Communities

AMA's

Job Board

Product Management Team

If you were starting out in a rapidly growing company would you start by embedding some best practice and then start to build out a team or start by building a small but mighty team and tackle it as a group?

3 Answers

Mike Flouton

GitLab VP, Product • May 3

My bias is always to start building a small but mighty team of A players. A players will make magic happen despite a lack of process. Process is helpful in larger organizations (and to help get more production out of less skilled players), so put more process in as you grow and things get more co......Read More

307 Views

What is your advice for creating and/or improving the product management process when joining a small but growing team? Particularly for a small company with no or little structure?

4 Answers

Rosa Villegas

Zynga Senior Director of Product, Central Technology • August 2

Be adaptable to change - don't be afraid to try different things or change a process that is no longer working for the team. For a team that is growing quickly oftentimes process gets ignored because the team is so focused on delivering/executing that they feel process may slow them down. In some......Read More

452 Views

As a Group Product Manager who has had experience working at several big companies that provide different products and services, what are the top 3 skills that you think have helped you succeed at these companies

1 Answer

Orit Golowinski

Jit.io VP of Product Management • April 25

As someone who has worked in various roles and companies, I've found that the top three skills that have helped me succeed are adaptability, self-learning, and collaboration. 1. Adaptability: In the fast-paced tech industry, things are constantly changing, and being able to quickly shift prior......Read More

336 Views

What is the most effective way to scale a Product Management team beyond the first Product Manager?

7 Answers

Tamar Hadar

The Knot Worldwide Senior Director of Product • February 2

I have been a part of small teams, large teams, a PM consultant and an entrepreneur. I have yet to scale a PM team beyond the first PM but here are the things I would consider: * Structure your team based on where the company will be in a few months/years—hiring should reflect the company’s ......Read More

578 Views

Do you have any advice for a junior PM who is a first product management hire?

5 Answers

Zeeshan Qamruddin

HubSpot Senior Director of Product Management, Fintech • April 11

As I mentioned in another answer, lean on those around you; there is a wealth of knowledge to be amassed from stakeholders and peers that have likely interacted with the product that you've been brought in to support for some time. Those same team members likely led to you being brought on board ......Read More

360 Views

how do you think about measuring business impact when your products aren't directly monetized?

3 Answers

Tasha Alfano

Twilio Staff Product Manager, SDKs and Libraries • February 10

I’ve worked with developer focused tooling for almost 7 years so I know exactly what you mean here. On almost every new feature or product our teams put into motion, we have a huge list of factors to consider such as security, legal, or billing. For developer tooling, there’s usually no change to......Read More

500 Views

Setting KPIs can often feel arbitrary, especially when entering new markets. How do you get past this uncertainty to set realistic goals?

5 Answers

Virgilia Kaur Pruthi (she/her)

Microsoft Principal PM Manager / Product Leader • January 31

Such a great question! When you first set a KPI especially if you are in a new market and/or in a new product/customer space, it can feel uneasy. The best way I have learned is by setting something and tracking it over time, seeing if there is any measurable change. If not start by marking out th......Read More

300 Views

How do you define and set SLAs with engineers?

I'm currently struggling to define checkout error rates for our e-commerce platform. We're currently at 1.5%. Personally, I think it's too high. However, I have nothing to substantiate my opinion.

2 Answers

Virgilia Kaur Pruthi (she/her)

Microsoft Principal PM Manager / Product Leader • January 31

I would recommend first building a relationship with your technical lead/engineering counterpart. Have them show you how your e-commerce platform (or product area) works end to end, from the backend perspective. Make sure that you first understand the end to end flow and specifically the systems ......Read More

396 Views

How would you change a product team/organization to be more KPI driven?

3 Answers

Virgilia Kaur Pruthi (she/her)

Microsoft Principal PM Manager / Product Leader • January 31

What a terrific question! This is one takes time and depending upon your organization will require patience. The best way I have learned, is to ask "why" a particular feature is being prioritized, and the "impact" it is bringing to the customer. The best way to create change is to start with you......Read More

439 Views

What are some of the *worst* KPIs for Product Managers to commit to achieving?

7 Answers

Virgilia Kaur Pruthi (she/her)

Microsoft Principal PM Manager / Product Leader • January 31

This could really range based upon the company, your users, your target goals, where you are in your business lifecyle, etc. The most basic ones are: acquisition, activation, retention, revenue, referral You could also be measuring customer lifetime value In regards to the worst KPIs, honestly......Read More

296 Views