Product Management For Dummies

by Brian Lawley, Pamela Schure

Your one-stop guide to becoming a product management prodigy Product management plays a pivotal role in organizations. In fact, it's now considered the fourth most important title in corporate America--yet only a tiny fraction of product managers have been trained for this vital position. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people who hold this essential job--or simply aspire to break into a new role--Product Management For Dummies gives you the tools to increase your skill level and manage products like a pro.

From defining what product management is--and isn't--to exploring the rising importance of product management in the corporate world, this friendly and accessible guide quickly gets you up to speed on everything it takes to thrive in this growing field. It offers plain-English explanations of the product life cycle, market research, competitive analysis, market and pricing strategy, product roadmaps, the people skills it takes to effectively influence and negotiate, and so much more.


Create a winning strategy for your product Gather and analyze customer and market feedback Prioritize and convey requirements to engineering teams effectively Maximize revenues and profitability Product managers are responsible for so much more than meets the eye--and this friendly, authoritative guide lifts the curtain on what it takes to succeed.

Genres: Business, Management, Reference, Technology, Leadership, Professional Development, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2017

About the author

Brian Lawley is recognized as a thought-leader and authority on the profession of Product Management and Product Marketing. He is the CEO and Founder of the 280 Group, author of six best-selling Product Management books, including Product Management for Dummies and one of the creators of the Optimal Product Process™. He is also the former President of the Silicon Valley Product Management Association (SVPMA), was awarded the AIPMM Award for Thought Leadership in Product Management, and has been featured on World Business Review and the Silicon Valley Business Report.

Reviews

[Valentin Shvets · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good thorough book on basics of PM. Covers most of areas. I wish it had something on UX as well. Maybe a bit too much details on the documentation (could move this to appendix). I think the worst about this book is the name itself and the series where it appeared. The whole idea of a professional reading something related to his field of expertise named "for dummies" is embarrassing. It shouldn't matter as long as the information is useful but in terms of perception I don't think anything beneficial for the authors. To rephrase something the authors write in the book, you wouldn't want someone performing a surgery on you who read "surgery for dummies".

[Mohammad Hussein Tavakoli Bina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't be fooled! This book is not a must-read for product managers!

Some books teach you concepts, and some teach practices. This book leans toward the latter. The problem with teaching practices is that they are time and context dependant.

The book introduces an Optimal Product Process(OOP), which is the centric idea of the book. But in reality, there is no optimal way to do product development, and many inputs like the stage of the product and company, competition, industry, etc. affect your product development process. The funny thing is that one of the last pieces of advice of the book is that instead of finding your process, follow ours, and save time!

Besides that, the book is hard to read; There are lots of bullet points and itemizations. I find narrative books much easier to read.

Save the time for reading this and read books that teach you product management concepts, like Inspired; Because concepts never get old & irrelevant (or at least not as fast as practices).

[Steve Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of the many aspects of product management

The authors cover a broad scope of topics in everyday language with lots of checklists and templates. Beyond the product topics, they explore different roles and titles as well as a nice chapter on planning your own career path. A great intro for the new product manager.

[Outdoors Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a dummies book so covers a wide spectrum at a shallow depth. Yet it doesn't give you a do this then that list of responsibilities and tasks.

The 3 stars are for the breadth of subjects it covers and the last few chapters of 'gotchas'. You will get a good understanding of why a PM role is, not necessarily exactly what you should be doing.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Не стоило затраченного времени

3/5 - соотношение пользы к затраченному времени.
Рассказывает о работе продукт менеджера, какие у него обязанности и за чем он должен следить.
Если бы она была раза в три меньше я бы её посоветовал прочитал для кругозора. А так - знаний особых не даёт, идей свежих не нашел, слишком растянута. Если только по диагонали и то непонятно для кого

[Nilesh Patil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shares good enough information. It is indeed a book for dummies but I found that it also shares lot of unnecessary information that you may not be interested in.

[Matheus Marabesi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book as expected introduces the nuances of a project manager from different perspectives, its role and even its responsibilities. For anyone that is looking to understand what it is about on the surface this book will fits well.

The book also covers the difficulties that a project manager might face when dealing with different roles and trying to get the product to move forward, the development team, stack holders and executives.

Under the product team, the book goes a bit further to segregate the developers profiles in three categories:

- The coder - just cares about coding, act like typers
- Primma Dona - don't care about product manager and does not act as a team player
- The team player - works with the product manager to build features that customers will love

Despite of seeing those roles on teams I have worked with, I would also relate those categories with the seniority level that each of them have on the team. It is expected that as one progress in the career to assume the more team player style rather than the coder - besides being expected, this is often not the reality and teams still suffers from the lack of team players.

Some of the things that I would highlight from the content are:

- It is clear and to the point on aspects of the role, no buzz words are used.
- there is an emphasis on what a successful product manager and even tips to go beyond what is expected

In the book, it is stated that the product manager owns the development teams (then the reason for classifying developers in the three types), I would personally shift that thinking to: a product manager is in the development team. This idea is not new and the basis comes from XP.

Following this approach I would argue that it is one more extra point towards "Getting to the next level" in chapter 19 of the book. Thinking as being part of the development team would bring some benefits, some of those being:

- Earning trust from the team (persuasion by default not needed to do some "magic trick")
- Building your network inside and outside the project
- Getting things done in a collaborative way and shared ownership making all of the team accountable
- Identify potential conflicts early on and address them before they become critical to the success of the product

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the role and responsibilities of a product manager. It's a well-written and informative book that provides valuable insights and tips.

[Reza Jokar · Rating 3 out of 5]

این کتاب اولین کتابی بود که از سری "فور دامیز" خوندم(انگلیسیش فرمت نوشته رو بهم میریخت :) ) و باید بگم که واقعا کتاب به معنای واقعی کلمه "فور دامیز" بود! نه ازاین جهت که کتاب مفید نبود بلکه کتاب خیلی جامع و با جزییات تمام وجوه یک مدیر محصول رو توضیح داد و شرح وظایف و اختیاراتش رو روشن کرد.
البته این اولین کتابی بود که درباره مدیریت محصول خوندم و ممکنه با خوندن کتاب های بیشتر تو این زمینه نظرم درباره کیفیت کتاب متفاوت بشه.
در کل کتاب با تشریح جایگاه مدیر محصول در شرکت شروع میشه، تمام بخش هایی که مدیر محصول باهاش باید همکاری کنه رو توضیح میده و یکم هم درباره مدیریت افراد و منابع انسانی توضیح میده.
این کتاب از این نظر عالیه که به نظرم حتی اگر کسی پیش زمینه خیلی ضعیفی از نحوه کار و اصظلاحات این حوزه داشته باشه، با خوندنش اون مفاهیم رو هم تا حد قابل قبولی متوجه میشه.

آدینه 12 اردیبهشت 1399

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get Managing

This is an outstanding guide that provides a comprehensive overview of the product management process. Lawley's writing style is engaging and informative, making it easy for readers to follow along and understand the key concepts.

This book covers all the essential topics, from market research to product development, and offers practical tips and strategies for successful product management. The author's real-world experience shines through, providing valuable insights that are both relevant and actionable.

Whether you're a seasoned product manager or just starting out in the field, this book is an excellent resource.

It's a must-read for anyone looking to improve their product management skills and take their career to the next level.

4.5/5

[Nikhil · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is one of the best books I had read on Product Management.

I had a lot of questions about Product Management how a Product Manager(PM) does the things he does and many others, which I used to ask PMs but after reading it; I have got answers to a lot of those questions.

The books tells about the practices used by PMs. If one is a beginner in this field or want to learn about ins and outs of PM role, one should definitely read this book.

[Angel Serrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completísimo curso de Gestión de Productos consistente en su formato, material de soporte y didactismo tradicional de la colección "for dummies". Incluye el ciclo de vida del producto, descubrimiento, evaluación y planoficación, construcción del producto desde idea a retirada, y cómo convertirse en un gran Director de Producto.

[Mauricio Steffen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an good book on Product Management, and written especially for those new to the field. I only gave it 4 stars because it was dry and hard to get through.

[İlhan Kesken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally accaptable ...

[Prarthana Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great thorough read on product management. Good for newbies or people interested in product management. Thus will become a good reference book and for reminders.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a very good book albeit a bit dry. Useful read but not really a fun one.

[Fateme Kazemzade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read about product management. It really explains everything from scratch.

[Mohammad Yahia]

informative but lacks living examples

informative but lacks actual work examples for most of the concepts described. If this addition is there, the book will be a great reference

[Ashley Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bit outdated now but still a useful reference book

[Xenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it’s a comprehensive overview of all of the various tools, tactics and methodologies in the product management practice, it’s very high-level, not actionable, and hard to actually get though. It’s kind of like an almanac. The title also isn’t great — the book isn’t structured that someone not working in the field could pick it up and get something out of it.