The product manager's job responsibilities or ability KPIs will eventually come to the same goal. The core competitiveness of product managers will gradually become clear and solidified, and we can also find regular ways to steadily improve ourselves in the process of learning and progress.
Recently, I have seen a lot of questions about changing product positions in the Q&A. Including many points of view, the ability of product managers is soft power, which is difficult to quantify, but it is not. Here we try to use template analysis to provide you with some visual ideas.
1. Template idea of product manager
First of all, let's briefly quantify and assume the ability of product managers, which can be roughly divided into the following five core competency dimensions.
The capability dimensions include:
- Tool usage: The use of office tools, such as AXURE, OFFICE, cloud notes, PS, etc., determines office efficiency.
- System proficiency: The degree of understanding of back-end data and front-end design specifications determines the acceptance ability and design rationality.
- Communication and expression: The driving force of development follow-up and resource acquisition determines development promotion and team tacit understanding.
- Business logic: The degree of understanding of the business monetization model and the market determines the rationality and priority of requirements.
- Personal characteristics: vary from person to person, such as strong tolerance, strong affinity, and strong desire to control, all of which will have a certain impact on the overall ability to play.
Give an example of the process of product from 0 to 1 for your reference:
We want to make a software for the fresh food e-commerce industry. The front end includes invoicing, and the back end includes the back-end document circulation and processing. (Project) [Business Logic]
First of all, after we get this idea, we need to assess the overall market environment and the size of the plate, how promising is it. (Market) [Business Logic]
Then for this market situation, where do we cut in? Is the main operation convenience? Or high automation? (priority) [business logic]
After getting this plan, how much budget and configuration can the company give us for this project? (resource struggle) [communication expression]
After the development starts, how to carry out the first-line requirements analysis, document design, development follow-up, and acceptance online? (Actual combat) [Tool use] [Communication expression]
It is not difficult to see from this example,
- Business logic accounts for a large proportion of the initial core part of the overall product line, and it is also our core capability.
- The ability to use tools is an icing on the cake, running through the work and affecting work efficiency.
- System proficiency is an ability that needs to be accumulated and familiar with, and the threshold is not high.
- Communication and expression can also be improved through training, but the upper limit lies in charisma and character traits.
- Personal characteristics can also be called personal qualities, including dual quotient, tolerance, etc., and innate abilities.
For example, system proficiency, when doing database-related work, the data structure of the data table may be designed. If it is not good at summarizing or the proficiency is not enough, it will cause biased design ideas or too many redundant fields, or even a large system load. s consequence. The need to dig deep into the product area you are working on is also an important part of the product manager experience.
For example, communication and expression, there are two basic points, one is to maintain professionalism, and the other is to learn to understand.
Being professional means being able to manage negative personal emotions in times of communication friction and working with peace of mind when conflicting with personal arrangements.
Learning to understand means being able to listen to and understand the conflict of opinions, grasp the core point of the conflict, and propose solutions for the core point.
After accomplishing these two points, it is necessary to improve the speaking ability of the meeting and the propulsive force of the team meeting, so as not to waste time on non-core topics, but also to quickly grasp the key contradictions to solve the problem, and express the description accurately.
2. Simple quantification of capability templates
Here, a person's total score is 500 points, and the passing level is 300 points as the initial total score. The maximum score for each item is 100 points, and the minimum score is 20 points.
The initial total score can be called talent, and the specific acquired development needs the help and control of the team and leaders.
technical
Here is an example of a 3-year back-end program-to-product. We call it a technical product manager. See Zhang Xiaolong, Zuckerberg, etc.
Suppose:
- Tool use and system proficiency are relatively 100 points.
- Communication and expression pass level is 60 points.
- The business logic short board is slightly weaker by 20 points.
- Personal characteristics are quite satisfactory 20 points.
business type
Take an Internet entrepreneurial partner as an example. Call it a business product manager. For reference, Luo Yonghao et al.
Suppose:
Years of working in the market category
- 40 points for tool usage and 40 points for system proficiency.
- Communication expression is 100 points.
- 100 points for business logic.
- Personal characteristics are 20 points.
potential
Take another product manager with excellent quality but no experience. Call it a potential product manager. You can refer to the general outstanding fresh graduates.
Suppose:
- 60 points for tool use, 40 points for system proficiency and comprehension.
- 100 points for personal characteristics.
- Communication and expression 80 points.
- Business logic is limited to understanding 20 points.
Generally speaking:
- 'Top-heavy' means lack of communication expression and business logic understanding. This kind of product manager needs to go deep into the business and face many challenges.
- 'Heavy-headed' means poor hands-on ability. This kind of product manager may be a big man in a high-ranking position, but in the front line, it may give the impression that he only speaks and does not do anything.
Technical product managers are suitable for R&D follow-up and BUG acceptance work. They can communicate with development, but they need to cultivate a sense of business. It is recommended to study with the operation department for a period of time before taking over R&D.
Business-oriented product managers are suitable for needs analysis, product planning, etc. It is recommended to communicate with programs and art, and even understand some basic design and code specifications, which can make your plan more realistic.
Of course, the potential type needs to be cultivated, and we must pay attention to the planning of the cultivation and the timing of participation, otherwise a good seedling may be turned into a document secretary.
3. The improvement direction of template analysis ability
According to the content of the work, it can be divided into four categories:
- Demand-side work: Demand market research, user portraits, etc., can increase the level of business logic.
- R&D side work: requirements document production, development follow-up, etc., can increase the proficiency of the system, and have a certain training on the level of communication and expression.
- Operation side work: including bug handling, event planning, etc., can increase various capabilities.
- Project-side work: such as communication between superiors and subordinates, reporting of results, and resource acquisition, which can increase the level of communication and expression.
However, product managers with different talents may encounter different problems and deliver different degrees of results in the way of engaging in these four types of work.
For example, a technical product manager may be a little unfamiliar when doing demand development or project communication. Although he can get exercise, it may be a waste of human resources at the critical stage of the project, so sometimes pay attention to training and focus of play.
Those who are in the confused period of career planning and development may wish to refer to the above, make a capability matrix for yourself, take a look at the strengths and weaknesses, and adjust measures according to local conditions.
4. The guiding significance of template analysis for recruitment and training
The first thing to do is to build a template for a recruiting goal.
For example, when there is a lack of junior assistant product managers:
- If you are in a hurry, you can develop a technical type from the R&D department for development follow-up.
- If you do large-scale system development, you can recruit potential talents to cultivate talents.
- If the project is in the initial pilot stage, it is recommended to recruit market-based running through the process and report more.
You can set relevant questions when recruiting, focusing on demonstrating relevant capabilities, such as:
- Please use AXURE to do a sliding refresh interaction effect.
- What are the key fields on the product detail page and the shopping cart page?
- Please make a three-minute point of view on the major Internet events that occurred in half a year.
The answers are then scored based on the completeness of their responses.
After scoring, a radar chart can be made to compare the ability similarity with the standard or expected template for further interviews or salary determination.