Product Management Flashcards

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1
Q

agile vs scrum

A

agile is a philosophy
scrum is a methodology

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2
Q

tips for communication

A
  • update everyone on developments as much as possible - internal blog they can read if they want to
  • if communicating externally, tell stakeholders the why of the solution, tell them the other solutions you considered and why they weren’t the best
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3
Q

tips for working with designers

A
  • give them all the design limitations early so they don’t go out of scope
  • make sure they can always give you feedback on everything
  • show them data to support why you need to build something
  • don’t tell them what to do - you tell them what and why, not how
  • always talk about user problems first, solutions second
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4
Q

tips for working with engineers

A

NAME?

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5
Q

tech debt

A

the future work you build up because you didn’t get something right the first time

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6
Q

methods to prioritise tasks

A

assumption testing
MOSCOW method

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7
Q

MOSCOW method

A

method for prioritising tasks based on identifying which is a
must have
could have
should have
would have

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8
Q

how to do assumption testing

A

when trying to prioritise what tasks to work on
- identify the biggest riskiest assumption you are making for each potential task
- rank it out of 1 - 10 for how big/risky the assumption is, so 10 being v risky
- rank it out of 1 - 10 for how important it is, so 10 is it will make a huge impact
- add the two scores together
- sort all the tasks based on this score

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9
Q

assumption testing

A

a method for prioritising what to work on

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10
Q

what can be more useful than roadmapping for company planing

A

establishing short, mid and long-term goals
this way the top priorities get worked on and the less urgent things get looked at later
not set to a calendar date so more flexible

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11
Q

why are roadmaps not always v helpful

A

they aren’t agile - you can’t plan months in ahead what will be best for your team to work on
they provide a nice rough guide but company plans change much more quickly

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12
Q

why use a roadmap

A
  1. for executives and investors to see quarterly plans
  2. you have an external company deadline e.g. investors need a certain function by a certain date
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13
Q

roadmap

A

a long term plan for the company set into quarters (seasons of the year)

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14
Q

average sprint velocity

A

the average velocity your team has over time (weeks, months) to help predict how long tasks might take in future

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15
Q

what is the best way of predicting how long a task/ticket will take your software team to build?

A
  • ask multiple engineers to predict how long it will take and how many story points it is (how hard the task is)
  • use this to create the velocity (number of tasks completed + how hard they were)
  • over a few weeks, create an average sprint velocity to help predict future work timelines
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16
Q

purpose of story points

A

to help with guaging the amount of work a task/ticket will take

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17
Q

story points

A

ranking of how hard it is for a software team to do something
e.g. 1 - 5 where 5 is really hard

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18
Q

velocity (in product management)

A

number of story points that were completed in one sprint

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19
Q

backlog

A

the place where we hold things we plan to do later but aren’t working on just yet

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20
Q

acceptance criteria

A

written inside a ticket, it is a very specific description of what the ticket should accomplish

e.g. “Given I am a user who has succesffully uploaded a photo from my computer, when I click send, the image is sent to my friend through the direct message and it appears in the chat”.

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21
Q

what should a ticket include

A

NAME?

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22
Q

is a user story the same a ticket?

A

No, a ticket is the task itself that the team needs to action to create the desired functionality, but the ticket should be written as a user story if possible so the team knows why the ticket is needed

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23
Q

what is the format of a user story

A

as an X i want to do Z, so that I can do Z

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24
Q

user story

A

a description of the functionality we want to build e.g. “as a user, I want to send pictures in direct messages so I can share them with my friends”

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25
Q

what needs to be covered in the product requirements section of an epic specs sheet

A

NAME?

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26
Q

what needs to be covered in the introduction of an epic specs sheet

A
  • what the features you’re building are for
  • why you’re building it
  • what metrics you are trying to improve
  • early wireframes and ideal look in future
  • links to additional documents (legal requirements, etc.)
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27
Q

4 parts of an epic specs sheet

A
  1. introduction
  2. product requirements
  3. design requirements
  4. engineering requirements
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28
Q

epic specs sheet

A

document that allows anyone in your company to understand what you’re building
guide for your team to build it
(kind of like a protocol)

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29
Q

what’s the difference between an epic and a feature?

A

a feature is an epic, the term feature just only applies to aspects that the product that are rolled out publicly
so epic is a broader term for all funactionalities built

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30
Q

epics

A

a group of functions and features that a PM wants to build
usually 3-5 epics are rolled out in a quarter
takes longer than 1 sprint to build

e.g. translate the app to Spanish
or
implement photo sharing in messages

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31
Q

releases

A

when a company roles out a bunch of new features to the public

usually specified in the company initiatives

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32
Q

initiatives

A

what the company does to achieve their vision goals

e.g. translate the app into three different languages this year

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33
Q

tools for tracking metrics

A

google analytics
crazy egg (shows heatmap of users)
kissmetrics
mixpanel
optimizely - A/B testing tool
segment - services hub for overview of all other tools

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34
Q

what type of metrics is the HEART framework for?

A

reporting

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35
Q

NPS

A

net promoter score - way to measure user happiness through likert scale

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36
Q

what are the 3 columns in the HEART metrics framework

A

goals, signals, metrics

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37
Q

what order should the HEART framework be in?

A
  1. adoption
  2. task success
  3. engagement
  4. retention
  5. happiness
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38
Q

HEART metrics framework acronym

A

Happiness - how happy is your user?
Engagement - how engaged are they in the short term?
Adoption - how many users have tried your product?
Retention - how many do you retain longterm
Task success - how successful are you at allowing users to perform the most valuable task?

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39
Q

what makes a good metric?

A
  1. simple e.g. tracks just one action
  2. rate or ratio e.g. active users / total users
  3. measures actual impact - doesn’t assume correlation is causation
  4. changeable e.g. tracks per week to allow time to see changes
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40
Q

difference between exploratory and reporting metrics

A

exploratory - data points for your specific team to improve the product e.g. how many people click this button

reporting - metrics your company cares about over a long period of time e.g. number of new users

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41
Q

example of revenue metrics

A

NAME?

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42
Q

MRR and ARR

A

monthly recurring revenue
annual recurring revenue

How much are we making with all our customers combined?

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43
Q

CAC / CCA

A

Cost of acquistion of customer
aka
Cost of customer acquistion

How much do we have to spend to acquire a customer?

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44
Q

LTV

A

life time value
e.g. over 1 year, on average, how much does each customer generate us?

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45
Q

example of engagement metrics

A

NAME?

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46
Q

example growth metrics

A

NAME?

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47
Q

when wireframing, what should you ask yourself?

A
  1. what is the point of this page?
  2. users should be able to…x,y,z.
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48
Q

difference between wireframe, mockup and prototype

A

wireframe is initial step of conceptualisation, low fidelity
mockup is where the design elements (typeface, photos, etc.) are added
prototype is when functions are added (e.g. buttons work)

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49
Q

prototype tools

A

keynote
pop
axure

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50
Q

prototype

A

the initial product mockup but with usability
test user flow
the step after mockups

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51
Q

who is in charge of mockups?

A

designers

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52
Q

mockup

A

a static display of what the product will eventually look like
comes after the wireframe stage

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53
Q

list some mockup tools

A

photoshop
sketch
adobe illustrator

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54
Q

list some wireframing tools

A

figma
balsamiq
axure (pronounced “azure”

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55
Q

wireframe

A

a blueprint, initial plan, for developers and designers for a product

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56
Q

low-fidelity wireframe

A

first broad and basic wireframe

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57
Q

landing page

A

single webpage you are taken to after clicking on a link (usually for purchasing or email sign-ups)

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58
Q

shadow button

A

a fake button about your new product on your website to see if people click on , this will then say “sorry, coming soon”
- a type of MVP testing technique

59
Q

how to define a MCS

A

NAME?

60
Q

what are the two sides of a MCS

A

reward (e.g. revenue, time on page, number of likes)
cost (e.g. developer’s time, labour wages)

61
Q

how to write a hypothesis for MVP experiment

A

We believe [user group] has [x problem] because of [reason]. If we [our action], this [metric] will improve.

62
Q

what is the risk/difficulty square?

A

a decision tool to help determine which assumptions to test first in an MVP experiment

prioritise high risk, low difficulty
then high risk, high difficulty

63
Q

list the assumptions in an MVP experiment that tend to be riskiest and therefore need to be tested first

A
  1. assuming users have a problem when they don’t
  2. assuming x matters to users
  3. assuming there are no alternative solutions to your problem
  4. assuming users will pay for your solution
64
Q

What phrase should you use when trying to identify assumptions in an MVP experiment?

A

“In order for my idea to be successful the following must be true…”

65
Q

7 steps to running an MVP experiment

A
  1. product idea/solution
  2. identify assumptions - which is riskiest?
  3. build hypotheses
  4. define MCS (minimum criteria for success)
  5. pick MVP strategy
  6. execute, iterate, evaluate
  7. decide if it’s worth it
66
Q

MCS

A

minimum criteria for success

67
Q

purpose of the MVP

A

NAME?

68
Q

validated learning

A

research done in a test environment i.e. with users without bias

69
Q

MVP

A

minimal viable product - an experiment; the simplest the product can be for you to get feedback on

70
Q

CRM

A

Customer Relationship Manager

71
Q

who are usually the people who make user personas?

A

UX designers / the design team

72
Q

what is the purpose of user personas

A

makes it easier to talk about your main types of users
increases empathy as you have named them, rather than just being user data

73
Q

how to create a user persona

A
  1. interview or observe large number of users
  2. identify patterns of user behaviour
  3. give that type of user a fictional name
  4. give them a description and background info
74
Q

what to say when you can’t think of anything to say in an interview

A

“that’s interesting, tell me more”

75
Q

how to get customers to talk to you when cold emailing

A
  • 4 to 7 sentences
  • be personal - how did you find them?
  • value - what do they get out of it? money or helping people out
  • mention you are not from sales
  • make them feel special - you need their specific feedback
76
Q

ways to reach out to customers to get interiews

A

NAME?

77
Q

process to figure out your best customers to talk to

A
  • create a spreadsheet with potential customer groups in columns and 3 criteria (market size, pain to payment, and accessibility) in rows
  • rank each customer group out of 10 for each criteria
  • add up scores to identify your best potential customer
78
Q

3 criteria to figure out who your best customers to talk to are

A
  1. market size - the bigger the better e.g. speak to estate agents rather than CEOs
  2. pain to payment - how much do they need the product (pain)? how likely are they to pay for a solution?
  3. accessibility - how easy are they to contact?
79
Q

what is customer development

A

talking to customers about a pre or post-product

80
Q

4 types of user interviews

A
  1. exploratory - e.g. what’s the worst part of your commute?
  2. validation (hypothesis testing) - e.g. what do you use the app for?
  3. satisfaction e.g. what should we stop doing?
  4. efficiency (do they use it well) e.g. how would you do x in the app?
81
Q

what is a feature table

A

comparison chart to show if you are competitive or not in the market

82
Q

how to keep track of your competitors

A
  1. funding - follow them on crunchbase.com
  2. acquisitions - crunchbase.com
  3. new features/products - mention.com or Google Alerts
83
Q

five criteria for understanding competitors

A
  1. product core (the product team) - is their team better?
  2. size of user base - are they larger?
  3. design - is their product prettier?
  4. brand - do they have a better brand?
  5. speed - can they build new products quicker?
84
Q

steps for finding and prioritising competitors

A
  1. capture: create an Excel sheet of all your competitors (known and unknown)
  2. label each as a direct, indirect, potential or substitute competitor - and organise in this order
85
Q

substitute competitors

A

addresses same problem but in entirely different way e.g. store-bought pizzas vs your Italian restaurant

86
Q

potential competitors

A

same target audience but don’t address same problem you do e.g. Italian grocery store to your Italian restuarant

87
Q

indirect competitors

A

solving same problem as your company but in different way
e.g. Greek restaurant in nearby neighbourhood to your Italian restaurant

88
Q

direct competitors

A

solving the same problem you are in the same way
e.g. an italian restaurant across the road from your Italian restuarant with same price range and menu

89
Q

4 types of competitors

A

direct
indirect
potential
substitute

90
Q

how to find unknown competitors

A

Strategy 1
ask yourself
- what problem does my product solve?
- for whom?

do a google search pretening to be your user to
- identify companies that are using your search vocab
- find complaints online

Strategy 2
Google the problem your product solves
Google potential pitches for your product
Use quotations in google search to lock in that specific phrasing

91
Q

how to find your known competitors

A

search “your comany vs” and google will show you the suggestions

92
Q

tools to use to look at your market competitors

A

compete.com - compares website traction

google adwords keyword tool - volume of related search terms on google to get amount of interest for your product

twitter/reddit - what are users saying about your product

93
Q

questions to ask yourself about user needs as a PM

A

NAME?

94
Q

why do ideas come from? EMUC

A

Employees
Metrics - inefficiencies
Users
Clients

95
Q

when does waterfall work?

A
  • when there are loads of functionalities e.g. Microsoft tools as you can’t pick easily what is most important to focus on
  • when you don’t need feedback e.g. a skyscraper you’d build in one go, not the first few floors and get people to stand in it
96
Q

waterfall

A

working on all parts of the product at once

vs agile which focuses on a few at a time

97
Q

kanban vs scrum

A

kanban is for teams where they need to complete continuous tasks e.g. customer service

scrum is for solving more complex problems

98
Q

kanban vs scrum

A
  • kanban does not use sprints, so work isn’t timeblocked for teams
  • kanban has no sprint backlog, only the product backlog itself
  • kanban doesn’t have meeting types
  • kanban only has a certain number of items that can be in progress at the same time (differs between company)
99
Q

scrum stages

A
  1. sprint planning meeting
  2. sprint itself - using tickets
  3. standup meetings (during sprint)
  4. retrospective meeting (end of sprint)
100
Q

retrospective meeting

A

review of the last sprint
what worked, what didn’t, questions

opposite of sprint planning meeting

101
Q

standup meetings involve

A

NAME?

102
Q

tickets

A

essentially tasks, these are completed during the sprint phase

103
Q

What happens in a sprint planning meeting?

A

NAME?

104
Q

agile

A

way of iteratively developing software, breaking things down into smaller groups to save resources
e.g. designing and launching 2-5 features in an app first and seeing the user feedback, rather than all 10 at once

105
Q

Lean Product Development

A

philosophy where you don’t use resources until absolutely necessary for customers
e.g. food delivery company, you drive orders yourself until you have too many orders so you need to hire another driver

106
Q

sunsetting

A

killing a product
slow transition to end of life for product
let users know and next steps e.g. back up data for users

107
Q

maintain or kill phase

A

how frequently are people purchasing it?
are we paying to maintain it?
decide if it needs to be killed or maintained based on value or company vision

108
Q

steady state

A

analysis on how it is performing
marketing continues
how likely to continue moving forwards with this product?

109
Q

launch phase

A

marketing, legal team collab
make product public

110
Q

iterate phase

A

finish the MVP
early feedback from users
test assumptions we made
alpha and beta testing

111
Q

develop

A

make timelines
write features
user stories
specific details for developing

112
Q

plan phase

A

market research
customer interviews
resources and time planning

113
Q

concieve phase

A

ideas phase
collect user problems and brainstorm solutions
ideas come from inside the company

114
Q

7 phases of the product development process

A
  1. concieve
  2. plan
  3. develop
  4. iterate
  5. launch
  6. steady state
  7. kill or maintain
115
Q

A/B testing

A

A/B testing is a method of comparing two versions of a marketing element to determine which one performs better based on predefined metrics.

116
Q

3 characteristics of the introduction phase of product management

A
  • introduction to market
  • no / little competition
  • lose $$
117
Q

how do you know what stage of product development you are in?

A

it is based on amount of revenue

118
Q

wireframe

A

2D illustration of a page’s interface

119
Q

decline phase of product management

A
  • sales diminish
  • products phased out as it’s old
120
Q

3 characteristics of the growth stage of product management

A
  • accepted by marketplace
  • sales rise
  • make improvements
  • few competitors
121
Q

four stages of product development

A

introduction
growth
maturity
decline

122
Q

maturity phase of product management

A
  • sales reach peak
  • high competitors
123
Q

SQL vs NoSQL databases

A

SQL = data stored in tables i.e. more rigid but secure
noSQL = data stored in documents i.e. quicker and more flexible, but harder to manage and report

124
Q

an object

A

a way to store related information together
e.g. an object to represent a person would have properties such as name, age, gender, address

const person = {
name: “John”,
age: 25,
gender: “Male”,
address: “123 Main Street”,
}

125
Q

name 3 main data types

A

integers e.g. age = 30
strings e.g. name = Sonia
booleans e.g. has_allergies = true

126
Q

an array

A

a collection or list that stores multiple values of the same type in a single variable
e.g. an array to store the scores of a basketball team: [85, 76, 92, 80, 88]

127
Q

which language allows you to interact directly with the DOM

A

javascript

128
Q

DOM

A

Document Object Model
a family tree for everything on your webpage

129
Q

javascript is primarily for

A

the interactivity of front-end web development e.g. animations, changing the DOM, web extensions

130
Q

what’s the difference between a programming and markup language?

A

programming = to create applications, algorithms and data analysis
(python, C++, Javascript, Ruby, etc.)

markup = format and organise content for display, typically in web pages or documents
(HTML, XML, etc.)

131
Q

which common software developer languages are not programming languages?

A

HTML, CSS

132
Q

CSS is primarily for

A

the styles and positioning of front-end web development e.g. fonts, colours and sizes

133
Q

HTML is primarily for

A

the structure of front-end web development

134
Q

front-end developers specialise in which languages

A

HTML, CSS, javascript

135
Q

client-side technologies

A

they run inside your browser (e.g. HTML, javascript), not your server

136
Q

list some client-side technologies

A

HTML, CSS, javascript

137
Q

API

A

Application programming interface
ways for software applications to communicate and interacte with each other
e.g. google maps API lets developers use their interactive maps on other applications

138
Q

SaaS

A

Software as a service

139
Q

B2B PM

A

Client’s are other companies
e.g. Monday, a product that is meant for work organisation

140
Q

Why are B2C and B2B PM roles different?

A

B2B work with sales teams a lot, so are told exactly what to build
B2C doesn’t get told exactly what the consumer wants so has to do their own research and data analysis to make the best decisions

141
Q

internal PM

A

build tools for people inside the company
e.g. changing passwords for your colleague’s logins

142
Q

B2C PM

A

Product is for average consumer e.g. patients, music-lovers, etc.

143
Q

B2C

A

Business to consumer

144
Q

3 different types of PMs

A

NAME?