The Productologist

I have read (examples here and here) and heard in numerous places that a Product Manager is like the CEO of the product. I’ve even used it to describe what I do to folks who are unfamiliar with the job. It makes for a nice visual and makes Product Managers feel good about themselves and the role that they play in a company. But it’s not really true.

At my company, it’s annual review time, which means that I get to spend quality time writing about what I have accomplished over the past 12 months and how it relates to my role as Product Manager. Now, as an individual contributor, I like the annual review process (I’ve been on the management side, too, and that’s not as much fun). It gives me an opportunity to reflect on how far my product has come from a year ago, identify areas for growth and lets me campaign for a salary increase. But in a role like Product Manager, what are the best ways to evaluate success?

When was the last time you included User Interface (UI) requirements in an MRD? If you are like most Product Managers, you may have included a reference like these in your MRD (I’ll admit to using at least one of them)–

• Need to make the UI easier to use
• The new screens must follow the existing screen design
• Replace old icons with new ones
• Change the colors to match our new logo

Unfortunately, not only are these not easily actionable, but they don’t get to the root requirement, which is how to make the product more clearly understood and easier to use so that the user has a positive experience.