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The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback
The Lean Product Playbook ist ein praktischer Leitfaden f�r die Schaffung von Produkten, die die Verbraucher sch�tzen. Die Entwicklung gro�artiger Produkte ist ein schwieriges Unterfangen. Davon zeugt der hohe Prozentsatz neuer Produkte, die bei dem Verbraucher auf keine Akzeptanz sto�en. Dieses Praktikerbuch hilft Ihnen durch klare Schritt-f�r-Schrittanleitungen und unz�hlige Tipps, erfolgreiche Produkte zu entwickeln.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 16, 2015
1551 people are currently reading
11777 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews
July 14, 2015
I am a 24-year old product owner for an educational mobile app company and this book has been incredibly helpful for me as I learn about how to develop products. I come from a non-technical background and have only been the PO for a couple of months, so I have looked for any and every book to help me out.
This title says it all because it really is a playbook for how to go about building the product. I found it to be much more practical than the Lean Startup and here are some of the key takeaways:
- Focus on the Problem Space before jumping to the Solution Space. Some product teams jump right to the feature set without establishing the problem space first.
- Build, Measure Learn can be broken down more so to Hypothesize, Design, Test, Learn as you jump from problem-space to solution space. Always test with real customers as soon as possible. Something as easy as clickable wireframes are fine.
- Select the key metrics that you want to track, establish benchmarks and then iterate off of those. Prioritize based on feature set with the highest ROI and highest upside.
In addition to this book, I would recommend Inspired by Marty Cagan. I'm reading Lean Product Playbook for the second time now and have shared this book with my CEO, design lead and analytics team as well. Highly recommend!
This title says it all because it really is a playbook for how to go about building the product. I found it to be much more practical than the Lean Startup and here are some of the key takeaways:
- Focus on the Problem Space before jumping to the Solution Space. Some product teams jump right to the feature set without establishing the problem space first.
- Build, Measure Learn can be broken down more so to Hypothesize, Design, Test, Learn as you jump from problem-space to solution space. Always test with real customers as soon as possible. Something as easy as clickable wireframes are fine.
- Select the key metrics that you want to track, establish benchmarks and then iterate off of those. Prioritize based on feature set with the highest ROI and highest upside.
In addition to this book, I would recommend Inspired by Marty Cagan. I'm reading Lean Product Playbook for the second time now and have shared this book with my CEO, design lead and analytics team as well. Highly recommend!
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April 9, 2017No star rating as this is just the synthesis of previous "Lean series" books, mainly Lean Startup & Lean UX. It's well written, but there's barely any genuine & original content, except of 1 full chapter which is a real-life case of product pivot (very interesting, TBH).
So if you've already read other books in the series, you can easily skip this one. Otherwise, it's not a bad way of getting familiar with the idea - none of synthesised topics feel too shallow, which makes this book quite a good primer.
So if you've already read other books in the series, you can easily skip this one. Otherwise, it's not a bad way of getting familiar with the idea - none of synthesised topics feel too shallow, which makes this book quite a good primer.
February 13, 2017
Great read for product management. Beginner or seasoned in product management? Doesn't matter. I'd definitely suggest it either to learn more or remind yourself some of the basics.
November 5, 2022
Sometimes the education you get from a book is worth more than your academic degree.
Well, this is my feeling after reading this book.
"Product" is a valuable skill.
The practice of figuring out explicitly "why" you should build something for a particular audience to address their "underserved" needs in a scientific way is very often overlooked.
We move too fast from problem space to solution space. We want to get our hands dirty and start building as soon as possible. We think what we recognized is a "real" problem and the "right" problem to address without giving it second thoughts.
We confuse assumptions with facts.
We have a bias for action. Not the "right" course of action necessarily.
From this book, you learn a lot of ideas, facts, frameworks, approaches, mindsets, and examples about the "right" course of action before, while, and after building a product.
It took me +500 highlights and ~30 hours to finish!
Many things "unknown unknown" for me. By that, I mean things I didn't know I didn't know!
This is outstanding work!
Happy reading! 📙
Well, this is my feeling after reading this book.
"Product" is a valuable skill.
The practice of figuring out explicitly "why" you should build something for a particular audience to address their "underserved" needs in a scientific way is very often overlooked.
We move too fast from problem space to solution space. We want to get our hands dirty and start building as soon as possible. We think what we recognized is a "real" problem and the "right" problem to address without giving it second thoughts.
We confuse assumptions with facts.
We have a bias for action. Not the "right" course of action necessarily.
From this book, you learn a lot of ideas, facts, frameworks, approaches, mindsets, and examples about the "right" course of action before, while, and after building a product.
It took me +500 highlights and ~30 hours to finish!
Many things "unknown unknown" for me. By that, I mean things I didn't know I didn't know!
This is outstanding work!
Happy reading! 📙
July 20, 2024
Great book! Read this for my Product Book club at work. Learnt about the problem vs solution space, the lean product process, how to identify and improve the metric that matters most, and many many other concepts and frameworks. Great playbook to keep in one's metaphorical toolbox.
April 5, 2021
A great read for product development and entrepreneurship. It's consisted of very practical, simple, and logical ideas. It's vital to have the right basis, and that's what this book offers you. One of the stunning concepts is to define well the Problem Space and then jump to Solution one. It's a simple but very crucial step during the development of a product. I also like the author's interpretation about the Build, Measure, Cycle and how he describes it like Hypothesize, Design, Test, Learn.
At the beginning of the year, I've started reading the book as trying to read it iteratively and try to put many of the ideas and concepts into practice. However, I would recommend going through it first and then revisiting some of the sections when you need it.
I don't regret that I bought the book on paper for my personal library some time ago. Recommend it to anyone interested in building and launching products. In my opinion, it's a must-have!
At the beginning of the year, I've started reading the book as trying to read it iteratively and try to put many of the ideas and concepts into practice. However, I would recommend going through it first and then revisiting some of the sections when you need it.
I don't regret that I bought the book on paper for my personal library some time ago. Recommend it to anyone interested in building and launching products. In my opinion, it's a must-have!
February 12, 2023
Weird feeling of deja vu - looks like IT business completed the circle and got back to extra layers of research, values and testing. Well, now we know they are actually needed in B2C bisiness, development or fmcg.
September 13, 2019
A very practical book. Useful if you want to revisit some product management fundamentals or if you want an introduction to the topic.
September 27, 2021
What a valuable book! If you want a primer to product management, look no further than this. Simple language and lots of examples. Structurally, this book is divided into three parts - Core Concepts, Lean Product Process, Building and Optimizing.
In the first part Olsen covers the differences between problem-space and solution space and how it is much more essential to cover the problem space before you start building a great UX or start using the most upto date technology (AI/ML I am looking at you!). He also explains the Lean Product Process pyramid, which represents how you should be thinking of your product, from the bottom to the top layer:
- Target customer
- Underserved needs
- Value proposition
- Feature set
- UX
The idea is that the bottom layer must have some degree of resolution, before you invest a lot in the upper layers. The first two layers being the problem space layers, are the utmost important - if these are shaky, then the product wont survive too long. The Value proposition is how you differentiate yourself from your competition. And the rest of the two are the cherry on the cake, opportunities to delight the customer.
The next part covers all the steps of the Lean product process in detail to conceptualize, validate and create a product with the right Product-Market-Fit. Olsen supplements this with a lot of practical examples and his own experiences at Intuit, Friendster and other numerous startups. The main way Olsen advocates tackling the product-market fit continously is via regular user validation both qualitative and quantitative via mockups, interviews, A/B testing, analytics etc.
The last part of the book is on implementation using Agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban, and post implementation metrics to understand optimization of the product. I found the analytics part particularly valuable as to how to understand which metrics to use for your business and how to go about optimizing them.
Great book for anyone who wants to build a successful product! Also found his youtube channel very valuable - https://www.youtube.com/c/DanOlsen
In the first part Olsen covers the differences between problem-space and solution space and how it is much more essential to cover the problem space before you start building a great UX or start using the most upto date technology (AI/ML I am looking at you!). He also explains the Lean Product Process pyramid, which represents how you should be thinking of your product, from the bottom to the top layer:
- Target customer
- Underserved needs
- Value proposition
- Feature set
- UX
The idea is that the bottom layer must have some degree of resolution, before you invest a lot in the upper layers. The first two layers being the problem space layers, are the utmost important - if these are shaky, then the product wont survive too long. The Value proposition is how you differentiate yourself from your competition. And the rest of the two are the cherry on the cake, opportunities to delight the customer.
The next part covers all the steps of the Lean product process in detail to conceptualize, validate and create a product with the right Product-Market-Fit. Olsen supplements this with a lot of practical examples and his own experiences at Intuit, Friendster and other numerous startups. The main way Olsen advocates tackling the product-market fit continously is via regular user validation both qualitative and quantitative via mockups, interviews, A/B testing, analytics etc.
The last part of the book is on implementation using Agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban, and post implementation metrics to understand optimization of the product. I found the analytics part particularly valuable as to how to understand which metrics to use for your business and how to go about optimizing them.
Great book for anyone who wants to build a successful product! Also found his youtube channel very valuable - https://www.youtube.com/c/DanOlsen
May 15, 2022
End to end product discovery and delivery book that leaves no achieving product-market fit stone unturned.
October 9, 2022
I have been listening to a lot of those books this year and I was skeptical about learning anything new. But the book surprised me - it's such a practical one. The author was a core team member with a software that came to market as 47th and still won first place, because of UI and design (and those because of good lean practices, mostly with clients). It covers the whole spectrum: how to come up with good ideas, how to investigate the competition, in what order what to build, scrum and kanban, how to test the design, about colors and fonts, and in the end a lot of equations to calculate the ever-changing product-market fit. I should listen to it again in 6 months, a really good one. Especially I would recommend this to to beginners, because it covers a lot of what I already knew from my own practice (and I agree with 100% of it).
June 22, 2020
For software, the product itself is intangible code, often running on servers that the customer never sees. The real-world manifestation of software products that customers see and use is the user experience (UX)
Customers and their needs, which you can target but can't change
See the difference between problem space and solution space.
Strategy Means Saying “No”
Usability answers the question, “Can customers use your product?” Delight answers the question, “Do customers enjoy using your product?”
Customers and their needs, which you can target but can't change
See the difference between problem space and solution space.
Strategy Means Saying “No”
Usability answers the question, “Can customers use your product?” Delight answers the question, “Do customers enjoy using your product?”
May 9, 2022
No nonsense guide to achieving product-market fit and building a great product pipeline from end to end and with a great feedback loop to learn faster and be lean.
This is the kind of book that makes me so happy. Timeless advice, tightly packed, just enough examples, easy to read, worthy of taking notes from and more than 50% highlightable.
5 stars for this Book-Reader Fit. Highly advised for product owners and exntrepreneurs.
This is the kind of book that makes me so happy. Timeless advice, tightly packed, just enough examples, easy to read, worthy of taking notes from and more than 50% highlightable.
5 stars for this Book-Reader Fit. Highly advised for product owners and exntrepreneurs.
March 16, 2017
A great read for entrepreneurs and PM's. Crystallises the whole process reduces uncertainty in one of the most important part of your startup's journey.
March 26, 2020
It's a good book for people trying to initiate as a Product Manager in a tech company. It gives you the best practices to have a product-market fit with your product.
June 13, 2024
Þessi bók er fyrir fólk sem er að stíga sín fyrstu skref í faginu. Ef þú hefur unnið við hugbúnaðargerð eða vörustjórnun í meira en ár skaltu algjörlega sleppa þessari. 2.5/5
September 12, 2025
This a genuinely very interesting look into the business end of developing a product or service. From someone with no experience in that field, this provided a lot of practical-seeming advice and even step-by-step guidance to work through the process. It also includes formulas and recommendations to track and improve both the process of developing and marketing the product and the product itself (whatever it is). Overall, if this book is recommended to you by your corporate book club or is assigned to you by a manager or professor, you could do a lot worse than to just read it and think about what it has to offer.
March 15, 2025
Mi tercer libro de producto, pero sin dudas debió haber sido el primero. Es literalmente un playbook, porque presenta de manera estructurada y sencilla el paso a paso para construir productos digitales que la gente ame. Personalmente, me ayudó mucho a ordenar mis ideas sobre el proceso completo de creación de producto.
Un punto aparte que me encantó es el foco que le da a analytics, no solo para mejorar el producto, sino también para conectarlo con los objetivos de negocio.
Definitivamente, un libro base para POs/PMs, especialmente para quienes estamos empezando en esta carrera.
Un punto aparte que me encantó es el foco que le da a analytics, no solo para mejorar el producto, sino también para conectarlo con los objetivos de negocio.
Definitivamente, un libro base para POs/PMs, especialmente para quienes estamos empezando en esta carrera.
June 8, 2020
Really liked this book. I've been a PM for a few years but mostly learned on the job. I wish I had read this when I first started. It allowed me to take a step back and see how everything is supposed to be working together.
I especially like the section of the Kano Model and scoring Must Have / Performance / Delighter features against competitors for a MVP. A lot of times, I think I've launched MVPs that are too "minimal".
I especially like the section of the Kano Model and scoring Must Have / Performance / Delighter features against competitors for a MVP. A lot of times, I think I've launched MVPs that are too "minimal".
May 30, 2020
I picked up this book to get an idea of what product management is. This lays a very good layout of the different concepts involved in PM. It also provides relatable examples and easy rules of thumbs for practitioners. I thoroughly enjoyed the metrics section of the book.
February 17, 2021
Very clear and concise methodology towards building a new product. It is not so much for Series C startups and beyond as much as it is for the earlier stage startups. Loved the logical flow in which the book is written. It is almost like a train journey starting from the idea station to the destination station of "live product"
March 29, 2024
A decent read about the lean product philosophy and how to ship quicker, evaluate efforts involved. In short, a good book for everyone involved in software product development. I quite enjoyed the case studies mentioned in this one.
October 17, 2019
Good enough to understand product management from start, sometime it is too much in detail and repetitive. Still good to start with this book.
December 23, 2019
After this book, I'm feeling like I was really dumb. Now I understand how product development works and, most importantly, how to validate product-market fit
October 20, 2021
I think everyone should read this book from software engineers to product managers to understand how a product inception lifecycle should work and what steps are important before diving straight into development. It drills down to how to understand if a product would have an impact and emphasizes the point that there should always be equal importance given to qualitative and quantitative analysis based on what stage the product is at.
February 7, 2022
The framework was introduced at the start of the book is interesting but after that the book was boring for me. If you are familiar with lean method I guess the book would be boring for you, too!
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July 10, 2022Who should read this? Add the words "consumer software product" in the title.
Let's make the title more specific:
The Lean Software Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Software Product.
That said, it's a good read if you are in the business (or planning to) of building a software product intended to be used by end-users (not enterprise software).
Let's make the title more specific:
The Lean Software Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Software Product.
That said, it's a good read if you are in the business (or planning to) of building a software product intended to be used by end-users (not enterprise software).
October 22, 2020
Very well structured and helped me appreciate product management for what it is all over again!
December 24, 2022
This is a brilliant start for anyone who's breaking into product management field. I came from a non technical background and this book introduce the principals that any aspiring product manager need. The language used is easy to understand. Really enjoyed reading it & was super helpful.
June 25, 2017
if you only read one product management book, read this one. longer review coming, but this has the best overview and gives you a lot to work with right away.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews