Test-n-Tell - tiny apps, Big ideas

  Have you ever wished for AI to only answer based on the data you give it? Or maybe you want to turn some of your sources into a real-sounding podcast? This and much more is possible with NotebookLM.

  Welcome to the first chapter of my ongoing series on how to learn product management with the help of generative AI such as ChatGPT. This post is about the product discovery phase where you'll learn how to select the worthy problems to solve, how to conduct user and market research and how to create your product vision and strategy.

  Healthy competition is a good thing. It drives innovation and brings benefits to customers. However, at times a product team might get obsessed with their competitors which leads them astray.

  The previous article described what does it mean to be technical as a PM and how to become one . You don't need to know how to code or have a computer science degree to be a PM. You might just need to learn how your product is being built, learn the language of developers and be mindful about the limits of your knowledge. 

  Multiple times I've seen those terms used interchangeably, even though there are major differences between market and customer research. Not understanding the full complexity of market research might lead to bad product decisions. 

I am gonna tell you a secret. I don't like to do customer interviews. Yes, I know. After some many articles when I say it's the most important part of PMs job - I personally don't like to do them. Until I am actually doing them.

Often product managers ask themselves this question: what is the next most valuable thing I can do? Usually, the answer to this question, like with most PM tasks, it depends.

The Customer Journey Study is a straightforward one. You ask your customers to go through your product and rate their satisfaction with every step. If you need a more detailed script - here it is.

Improving your customer's experience becomes easier when you have the right tools. One of the most useful tools to measure customer experience is the Customer Journey Map . It's a free and easy-to-use tool that would help you to know where you are when it comes to customer experience. Knowing your baseline is a pre-requisite to any improvement. To get you started even faster here is the free and simple template to use:

"You know nothing" is the most helpful product mantra told to yourself. It usually leads to research, invention and useful product.

What a Broadway smash hit musical can teach us about customer interviews?

Do you know why people choose your product? Or you're just happy it happens? Or they don't choose your product, and you don't know why? Below is a simple way to find out.

Yes, I will start from that quote by Henry Ford. The one has been quoted billion times, even though he probably never said that . Yet nowadays numerous people rely on that quote for their product strategy. Specifically, it's being used as an argument against market research. - If I'll ask my customers what they want they will tell... But you don't. You shouldn't ask your customers what they want . You should ask what their problems are.

Before building a product - how do you know what product to build? While building a product - how do you know what features are the most valuable? After you've built a product - how do you know if to tune stuff or add a new one?

"If you’ve been involved in user research that didn’t hurt at all, then I guarantee you did it wrong." writes Harry Brignull in the " 90 Percentof Everything ". 

So you have a brilliant product idea? Not sure it's brilliant? Want to test it? But you don't know how to code. And you don't have any money. There is still a way. It's called a concierge test .

By now everybody should be familiar with the concept of an MVP? Are you? A Minimum Viable Product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort. Eric Ries Good. Now remember the last time you did an MVP. What was your goal? What should have been your goal?

A customer journey map is a visual tool that shows how satisfied your customers are on every step of using your product. By a quick glance at the map, you can immediately see where you're doing fine and satisfying your customers and where you're failing.

Lately, I've had the privilege to hear Nathalie Nahai speaking about 5 psychological  principals of persuasive product design . 5 psychological principles of persuasive design from Nathalie Nahai

Competitors customers  are your customers. Sounds controversial? Might be. But see it from a different perspective. From the problem perspective . Competitors customers have the same problem you're solving. Right? Therefore they are your customers. Even though currently they are using different solutions.