development. As the complexity of the product increases. At the beginning, the prototypes and PRDs I made were not very detailed, and R&D had many questions during the research and development process, such as text size, data transmission rules, adaptation to different screens, etc. The communication process consumes a lot of time, and sometimes there may be rework. This made me realize that there is no finest detail in the requirements, only finer, so as to save communication costs and improve product development efficiency. In the stage of drawing prototypes and writing PRDs, almost all details must be taken into account and described. This can save a lot of R&D communication time and reduce rework.

*** Commercial product: Video software

The products mentioned above are all experiences from scratch. Gradually, the skills that product managers should have are becoming more and more proficient, and the leaders begin to assign some profitable projects for me to follow. Video software is the first commercial project I have come into contact with. This project is iterated very frequently, twice a week is a common thing. It is precisely because of this feature that the importance of project planning has been pushed to the forefront. In the follow-up process, there is a weekly plan every week, and each requirement has a R&D evaluation time node. According to the content in the work plan, arrange the timetable for design, R&D, and testing, and finally finalize the launch time. In the most effective and least risky way, go online as soon as possible, put it into the market for verification, and then debug.

When there are too many requirements, it is difficult to avoid requirements changes and project delays. When requirements change, the first thing to consider is how to retain the new applications, ensure the activeness of the product, and the download and installation ratio of ads. Fortunately, the entire team is an open team that embraces change. Once the requirements change, everyone actively handles it and delivers the changed requirements documents, interactions, visuals, reconstructions, etc. in the first time, and communicates with the technical staff on how to complete the implementation at the lowest cost.

This stage exercises the PM's communication and project management skills. The product manager often has overlapping responsibilities with the project manager. Therefore, the product manager also needs to manage and coordinate project communication, including communication, opening, and controlling time nodes. The challenges of project management always exist.

Furthermore, because this is a profitable project, operations are particularly important. At the beginning, the operational data was lost and we didn’t know what went wrong. With the help of R&D, testing, and PM, we gradually understood the various logics inside and outside the product and learned how to use the funnel model to analyze the causes of problems. Only then did we follow up with the online project.

In the process of product follow-up, new requirements are constantly raised and completed. New requirements are put forward for demand management. I made a list to organize the requirements. The process of sorting is also a process of thinking about the product. I kept asking myself, who is the user of this requirement, what problem does it solve, is it necessary, and is it necessary to do it now? In the list, each requirement is marked with priority, person in charge, corresponding development, start time, completion time, and completion status, so that everyone in the project team knows how much we are doing now, how much has been completed, and what to do next. In the process of product follow-up, we gradually have a more scientific way to manage requirements.

Conclusion

Product manager is a position that requires high comprehensive quality and requires you to have all-round skills. You need to have insight into user needs, logical thinking ability, professional skills in technical boundaries, project management, communication and coordination skills, innovation ability, business thinking ability, aesthetic ability, etc. As a newcomer, I have been walking slowly on the road of Internet products for half a year. With each step forward, I have a greater sense of awe for this industry. I also know that there are so many things I need to learn. The most terrifying thing is that better people work harder than me, so I have to rush forward without stopping. Here, I hope to encourage everyone~