Steven Haines is the founder of Sequent Learning Networks, a global product management training and advisory services firm based in New York City. He's also the founder of The Business Acumen Institute, a training firm dedicated to business acumen excellence. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Product Manager's Survival Guide (2nd edition), The Business Acumen Handbook and Managing Product Management.

Illustrations
Preface
Introduction

MODULE 1
Foundations of Product Management
Introduction to Module 1

CHAPTER 1
What Is Product Management?
Question 1: What Is a Product?
Product Lines
Product Portfolios
Solutions, Bundles, and Systems
Product Elements and Modules
Platforms
Question 2: What Is Management?
What Does a Product Manager Really Do?
The Product Management Life Cycle Model
Question 3: What Is Product Management?
Product Management: A Holistic Activity
Summary: Why Product Management Matters

CHAPTER 2
The Product Master Plan
The Purpose of a Master Plan
Plans Change
The Format of the Product Master Plan
The Value of a Product Master Plan
An Insurance Policy for Consistent Communication
The Basic Construction of the Product Master Plan
Product Business Documents
Organizational Information
Product Business Information
Customer and Market Data
Financial Information
Resources and Tools
A Personal Library
A Product Management Library
Summary

CHAPTER 3
Leadership: Creating Influence
You Are Always on Stage
Stay Calm, Even When Your Hair's on Fire
Transformation
Important Leadership Values
Leadership Behaviors and Mindset
Your Leadership Experiences
Evaluation and Personal Development
Summary

CHAPTER 4
Leveraging Teams to Get Things Done
Product Teams vs. Project Teams
Agile Project Teams
Team Membership
Teaming Is Not Always Easy
Building Blocks of a Cross-Functional Product Team
Team Membership
Multicultural Product Team Issues
Distributed Development Teams
Product Team Responsibilities
Cross-Functional Product Team Membership
Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities
The Functional Support Plan
Team Membership Across the Life Cycle
Cross-Functional Teams in the Global Arena
Cross-Functional Team Leadership
Summary

CHAPTER 5
Problem-Solving, Decision-Making, and Prioritizing
The Importance of Decision-Making
Decision-Making and Problem Solving
Saving Grace: a Case Study About Decision-Making
Decision-Making Techniques
Combining Options
The Morphologic Box
The Decision Matrix
The Decision Tree
Analysis Paralysis and Rational Ignorance
Gut-Feel Decision-Making
Business Intelligence
Summary

CHAPTER 6
Finance for the Product Manager: Keeping Score
The Language of Business
The Basic Financial Statements
The Income Statement
The Balance Sheet
Cash Flow
Demystifying Discounted Cash Flow
Financial Planning for Product Managers
Creating Business Cases for Product Investments
Assembling Forecasts
Testing Planning Assumptions Using Sensitivity Analysis
Deriving Product Cost Models
Establishing Pricing Models
Preparing Product Budgets
Managing the Business
Making Sure the Product Is Achieving Its Financial Goals
Financial Ratios
Last Words on Ratios
Maturity Assessment: Placing the Product on the Life Cycle Curve
Using Scorecards and Other Evaluative Tools
Summary

MODULE 2
Building Insights and Driving Strategies
by Making the Market Your Primary Focus
Introduction to Module 2
Market Data Matters
Customer and Market Insights Are Vital
A Market Insights Development Process

CHAPTER 7
The Playing Field and the Players:
Analyzing the Industry and Competition
Becoming the Expert
What Is an Industry?
Putting Industry Evolution into Perspective
Carrying Out Industry Research
Securing Additional Data
Competitive Environment
Competitive Positioning
Gaining an Edge: Performance Counts
Competitive Intelligence in Your Company
Competitive Intelligence in Your World
Ethics in Competitive Intelligence
With Whom Do You Compete?
Competitor SWOT
How Do They Do What They Do?
Sizing Up the Competitive Landscape
The Final Analysis
Summary

CHAPTER 8
Finding Markets to Conquer by Understanding
Customer Needs and Market Segments
The Common Denominator in Segmentation: Customer Needs
How Markets Are Segmented
Market Segments Are Dynamic
Describing the Target Market
They Don't Know What They Don't Know
Planning and Carrying Out Customer Visits
Capturing the Voice of the Customer
Conducting Customer Interviews
Using Personas and Customer Narratives to Capture Needs
Capturing the Customer's Journey
Associating Customer Needs with Product Features
Summary

CHAPTER 9
Preparing to Set Your Mileposts:
Forecasting for the Product Manager
Forecasting and Market Potential
Forecasts Are Built on Beliefs About the Future
Validating Assumptions and Applying Customer Preferences
Forecasting Is a Cross-Functional Exercise
Sales Forecasting
Validating the Forecast
Demand Planning
Summary

CHAPTER 10
Product Strategy Formulation
Strategy Is a Dynamic Continuum
Strategizing Is Like Solving a Puzzle
Cascading Strategies
Dynamic Strategy for the Product Manager
Strategy in Your World
The Product Strategy Formulation Process
Using the Product Strategy Formulation Process
Baselining the Business of the Product
Organizing the Data
External Data: Industry and Competition
Customer Activity
Organizational Capabilities and Financial Health
Capturing Product Performance Data
Life Cycle State
The Marketing Mix
Company Resources That Contribute to the Product's Business
Synthesizing Data and Identifying Opportunities
Your Product's Future
Establishing Goals
Identifying Strategic Options
Linking Your Strategy to a Roadmap
Did We Get There?
Summary

MODULE 3
The Start of the Product's Journey
Introduction to Module 3
Limits and Benefits of Processes
Importance of the Right Cadence
Faster Is Not Always Better, but It Can't Hurt
Organization of the Chapters in This Module

CHAPTER 11
Making a Molehill Out of a Mountain:
Linear Product Planning and Prioritization
Linear Product Planning
What's the Big Idea?
Categorization of Product Ideas
Sorting Out Opportunities
"So What?": The Value Proposition for the Opportunity
Clarifying Your Identity with a Positioning Statement
Selection and Prioritization
Managing Rejected Opportunities
Securing Approval to Move to the Next Phase:
The Concept Review
Is There Really a Business Here? Assessing Feasibility
Clarifying Roles, Responsibilities, and Deliverables
Marketing
Product Development/Engineering/IT
Finance
Customer Service
Sales/Account Management
Operations
Supply Chain
Legal/Regulatory/Compliance
The Business Case
Characteristics of Strong Business Cases
Activities and Sequencing
Business Case Structure
Section 1: Framing
Section 2: Customer Context and Problems
Section 3: Industry and Competitive Environment
Section 4: Overall Market Context
Section 5: Product or Solution
Section 6: Forecast and Pricing
Section 7: Scenario Planning
Section 8: Financial Analysis
Section 9: Operations and Integration
Section 10: Go to Market/Launch
Section 11: Risk Assessment
Section 12: Review and Recommendation
Make Versus Buy
Carrying Out a Make Versus Buy Analysis: An Example
The Decision Matrix for the Feasibility Phase
Summary

CHAPTER 12
Appearances Are Everything:
Defining and Designing the Product
Product Definition Documents
The PRD Outline and Template
Managing Requirements
Eliciting Requirements
Defining Requirements
Organizing Documents
Managing Requirements from Beginning to End
Prioritizing Requirements
Inspections and Peer Reviews
Requirements Management and the Product Life Cycle
The Evolving Product Design
The Product Definition Phase Review
Summary

CHAPTER 13
Product Planning and Prioritizing in the Digital World
Perspective
Customers First
Designs and Prototypes
Customer Value Drivers
Verification of Strategic Fit and Prioritization of Features
Staging Features for Development and Release Planning
Summary

CHAPTER 14
Execution and Oversight During Product Development
The Product Manager's Role During Development
Truth Mixed with Humility
Product Managers Must Understand Execution
and Mitigate Conflicts
Surfacing Conflicts and Realities with "How" Questions
Linear Product Development
Managing Project Plans Helps Manage Risk
P
rogress Validation Is Essential
Product Testing
The Beta Test
Product Documentation
Managing Change and Scope: Trade-Offs and Prioritization
Iterative Product Development
Priming the Pump
Kanban
Product Managers Versus Product Owners
Connecting the Processes
Summary

CHAPTER 15
To Market, to Market: Launching and Releasing Products
Launch Benchmarking Outcomes
Putting the Launch into Perspective
The Launch Plan
Launch Execution
Executive Champions Need to Lead Important
Product Launches
Confirm the Market Window
Review Market and Beta Tests-or Conduct Them If Necessary
Prerelease/Early Adopter Review
Product Availability Ratings
Provide Adequate Sales Training
Sales Goals and Compensation
Ensure Readiness of Marketing Collateral, Website,
and Promotional Programs
Leverage Digital Marketing
Arrange Coverage by Industry or Market Analysts
Make Sure Distribution Channels Are Able to Sell
and Deliver the Product
Ensure Readiness of Operational Systems
Preparing for the Internal Launch
Launch Metrics Must Be Assembled...