How can product managers improve themselves?

1. Go shopping enough, read enough books, and walk forward with the footprints of your predecessors.

Everyone is a product manager: probably the largest content community for product managers;

Excellent web design: partial page design, tutorial tools, lots of materials and welfare packages;

Zhihu: A high-quality Q&A community, basically everyone who has questions comes here;

NetEase Cloud Classroom: There are systematic professional courses, and the NetEase product team has also produced 999 courses;

If you want to read the book, I recommend three copies, and I bought it because I believe in these three authors, so I am more confident in the quality of the book.

**Ten Years of Product Affairs": Su Jie, everyone is the author of product managers.

Product Frontline: Blues, Thunderbolt Product Manager, 50 Product Managers' Document Collection.

Product Perspectives: Luke, founder of Three Sessions.

2. Maintain an empty cup mentality at work, and learn more from the predecessors of products, design and procedures.

I especially like to talk to people who are better than me and invite them to dinner whenever I have the opportunity. Observe the points they care about, the points they complain about, and understand the angle from which they look at the problem and the way they solve the problem. Combined with the actual situation, it is still very rewarding to optimize your own workflow.

Keep in mind, though, that no one is obligated to teach you, but most people will still be willing to be a teacher if you ask for advice.

3. Remember to summarize more, all experiences can only become experiences after summarizing.

In the process of my own work, I have summed up a lot of experience. For example.

Demonstration debriefing, using the blind man to touch the elephant (pyramid principle);

Interaction design, using scenario-based thinking methods;

Prototyping, first with a father and then with a son (sort out the data in a logical order**);

Project management, grasping the big and letting go of the small, controlling the project boundary;

Team communication, pay attention to the purpose of communication, and use more counterwords (this matter is not okay without you); And so on....

There are many methods, such as reading books, online learning, online and offline classes, it mainly depends on how far you want to improve, online classes are not limited by time, self-control. Offline learning requires you to have a certain amount of time, and weekends can also be used, there is a learning atmosphere, there are circles, and you can improve quickly.

From the perspective of the growth path of a product manager, there is a lot of knowledge to learn, which is divided into the following parts.

1. Tools.

To be a product manager, you need to be able to draw prototypes, and you should know how to translate ideas and requirements into technical and development languages.

Then the tools commonly used in the product must be proficient, including: Axure RP, Visio, XMIND, PPT, Word, Blue Lagoon, Jira, which must be proficient.

2. Communication.

In the process of project development, the product manager needs to communicate with many students from multiple departments such as operations, front-end development, back-end development, testing, and marketing.

This requires the art of communication, and product managers need to know how to deal with people, both internally and externally, including users.

For example, a very important part of the product research process is user research, user interview research, how to ask questions, how to let users express the problems in the process of using the product, these are all communication art.

3. Advanced Chapter.

This part is the hardest.

Understand the needs of the crowd and formulate a reasonable product strategy.

Understand the situation of the industry, understand the company's position in the industry and the form of competition, there are so many people in the team, there are so many functions, what to do first and then what to do, and what is the possible reaction after doing it.

Empathy, the ability to analyze data are a must.

On the one hand, it is necessary to work steadily and steadily, master the basic theoretical knowledge and application, and on the other hand, keep a clear mind at the critical moment, switch the user's thinking at any time, and rationally analyze what the user needs and what the market likes.

01Dig out the needs and solve the pain points.

As a product manager, in addition to basic product theory knowledge, users and requirements are paramount. Demand is the source of a product, but this demand has always been deeply hidden by users.

For example, there is a classic saying that has been widely circulated in the product circle: "The customer does not want to buy an electric drill, but to buy the hole in the wall." ”

Another example: when you go to buy tea, the waiter will ask you what kind of tea you want to buy or like to drink?

Instead of directly saying, "I need a tea that can beautify and nourish the skin, clear away heat and detoxify, and is delicious and inexpensive." ”

"Jasmine tea" is the product, and the latter is what you really need.

If you ask a good product manager to be this waiter, he will say: "We have a new tea, the beauty effect is better and more fragrant than jasmine tea, ** the same, do you want to try it?" ”

You'll definitely want to find out.

A good product manager will use the "100,000 whys" to go deep into the core needs of users, pay attention to the user's pain points and the problems they want to solve. Starting from the whole, use hierarchical thinking to look at the needs of users, so as to make yourself a product manager who understands the needs more than users.

It's like people want faster horses, and Ford builds cars. Unexpected, but also reasonable.

A good product manager should want to be ahead of the user.

02User experience.

As a product manager, if you want to provide a good experience for users, no matter how professional you are or how good the design is, you must follow one principle - user experience, that is, from the user's point of view.

The reason why user experience is called user experience is because the quality of all experiences is perceived by the user, and ultimately evaluated by the user.

Therefore, the product manager should first build the tone of the entire product from the user group and operational logic of the project itself, and then consider the visual effects and product design from a professional perspective.

03 Be attentive and responsible.

A good product manager needs to treat each product as if it were their own and take responsibility for them as if they were their own children.

For example, if your own house needs to be renovated, you will understand the materials, time-consuming, and then field investigation and comparison, and you are likely to become an amateur decoration expert.

Because it's your own house, you're going to spend a lot of time and effort with a lot of care.

Even if you have built countless houses and have more experience, you will not be able to repair the house in a day or two, and you still have to go through every process from laying the foundation to decorating.

The same is true for making products, from the concept of the preliminary project, market research and analysis, business model optimization to the final implementation, it is necessary to go through the design and development cycle of the entire project from 0 to 1.

If you only rely on the basic responsibilities of the job and do not pay enough attention to the product, it will be difficult to come up with a product that satisfies the user.

The competencies of a product manager include many aspects. The following points are listed in order of importance:

1) Product planning capabilities;

2) Resource integration ability;

3) Communication skills;

4) Project management ability;

5) Data analysis ability;

6) Market research ability;

7) Operational capacity.

As for how to improve related skills, the only suggestion is to look more and use more to think more, a person who has not used some niche products, I can say without hesitation that he does not have a basic understanding of a product, and it is difficult to have a theoretical support without reading a few design books and psychology books. As for communication skills, these need to be cultivated in daily life.

The product manager isWith problem solving as the core, integrate and manage various human, material and other resources, and efficiently turn solutions into actual product output

The roles and responsibilities of product managers vary slightly from company to company, but the core responsibilities are the same, and we canInterpret the main work content of a product manager from the five stages of product development:

1. Product planning

The purpose of product planning is to make R&D work more orderly.

In the product planning stage, the responsibility of the product manager is to do a good job of preliminary research and output a complete product planning plan.

The main work of preliminary research includes market research, policy analysis, industry trends, competitive product analysis, customer research, etc.; After doing a good job in the preliminary research work, the product manager should further sort out the research results and data, clarify the positioning of the product, combine its own resources, clarify the business development trend, plan the direction of system construction, and finally output a complete product planning plan.

2. Demand analysis

The process of demand analysis is not a simple demand handling, the product manager first needs to classify the collected requirements according to the actual situation, such as business needs, user needs, and functional requirements according to different objects.

After classifying the requirements, the product manager can screen the requirements from the three dimensions of authenticity, value, and feasibility, filter out the false, unfeasible, worthless, invaluable, or unsatisfactory input-output requirements, and extract the essential needs of customers from the remaining requirements.

The requirements are then categorized and prioritized to help the product be organized and developed, and finally the requirements document is output.

3. Product design

The process of product design is the process of functionalizing and visualizing product requirements, and product managers need to output specific functional design solutions that can achieve demand goals to support efficient communication and business execution by relevant parties such as demanders, R&D teams, and operation teams. The main tasks of the product manager at this stage include process design, functional architecture, prototyping, etc.

Fourth, promote the realization of product goals

First, the product manager needs to coordinate the timelines of each position and further answer the questions about the needs of each position.

Secondly, the product manager should also make a correct judgment on the difficulties encountered in the development process, eliminate the interference factors of the outside world on the development, eliminate the difficulties for the development team, and make timely decisions on demand changes or technical solutions, track the progress of product research and development, and ensure the smooth progress of research and development.

In this process, the product manager should do a good job of communication and coordination with superiors and team members, maintain the consistency of information from all parties, conduct effective communication, and ensure that the product moves forward according to the established goals.

5. Acceptance and delivery of products

After the product is launched, the product manager should pay attention to the relevant data in time and do a good job of data analysis. Evaluate whether the product or function has achieved the expected effect based on the data, and if the expected effect is not achieved, the product manager should take the lead in the review work, analyze the reasons for the failure to achieve the expected effect, output perfect measures and plans, and implement them effectively. At the same time, product managers need to track customer feedback in a timely manner and accumulate data and experience for the next release or product.

A good product manager should be able to plan and design the whole process of a product from birth to growth to adulthood, and understand customer needs and usage habits. To put it simply, sales is selling something, the market is how to sell, and the role of a product manager is to tell them what to sell.

1.Interest is the best teacher If you want to be a product manager, you must first figure out what the position does and how to do it.

2.If you are interested in the position of product manager, then go and learn.

3.It's always good to have a good project practice, especially with a great master to take you, and you will get started quickly.

4.Talk to other product managers Talk to other product managers, learn from their communication experience, and ask them for advice when you don't.

5.There is a lot of knowledge for product managers to learn, and one of the most important abilities for product managers is the ability to learn.

The product manager plays a very important role as a bridge between the customer and the programmer. Although there is a shortage of people in this position, there are not many people who are really capable of being product managers.

For example, being able to draw prototype drawings and write requirements documents are basic requirements, and product managers also have certain requirements for logical thinking skills, and whether they can present customer requirements in front of programmers in simple and clear text is something that product managers always need to improve.

There are no specific requirements for majors, as long as you want to do studies, you can do it.

As a product manager, the basic job is to analyze and design requirements, and first have the ability to understand the user's deep-seated core demands and human nature, and know what the user really wants, rather than providing what the user wants. The user says that he wants a cup, you should not immediately rush to find a cup, but to understand the real needs of the user, maybe the user is just thirsty, you have bottled water, you can give him a bottle. A good product manager is always able to propose solutions that solve the core needs of users, and can exceed user expectations, and can always accurately grasp the user's humanity and psychology.

Capacity development resources are always limited, time is precious, and a good product manager can accurately determine which requirements should be done and which should not be done, whether to do addition or subtraction. A good product manager is always able to convince others strongly why they should do what they do, and this requires deep product skills, and is very confident in their own judgments, has their own independent thinking skills, and consistently insists on their own judgments. Strong communication skillsAs a communication link, product managers always play the role of coordinator between various departments in their daily work.

Good at communication, and can communicate seamlessly with marketing, operations, development, testing and other multi-terminal objects. Get the right message to the right people, in the right place, at the right time, in the right way. A good product manager is always able to convince the team and others to execute in the way they specify, to implement their ideas, not to force others, but to make others do it voluntarily and spontaneously.

Good product managers are using Blue Lagoon these days.