Best of Product Management — 2024

  1. 1
    Article
    Avatar of itamargiladItamar Gilad·1y

    4 Levels of Data Proficiency

    Data proficiency is essential for product companies to thrive. This post outlines four levels of data proficiency: business modeling, data-driven, evidence-guided, and AI-powered. Business modeling focuses on creating models to understand customer behavior and business growth. Data-driven companies prioritize data collection, processing, and consistent analysis. Evidence-guided organizations test assumptions and act on validated data. The AI-powered level is speculative, suggesting that future advancements in AI could significantly enhance data-driven decision-making and business modeling.

  2. 2
    Article
    Avatar of saiyangrowthletterSaiyan Growth Letter·2y

    How to join a new company effectively

    To quickly contribute at a new company, use the product to understand its problems and suggest improvements, learn the company's origin and user behaviors, review past issues to avoid repeating mistakes, and set up 1:1 meetings with teammates to build relationships and gather vital information. Note-taking is crucial to retain and understand important details.

  3. 3
    Article
    Avatar of workchroniclesWork Chronicles·2y

    (comic) Feature Prioritisation Framework

    Comics about work that focus on feature prioritization frameworks, created with a playful and engaging approach to illustrate workplace concepts. Encourages readers to subscribe for more work-related comics.

  4. 4
    Article
    Avatar of trunkioTrunk.io·2y

    Why you should embrace tech debt

    Tech debt isn't inherently bad. It can provide leverage to move faster if managed correctly. Not all tech debt needs immediate attention; it should be fixed if it hampers team productivity. Prematurely optimizing for scale is less important than achieving market fit and gaining customers, who typically don't care about the internal technology. Ensure you take on tech debt wisely and have a plan for addressing it later.

  5. 5
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    How not to be boring

    Startups often lose their unique identity to focus on MVP and product-market fit, but a memorable brand can be crucial for success. PostHog's journey highlights the importance of creating a distinct and intentional website, knowing your ideal customer, and reflecting your team's personality in your brand. Their approach includes tailored offerings for technical users, focusing on flexibility and transparency, and continually iterating on their branding efforts. Building a brand involves consistently high standards, engaging the best customers, and standing out by being uniquely authentic.

  6. 6
    Article
    Avatar of trunkioTrunk.io·2y

    The dreaded "Does this scale?" question

    Worrying about whether your application can handle massive scaling is premature if you don't yet have product-market fit, a go-to-market strategy, or a significant user base. Focusing on potential tech debt is not helpful at early stages; instead, concentrate on finding and growing your user base first, and deal with scaling issues if and when they arise.

  7. 7
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    Feature flags are ruining your codebase

    Feature flags have their benefits but can lead to a more complex codebase, waste time on dead code, make testing harder, and prevent hard decisions from being made. Different categories of feature flags should be managed differently, and it's important to acknowledge their existence to align expectations between developers and PMs. Removing feature flags can be a challenge and requires accountability. Overall, feature flags are a powerful tool when used appropriately.

  8. 8
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    A-Z of Product Psychology

    This comprehensive A-Z list explores various psychological effects that influence user behavior and decision-making. It covers concepts such as the Anchor Effect, where the first piece of information influences decisions, the Bizarreness Effect, which shows unusual information is remembered more easily, and the Zeigarnik Effect, where people recall uncompleted tasks more than completed ones. Understanding these effects can be crucial for enhancing user engagement and satisfaction.

  9. 9
    Article
    Avatar of tech_hunterTechunter·1y

    (comic) To do or not to do

  10. 10
    Article
    Avatar of habrhabr·1y

    From Idea to Release: The Product Owner’s Role in Feature Development at Exante

    The post examines the journey of feature development at Exante, highlighting the critical role of the product owner in managing communication and documentation challenges. It outlines the processes of basic and full discovery, including aligning feature requests with business goals, user analysis, design feasibility, and technical specifications. Detailed planning and collaboration are emphasized to minimize discrepancies and ensure consistent implementation across projects.

  11. 11
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    Choose your engineering archetype

    Drawing parallels between Dungeons & Dragons and software engineering, the piece explores the importance of balanced team dynamics in software development. It recounts experiences from Facebook and Stripe, addressing their initial engineering monocultures and the eventual adoption of diverse archetypes—such as Coders, Architects, and Tech Leads—to better utilize engineers' strengths and foster inclusivity. This led to improved team performance and individual satisfaction.

  12. 12
    Article
    Avatar of netguruNetguru·2y

    What Is POC (Proof of Concept) in Software Development?

    A proof of concept (PoC) in software development is a testing methodology used at the initial stage of the product lifecycle to validate the feasibility of an idea. It helps assess technical viability, align the product with market needs, identify limitations, make rational budget decisions, provide convincing evidence to investors, and accelerate the release process. Key steps include defining the need, ideating solutions, creating and testing prototypes, and developing a roadmap. Successful PoCs ensure that a product can solve real-life problems and is technically achievable before full-scale development.

  13. 13
    Article
    Avatar of colkgirlCode Like A Girl·1y

    Finding Your Fit: Tech Roles for Growth and Impact

    Choosing the right tech role involves understanding the responsibilities of Product Managers, Technical Leads, and Engineering Managers. Product Managers focus on what to do, Technical Leads on how to do it, and Engineering Managers on executing it. Career paths vary, with more Individual Contributor positions at lower levels and managerial roles at higher levels. Growth opportunities depend on organizational needs and one's strengths and interests. Skills in communication, leadership, and dealing with ambiguity are essential for advancing in these roles.

  14. 14
    Article
    Avatar of itamargiladItamar Gilad·2y

    A Culture of Good Decision-Making (part 1)

    Many organizations struggle with decision-making speed and quality due to ineffective processes, complexity, and organizational issues. A key strategy is to differentiate between important and less-important decisions, as understood by Jeff Bezos' Type 1 and Type 2 decision model. Decentralizing decisions and empowering employees are essential for better efficiency. Organizations should also define clear ownership, encourage loose coupling, and share context extensively to ensure informed decisions at all levels.

  15. 15
    Article
    Avatar of pointerPointer·2y

    The “errors” that mean you’re doing it right

    Celebrate the errors that signify progress and good decision-making. Some examples include re-adding features/bugs removed from the backlog, pivoting a strategy just after creating it, and refactoring infrastructure after growing 10x. It's important to add back words for clarity, remove features that are not useful, fix bugs after a major release, scale support and sales in a timely manner, make quick decisions about letting go of ineffective hires, and ignore most of your competitor's moves. Additionally, rejecting lucrative deals that don't align with your strategy and values is essential.

  16. 16
    Article
    Avatar of developingdevThe Developing Dev·2y

    Product Thinking

    Product thinking can significantly enhance an engineer's impact by understanding how their work directly delivers value to users. It encourages engineers to look beyond their immediate tasks and consider the overall product experience. Adding product thinking to your skill set can make you more versatile and valuable in your career.

  17. 17
    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·2y

    A/B testing mistakes I learned the hard way

    Running A/B tests can validate transformative changes but is riddled with potential pitfalls. Common mistakes include having unclear hypotheses, viewing aggregated results without subgroup analysis, including unaffected users, ending tests prematurely, not testing experiments before full rollout, and neglecting counter metrics. Avoid these by ensuring clear hypotheses, breaking down results by relevant user properties, excluding ineligible users, adhering to predetermined test durations, conducting phased rollouts, and monitoring counter metrics.

  18. 18
    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    Critical Industry Context for Junior Developers

    Building a strong developer portfolio requires understanding various roles such as product management, UX, QA, and even sales and marketing. This post provides practical tips for junior developers on how to incorporate these roles into their projects, focusing on aspects like defining requirements, prioritizing features, designing user interfaces, ensuring quality, and marketing their work effectively. Leveraging these multidisciplinary insights can make your portfolio more professional and competitive in the job market.

  19. 19
    Article
    Avatar of techleaddigestTech Lead Digest·1y

    A Culture of Good Decision-Making

    The post explores techniques for enhancing decision-making within organizations, including the ACID model for defining decision roles, the 'disagree and commit' approach, and avoiding outcome bias. It also discusses group dynamics in decision meetings, prioritization using the ICE algorithm, and de-risking decisions with evidence.

  20. 20
    Article
    Avatar of substackSubstack·2y

    Lessons I'm still learning

    Building Sublime has been a journey full of lessons, including embracing the time things take and avoiding harmful comparisons. The founder reflects on creating a sustainable, niche business and combining utility with a unique spirit. Key themes include aligning business goals with personal values, the power of clear positioning, and the benefits of fostering a calm, intentional work environment. Sublime aims to inspire and intellectually nourish its users while committing to a decade-long vision for success.

  21. 21
    Video
    Avatar of primeagenThePrimeTime·2y

    $1,000,000,000 Idea

    The post suggests that adopting a model similar to AAA gaming pre-releases for SaaS (Software as a Service) products could be a billion-dollar idea. It highlights that just as gamers pay more for early access to less feature-complete and buggy games, people might be willing to pay more for early access to SaaS offerings under similar conditions.

  22. 22
    Article
    Avatar of itamargiladItamar Gilad·2y

    You’re Not Just Solving User Problems

    While focusing on user needs is a popular approach in product development, it shouldn't be viewed as the only method. Balancing user needs with company objectives is essential, and ideas for solutions can come from various sources, including market research and technological advancements. The Double Diamond model and other traditional frameworks may be too restrictive for modern design processes, suggesting a need for more flexible approaches that allow for simultaneous exploration of problems and solutions.

  23. 23
    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·1y

    Methodology is bullshit: principles for product velocity

    Achieving fast product development often involves cutting unnecessary processes, limiting project scope, and focusing on what truly matters. Key principles include doing less to maintain quality, embracing simple solutions, ignoring non-essential problems, avoiding rigid development processes, accepting the need for occasional rewrites, utilizing vendors for certain tasks, and maintaining a small, efficient team. Understanding customer needs and having a strong team are crucial for maintaining product velocity.

  24. 24
    Article
    Avatar of techleaddigestTech Lead Digest·1y

    The Adaptive Chief Technology Officer

    The CTO role varies significantly between small and large companies. In 2025, incorporating multimodal AI is crucial for product strategy. Problem Driven Development (PDD) prioritizes technical issues based on impact. Effective feedback and building strong product teams are key for success. Setting realistic deadlines boosts organization productivity. Explore Meticulous AI for automated UI testing.

  25. 25
    Article
    Avatar of game_developersGame Developers·1y

    Hi Everyone

    The poster, a former Product Manager in a mobile game development company, led over 300 prototypes across six teams, achieving top-chart rankings in the USA. They have experience launching PC and browser games using Web3 technologies and many mobile games. Currently, they run their own company with a dedicated team of three, operating on a PPP model.

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