1. Defining the problem or opportunity -

My product management process involves first defining the problem or opportunity at hand. The product should be solving a real need for customers or taking advantage of an unmet opportunity in the market. Without taking a step back and defining the problem or opportunity clearly, you risk building a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist at all.

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2. Conducting competitive analysis -

Asking questions about the potential customers’ needs help to build out user personas for the potential new product.
 

 ​Who (if anyone) already plays in the same space, or delivers a similar offering?
 

1.  What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of your competitors?
    

2.  What will be your “Unique Selling Point” (USP) or your differentiator versus other products?
    

3. What is the size of the market that you are targeting?

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3. Design possible solutions -

At this point we define the problem or opportunity with competitive analysis and market research. Now we are ready to start to map out the way we are going to address them. At this stage we are merely identifying the mechanisms that will be used to address the problems or opportunities raised.

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4. Test your solution with a prototype -

Once a design method is decided and method by which your product will deliver its solution, it will now be possible for the development teams to build a working prototype. The prototype doesn’t need to be a highly polished, functionally-rich finished product, merely something that allows you to test and validate your assumptions.

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5. Analyze prototype feedback -
After the prototype has been built, it’s time to get feedback from real users and internal stakeholders. There are various ways of capturing feedback from users, such as on screen dialog boxes, surveys, interviews, screen tracking or analytics. It is important to resist the uninformed opinion of senior people, otherwise the unintended HIPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) effect can take place, whereby undesirable or low value changes become prioritized. User, feedback, customer feedback, and data led insights must always take priority.

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6. Create a Product Roadmap -
Once we have tested your prototype and gathered feedback, we are now in a place to create your product roadmap. The roadmap is a forward running guide for the delivery of functionality and capability within the product. The roadmap will guide the product and delivery teams so that they can plan for the next large theme and value stream to be delivered, mapped against the product goals that you are aiming to achieve. 

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7. Building and launch the product -
During the prototype phase, we may already have built some throwaway low quality code to help us validate assumptions, but it’s at this stage that we get serious and start building a robust, secure, market ready product.

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8. Analyze product performance and iterate -
Once the minimum viable product has been built, you’re now in a place to release the product to the end user to allow them to start actively using it. This is where a key feedback loop starts to fire up, as the feedback from users is a highly valuable source of information about where to target improvements. Product teams should ensure that they have many sources of information regarding the user's journey and that they are built into the product as early as possible.