Ask A Good Product Manager

Ask A Good Product Manager provides real answers to your real product management questions. Ask a question, get a response from an experienced product manager, and hear what others have to say.

Question: How do product goals, objectives, and tactics relate to the product strategy?

Are your goals/objectives and tactics essentially the product strategy? If you’ve defined what you want to achieve (goals), the way that they can be measured (objectives), and then the plans for how to get there (tactics), isn’t this essentially your product strategy?

Answer from Janey Wong of brainmates: Keep reading →

Question: How can I avoid cannibalizing sales of an existing product with a new product?

I have an existing product that I am planning to introduce a new update version. The update version is needed due to competition.

My question is how to manage the new product planning so that it will not impact the sales of the existing product, or at least minimize impact on current sales.

For example: How late I should go to avoid letting sales and/or customers know about the new product? And what are the considerations to migrate existing customers to buy new product?

Answer from Bob Corrigan of ack/nak: Keep reading →

Question: How can I transition from being a sales engineer to being in product management?

I have been a sales engineer for the past 10 years or so, and would like to move into product management. How can I best make the transition? Should I target specific sizes or types of companies? My thoughts are that a startup would want a seasoned professional, but perhaps a mid- to large-size company might be willing to hire someone who had not had a PM position before.

Answer from Steve Johnson of Pragmatic Marketing: Keep reading →

Question: How can I determine the need and saleability of a “new to the world” of product?

I am developing an innovative product which is truly “new” to the industry. How can I determine the need and saleability of this type of product?

Answer from Alain Breillatt of Picture Imperfect: Keep reading →

Question: What other roles can product managers fill besides managing product managers?

I’m in my 40s now and have reached the Product Management Director level, managing enterprise software product lines and a handful of product managers and user interface designers. I’ve been successful in bringing products to market and generating over $30MM in product revenues over the course of my career. In today’s woeful economic climate and a desire to balance work and family life and possibly downsize one’s lifestyle and career aspirations, what alternative career paths do you see in a post-product management path that doesn’t include aspiring to VP or CEO levels?

Answer from Marty Cagan of Silicon Valley Product Group: Keep reading →

Question: How can product managers thrive in tough times?

2009 has arrived and with it one of the bleakest outlooks for the economy in a long time. During recession, organizations typically take drastic measures and cut right back on anything that isn’t directly revenue generating. In these dark times, how does the discipline of Product Management maintain its “strategic value” in the eyes of the organization’s decision-makers? And, on a more personal level, how do you maintain your own personal profile and “strategic value”?

Answer from Brian Lawley of The 280 Group: Keep reading →

Question: What is the difference between a software product manager and a brand manager?

Answer from John Mansour of ZIGZAG Marketing: Keep reading →

Question: What is the best way to design a questionnaire/survey to get customer feedback? How do we know that we have the right questions and are getting the right answers?

Answer from Saeed Khan of On Product Management: Keep reading →

Question: What is the main question you would ask on a product management job interview before accepting the job if you would like to choose the best company?

Answer from Gopal Shenoy of Product Management Tips: Keep reading →

Question: What considerations should I make when developing an application that runs on a core platform?

We are designing a product to run on top of a core platform. Some functionality can be built in to the product, and some can be built into the platform. How do you distinguish between what should be in the product vs. what should be in the platform?

Answer from Michael Hopkin of Lead on Purpose: Keep reading →