The Product Manager's Desk Reference 2E

by Steven Haines

Whatever your business sells, product management is one of the most important functions in the organization's pursuit of profits. With everexpanding globalization and increasingly fierce competition, the stakes are higher than ever--and the room for error narrower than ever.

Introducing a brand-new Product Management Life Cycle (PMLC) model, The Product Manager's Desk Reference, Second Edition, provides the knowledge, tools, and insight you need to establish yourself as a cutting-edge product manager who contributes measurably to your company's success.

In this fully revised edition of the definitive product management guide, veteran product management thought leader and practitioner Steven Haines clearly illustrates the entire product life cycle, from beginning to end. The Product Manager's Desk Reference is packed with an array of best practices and helpful hints that are critical to the efficient management of products.

Written for practitioners by a practitioner, The Product Manager's Desk Reference explains how to:

Choose and justify which products to build
Plan for their profitable creation and deployment
Develop and launch them
Manage them once they enter the market
Gracefully retire them and replace them with new products
Efficiently allocate investments across all of the products in an organization
The Product Manager's Desk Reference embodies everything product management. It is a comprehensive, versatile, must-have resource for anyone who works in any company, in any industry, who seeks to successfully and profitably market and manage products and services.

PRAISE FOR The Product Manager's Desk Reference:

There are some books that are destined to become classics in their field. The Product Manager's Desk Reference by Steven Haines is one of those books. Anyone working not just in product management but also marketing and business development should take the time to read and absorb the comprehensive body of knowledge that Steven has organized around product management. -- AMANDA NOZ, Head of Positioning and Messaging, Alcatel-Lucent

Steven has done an excellent job of bringing a standard definition of the roles and responsibilities of this 'accidental profession' to the industry, and has provided a path along with tools to improve your skills within the product management profession. -- BRIAN WEBER, Manager of Product Management, Thomson Reuters

Steven Haines covers this multifaceted topic in a systematic manner that makes the book easy to navigate. His groundbreaking proposal that product management become a formal discipline is an accurate reflection of the acute need for these skills in the business community. -- DAN O'DAY, Senior Director, Product Management, Thomson Reuters

From now on, this book will stand as an important reference point for all product management teams. -- MARK ELLIOTT, Vice President, Product Management, Smiths Detection

The Product Manager's Desk Reference is a practicial guide to the activities fi rms need to engage in to build the discipline of product management. When actively utilized, the Desk Reference promotes consistency and standardization of methodology, which in turn leads to repeatable process, good decision making, and positive outcomes. This is an incredibly valuable resource. -- DEBORAH LORENZEN, Chief Operating Officer, BNY Mellon University

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Reference

832 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2008

Reviews

[Ben Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

Product Management is a poorly defined role in most companies, usually confused with Project Management (which it most definitely is not). Making this the best volume on the art, development and methods of modern Product Management that I have come across so far. A huge book (>700 pages), but one that will continue to stay with me as a reference for years to come.

[Konstantin Valiotti · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is pretty comprehensive and overall is good. I feel like it should mostly be used as a desk reference (as it is stated in the title), rather than simply read (may be too overwhelming with all the forms, documents and such), especially if you are [aspiring] IT product manager.

The concepts are well-defined and the structure is pretty clear.

[Steve Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a substantial volume on product management, but both the money and time investments are paid back by the chapters on strategy and life cycle management. I have taken multiple actionable ideas from this book.

[Tate & · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steven Haines, founder of Sequent Learning [ www.sequentlearning.com ] really knows his stuff. This is a great book that I find myself opening when I am looking for a process or a solution. A must-have to keep on my desk (v 2 is even better!)

[Adam Sipos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dry, but thorough and useful.

[Eddy Vermeulen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for every product manager.

[Michał · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read introduction and some parts of the book. As the title suggests it's a desk reference. Something you want to reference in part, when you need it.

The author did a great job of gathering information about this hugely diverse and extremely demanding role. Even if some advice doesn't fit to the way you fulfil the role of product manager, you'll at least get a broad way of thinking about the challenges ahead of you.

[Duilw]

cool!

[Johan Oskarsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far only 2.0, missing a lot of new way of working and methods. Some chapters are good some not. Worth reading!!

[Lori Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book on product management for knowledge workers and entrepreneurs.

[Stephanie Rideau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference book. Some chapters are better than others.