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Practical Guide To Product Management in Digital Media
Practical Guide To Product Management in Digital Media
Practical Guide To Product Management in Digital Media
Product Management
in Digital Media
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4
Table of Contents What is a Product? 5
What is a Product Manager? 6
Organizational Role of the Product Manager 7
Project Manager versus Product Manager 8
Onboarding your First Product Manager 9
Ongoing Professional Development 9
Building Bridges with Stakeholders 10
PRODUCT LIFECYCLE IN MEDIA 14
Research 14
Define 17
Plan 20
Design 21
Build 27
Test 30
Launch 32
Support 34
Measure 35
Iterate 36
Retire 36
GLOSSARY 38
TOOLS AND REFERENCES 39
Further Reading 39
Research 41
Design 42
Testing 43
Analytics 44
Development 44
Project Management 46
Support 46
Key Takeaways
understanding audience needs, and based on
that understanding, they define and prioritize
features, and work with the creative and
development teams to prototype and validate A PRODUCT MANAGER IS RESPONSIBLE
product ideas. To ensure that the product meets FOR UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCE NEEDS,
the agreed upon business objectives, product DEFINING AND PRIORITIZING FEATURES,
managers also define and monitor product
performance. AND WORKING WITH THE CREATIVE AND
DEVELOPMENT TEAMS TO PROTOTYPE AND
VALIDATE PRODUCT IDEAS. THE ROLE IS ALSO
RESPONSIBLE FOR DEFINING, TRACKING AND
MONITORING PRODUCT PERFORMANCE.
This process, as illustrated in the accompanying the product, as well as being able to monitor,
graphic, is best visualized as a wheel that is spun measure, and continuously improve a product
faster as a product team matures. post-launch.
The product lifecycle starts with researching and This cycle should be seen more as a mental
defining the product. Next, it moves through model, or a form of process thinking for a product
the design, development and testing phases manager, rather than a rigid procedure. The
leading up to a product launch. The final phases following pages have specific tools and tactics
A product manager also uses market research situation, and playing back the findings is
that will help the product manager fast track their
about media consumption habits across digital sometimes referred to as discovery work. If
ability to confidently move through the product
device platforms in order to inform and validate you already have a deep understanding of
lifecycle.
product decisions. stakeholders and business needs, and all the
relevant facts are readily available, then this
The primary goal of this research and discovery discovery phase can be skipped.
to operate more like a tech company, opting for DEFINING A PRODUCT REQUIREMENT OFTEN AND SIGNUPS. A GOOD SET OF THEMES
user stories over narrative documents. A hybrid ORIGINATES FROM A USER NEED OR MARKET FOR A MEDIA ORGANIZATION ARE REACH,
approach is the most effective, where the product
brief is a simple, one or two-page document PROBLEM. A COMMON PROBLEM OR NEED RETENTION, ENGAGEMENT AND REVENUE.
that sets the vision and strategy for the product, THAT IS EXPERIENCED BY A LARGE NUMBER THESE PERFORMANCE METRICS WILL
combined with an Agile user stories template. OF USERS CAN BE DEFINED AS A FEATURE. PROVIDE CONTINUOUS INSIGHTS INTO HOW
A user story is a brief software requirement,
THE FEATURE IS THEN PRIORITIZED BASED WELL A PRODUCT IS GROWING, RETAINING,
no longer than two sentences, framed in the
everyday language of the user. ON ITS PERVASIVENESS AND IMPACT. AND MONETIZING ITS USERS.
Design Concepts
Design concepts are the next level of detail when
translating product requirements into visual
artifacts. Design concepts build on the direction
and approval of previous deliverables and are the
final step in validating the overall design direction
of the product. At this stage, a foundational
design is approved and serves as the basis for all
pages and screens going forward.
to a two-week development sprint. During this progress column and into either the verify or
two-week period, the development team self- done columns.
organizes around the work to be done, using a
daily standup meeting to discuss the previous Some media companies may find the Kanban
day’s tasks, today’s tasks and any impediments. methodology effective for providing operational
The daily meetings are called a Scrum. The support to existing products outside of a sprint if
development team continues to release new the development tasks are small. As bugs or minor
features every two weeks until the final product enhancements are reported developers are able
is deemed ready for release. to execute and deliver minor updates to existing
products without disrupting commitments of
Kanban is another software development the dedicated Agile Scrum teams whose focus is
methodology that allows mature product primarily on new feature development. Figure 14: Benefits vs Features, Prioritizing Product Ideas, 2013
The ability to ensure organizational readiness for requests during the first couple of weeks after The product manager is responsible for defining, Bounce rate is another retention metric that is
a new product launch is a key component of the launch and quickly prioritize any urgent issues tracking and monitoring KPIs for a product. effective at determining the effectiveness of a
product lifecycle and often plagues organizations within the first couple of weeks after launch. Three KPIs to use for prioritizing, measuring, and product’s design. Bounce rate is measured by
that don’t have this function in place. A product This process has several benefits. It frees up monitoring the success of digital products are taking the average number of users who visited
manager is continually in front of stakeholders the product manager to focus on strategy, reach, retention, and engagement. a page or screen and leave without taking any
and in regular communication with them. He understanding users, and managing KPIs. It gives action.
ensures a smooth handover between teams a structured tool to quantify and prioritize bugs Reach metrics track the increase of the size of
during the development phase and also during based on pervasiveness and impact. It also allows a particular audience for a product. Monthly Engagement metrics track how well the designed
the launch phase by ensuring PR, marketing, third party providers to be held accountable active users (MAUs), daily active users (DAUs) features and functions are able to increase
support and other teams are fully aware of what’s to service level agreements in the event that and sessions/pageviews are some reach metrics discovery and depth of interactions with the
coming. managed services are affected. for a digital product. These metrics help product content and features of a product. Engagement
managers understand reach and frequency of is measured by tracking events and user flows
This is achieved through support call scripts. use for a given product. through a product using funnels and tags.
Rather than being on the front line to help users,
tier one support should be routed through the Retention metrics monitor a product’s ability to
helpdesk. It is okay to initially take all support retain loyal users over time. Common measures
under this category are next day, 7-day and 30-
day retention rates. This is measured by tracking
the number of users who continue using the
product after their first use.
the retirement process. An end of life document TYPICAL ELEMENTS OF AN END OF LIFE PLAN ARE
explains when support will cease for the product LISTED BELOW.
Tactics Tools along with specific actions that need to be taken
before and after the product is removed from the • E nd of life process milestones, definitions, and dates.
1. Plan and Prioritize New Features 1. A/B Test Results market. • Products affected by this notification and the
2. Measure Performance 6. Prioritized Backlog Features and replacement products.
Below is a sample milestone plan for retiring a
3. Test and Optimize New Features Enhancements • Compatibility of the replacement products.
mobile app product from the market.
4. Validate Features and Assumptions 7. Design Change Requirements • Current active users that will be impacted by the change
5. Test New Ideas and Concepts 8. Functional Change Requirements • Tactics for reaching and communicating with
current active users.
Making ongoing refinements to the product post- In other cases, the cost of a supporting a product
launch is one of the key aspects of managing a may be too high or may outstrip revenue, or the
product. Determining which features to improve resources necessary to support the product are Milestone Definition Timeline
or new ones to develop is driven by user negatively impacting new product development.
feedback and performance metrics. The product Removing a media product from the market can
END OF LIFE Define communication channels, formats, roles and responsibilities Week 1
is developed in a way that allows the product be a formal or informal process. A formal process STRATEGY for the end of life campaign.
manager to know which features are being used involves sending a series of messages to existing
and how well users complete the desired use- users leading up to the removal of the product
END OF LIFE Document design and development requirements. Week 2
cases and scenarios. In addition, the product and a follow-up after the product is no longer REQUIREMENTS
manager will also monitor and track how well the available for use or download.
product is meeting overall business objectives.
END OF LIFE Complete the design of in-app messages, email messages, and Week 3-4
An informal process typically happens when
DESIGN website placements.
All of these inform backlog and roadmap the need to remove the product is caused by
prioritization exercises and help to keep the events that are beyond the control of the product
END OF LIFE Develop in-app messages, email templates, and website Week 5-6
product evolving to meet the changing needs of manager. For example, a vendor may decide to
DEVELOPMENT placements.
users. no longer support a specific hardware device or
a service that powers the core features of the
END OF LIFE Deploy in-app notification for end of life messaging. Week 7
product may suddenly cease operations. In some
Retire
DEPLOYMENT
cases, a product may go into maintenance mode,
in which there is no new feature development
END OF LIFE Email newsletter announcement and in-app messaging activation. Week 7
for the product due to business priorities but the
A key consideration for determining when to ACTIVATION
product remains in the market and only bug fixes
remove a product from the market or when to
are made.
continue to invest in new feature development is FINAL NOTICE Final email newsletter announcement and in-app messages. Week 10
whether or not a product is meeting defined KPIs.
Term Definition
Further Reading
PRODUCT A collection of features and functions that are designed to deliver a solution to a problem.
Retiring a Product
FEATURE A piece of functionality within a product that delivers benefit to a user.
Why Political Positioning Is Not the Best Long Term Strategy
PRODUCT A person who leverages market expertise and user insights in developing the strategy,
MANAGER roadmap, and feature definition for a product. Project Smart: Stakeholder Management Articles
GO-TO-MARKET The collection of pre- and post-launch awareness building and user acquisition strategies for a digital product. Guide to Roadmapping (video)
METHODOLOGY A repeatable process for accomplishing a task and managing outcomes. Product Metrics
PROJECT A planned set of development activities for delivering specific product features according
Better Metrics for New Products
to a fixed start and end date.
Measuring KPIs for a Platform vs Revenue-generating Product
PROTOTYPE A conceptual version of a product used to validate features, functions and expected behavior of the target user.
Quora: What are the best metrics for a Product Manager to track?
DEV OPS A team or team members responsible for delivering ongoing operational support and bug
fixes for a product post-launch. A Guide to Quantify The Usability of Any System
AGILE SCRUM A software development methodology for delivering new product features in one to two week increments.
Product Roadmaps
KANBAN An effective software development methodology for rapidly and continuously releasing
fixes and enhancements to existing products. Roadmapping with a Public Trello Board
EDITORIAL LEAD A person who manages content as a product, and synthesizes inputs from key editorial Guide to Roadmapping (video)
stakeholders and is empowered to think and act on their behalf.
How to Sell Your Boss on Roadmaps Without Timelines
INSTRUMENTA- The process of adding analytics code to a digital product to allow product managers to Themes: A small change to product roadmaps with large effects
TION track feature usage, interactions, and user flows.
GOOGLE FORMS Free tool for creating user feedback surveys. https://www.google.com/forms/
about
Newsletter
MAILCHIMP Cost effective solution for sending email surveys. https://mailchimp.com
Product Manager HQ https://www.productmanagerhq.com
Bringing the Donuts https://www.kennorton.com/newsletter/ HOTJAR Track and record user sessions to understand https://www.hotjar.com
product usage.
The Innovator https://innovator.news/our-newsletter-32074e2c176
CRAZYEGG Track and visualize user interactions on your website. https://www.crazyegg.com
Product Design Weekly http://designweekly.atomic.io/
Prioritised https://www.mindtheproduct.com/product-management-newsletter/ USER TESTING User testing service for desktop and mobile apps. https://www.usertesting.com
UX Booth http://www.uxbooth.com/newsletter/
TEST OF THE WEEK Weekly email of A/B test results that share which test https://www.behave.org
Product Buff https://www.getrevue.co/profile/productbuff won.
Hack Design https://hackdesign.org USERONBOARD A critique of onboarding flows for mobile apps. https://www.useronboard.com
Product Psychology http://productpsychology.com/
USERVISION Outsourced agency that runs end-to-end user research. http://uservision.co.uk
ZEPLIN Design annotation tool for easy handover to devel- https://zeplin.io USERTESTING Remote usability testing service with videos of https://www.usertesting.com
opers. session playback.
GOOD UI Learn from real-world examples of good user http://www.goodui.org FIVERR Low-cost service for finding freelance testers. https://www.fiverr.com/search/
interface designs.
gigs?query=tester
ABSTRACT A version control and collaboration tool for design https://www.goabstract.com VMC Multi-lingual testing vendor professional testers. https://www.vmc.com/services/
teams.
qa
ADOBE EXPERI- An all-in-one tool for designing and prototyping http://www.adobe.com/prod-
ENCE DESIGN websites and mobile apps. ucts/experience-design.html
GOOGLE ANALYTICS Free analytics tool for websites and apps. https://analytics.google.com
GECKOBOARD KPI dashboard with deep 3rd party data integra- https://www.geckoboard.com
tions.
Development
Tool Description Link
MDIF Prague
Salvatorska 10
110 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic
(420) 224-312-832
www.mdif.org