AMA: DocuSign Senior Director of Product, AI/ML & Big Data platform, Deepak Mukunthu on Platform Product Management

From metrics perspective, it's no different from standard product metrics. I've seen many different metrics frameworks being used, all of which essentially boil down to these 4 metric categories: 1. Operational metrics: Is the product functioning as expected? Success rates, Latency etc. 2. Usage metrics: Is the product being used? DAU/MAU, Frequency of use, customer retention/churn, Requests/sec, data volume etc. 3. Satisfaction metrics: Are customers satisfied? In-product feedback (thumbs-up, t ...Read More

If you are referring to individual products using capabilities from broader platform, I would categorize those products are target customer scenarios that the platform enables. As you come up with the roadmap for your platform, you need to work closely with all those scenario owners / customers and align your roadmap to enable those scenarios to succeed. While you decide on platform capabilities based on deep understanding of customer scenarios, if you align the execution of your roadmap with th ...Read More

Depending on the phase of the project or lifecycle stage of the product, a product manager collaborates with many different functions. During intial phases, you work with customer/account teams to understand demand, then with designers and user research teams to perform user research, usability studies, focus groups to understand and define. Once you an MVP, work with customers and account teams to get feedback. When you are ready to ship public offering, work with documentation and marketing te ...Read More

As a Product Manager, you are responsible for: 1. Defining product vision/strategy/roadmap based on deep understand of customers, business and competitive landscape 2. Working with various cross-functional stakeholders and partners to execute on your roadmap and ship product/features 3. Establishing processes to gather customer feedback to continuously evolve the product Platform Product Manager role is very different except the product is a platform and hence your customers are the ones using t ...Read More

As a Product Manager, you are responsible for: 1. Defining product vision/strategy/roadmap based on deep understand of customers, business and competitive landscape 2. Working with various cross-functional stakeholders and partners to execute on your roadmap and ship product/features 3. Establishing processes to gather customer feedback to continuously evolve the product Platform Product Manager role is very different except the product is a platform and hence your customers are the ones using t ...Read More

Yes, customer feedback is one of the most critical inputs to prioritization. For Platforms, you typically focus on 2 sets of customers:  1. Direct customers: These are users of the platform. Exact customer persona will depend on the specifics of the platform. For e.g., if you are building an ML platform, your typical persona would be data scientists, ML engineers. 2. Indirect customers: These are users who will see the value of the work your direct customers are doing.  Depending on whether you ...Read More

Assuming your question is on how to prioritize the right set of features, here is my answer: First step is to understand customer scenarios/workflows and associated pain-points and needs. Combine that with business opportunity of that investment, also having a close eye on the market and compete landscape. Finally, use rigorous prioritization to focus on highest ROI - take into account both customer/business value as well as associated cost to deliver. This is no different from a typical Product ...Read More

Impact is typically measured by customer and business value that product/project brings in. First step is to understand customer scenarios/workflows and associated pain-points and needs. Combine that with business opportunity of that investment, also having a close eye on the market and compete landscape. Finally, use rigorous prioritization to focus on highest ROI - take into account both customer/business value as well as associated cost to deliver. This is no different from a typical Product ...Read More