“This is the 10th day of my participation in the First Challenge 2022. For details: First Challenge 2022”
Most product managers are transitioning from other positions. Programmer, project, operations, and design positions are ideal for transformational product managers. So how do you know if you’re cut out for the product manager job?
The answer is simply to go ahead and try to become a product manager. Doing it yourself is better than hearing it a thousand times. Product managers have a wide skill spectrum, so start by looking for areas that overlap with existing roles. In my experience, there are a few things that developers can do before moving on.
First, participate in product construction as a research and development role.
Before the requirements review meeting, proactively approach the product manager to understand the background and purpose of the product requirements and contribute your own ideas. In the process, figure out why the final requirement implementation should be the way it is and not the way you think it is.
Build relationships with product managers in the company and ask them what a day is like, why the product is iterating the way it is, and what they think about the future of the product. This will not only help you understand the job responsibilities of the product manager, but also help you develop the product manager mindset. Once you know what the job entails, it’s time to try. For example, if you know that Axure will prototype the requirements for your product, you should schedule specific time to learn how to use it.
Second, to pay attention to customer feedback bugs.
There are many channels here, such as the feedback collected by ourselves in the APP, or the bug feedback from customer service. Find opportunities to communicate with customer service and operations to understand their product needs. This feedback from the front line will enhance your understanding of your users.
Three, learn to look at data.
Understand at least the most basic financial and user data. Understand the company’s revenue and cost structure. And break it down into which roles there are, and the contributions of each role. For example, the segmentation of users, what kind of customers are our most important source of income. For example, if most of your company’s revenue comes from agents, then agents’ demand weight will be greater. If the developer doesn’t have access to the data, ask the product manager for advice, not only about the results of the data, but also about the thinking process.
You can suggest to the management of the company to popularize financial knowledge to the R&D department in the department, including fixed cost, variable cost, gross profit margin and net profit margin. Then tell us why the company is following this business model, based on revenue and expense structure.
In addition to financial and user data, operational activity data is also important. Especially for those co-created activities, does the feedback of data achieve the purpose of demand? If not, why? At this time, it is necessary to do a targeted review.
Try to take the initiative to push a project.
There may be a dedicated project PM or product manager to control the schedule, but you as a developer can also drive the project through your own efforts, in the process, you will learn a lot of soft skills, such as how to communicate and collaborate with people, how to assess risk, and so on.
Well, if you enjoy doing these things, then I’m sure you can do a good job as a product manager.
PS: If you have to move early, move too late and it can be costly. For example, if you can get 30,000 yuan a month as a research and development worker, it is more likely that you will not get such a high salary as a product manager. After all, you don’t have much product experience. If the company has the same salary transfer, it must cherish, this is a visionary company.