
How to hire a product manager - bmj1
https://www.kennethnorton.com/essays/productmanager.html
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sardonicbryan
I've hired a number of PMs for my startup over the last 12months,and by far
the most important thing that is overlooked (imo) is the ability to write good
specs that are helpful for engineering. You can think of that as a sign that a
PM can think like an engineer and communicate with engineers.

For people with PM experience, I'll ask them about the things they considered
and documented in their last spec. If they think a spec is a list of bullet
points, that's instant fail. If they considered all user flows in and out of
the features, edge cases, user education, analytics/success metrics, release
plan and time vs cost tradeoffs that's a win.

~~~
pifflesnort
If engineers are best suited to architect code, and user-experience designers
are best suited to architect product design, and visual designers are best
suited to architect product visual design ... what is left for a PM to
specify, and how are they qualified to be doing it?

~~~
sardonicbryan
In my org, PMs have the responsibility for owning product metrics and business
goals. So that means they are responsible for both pulling and analyzing user
behavior data, and deeply understanding the impact of each of our feature
releases from both a metrics and business goal standpoint. We also select
heavily for quant analysis background, so our PMs are way better at pulling
and analyzing data than our engineers or designers.

As a result, they are typically the closest to really knowing what has worked
and what hasn't and why, which makes them uniquely positioned to decide what
to do next/prioritize upcoming features, make tradeoffs. It doesn't mean the
decision making is perfect, but I like to think that if you ask our engineers
and designers whether our PMs are adding value, they would agree. Our 12 month
engineer retention and internal survey data indicate that that's at least
directionally accurate.

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hammerzeit
A solid essay and a great set of criteria. When I was a PM at Google, there
were a couple other critical traits I liked to look for, though they were not
simple yes-no criteria.

* How does this person deal with vast uncertainty? Are they excited? Scared? Is their first reaction to impose structure or are they comfortable with lack of structure? If it's the latter, can they meaningful convey confidence with the lack of structure?

* Can this person teach? Can they figure out how to take an abstract idea and articulate it cleanly? When someone doesn't get it, at what point do they fall back to utilizing authority? Are they good at listening closely to what someone is saying to them and framing an argument in their terms?

~~~
kennethn
(Essay author here...)

Excellent additions, "ability to deal with ambiguity" is a critical skill for
PMs.

~~~
wasd
Hey Ken,

I was sort of curious about this line:

>Generally I'll ask questions until I'm sure the candidate is smarter than me.

Are these the sort of brain teasers we see in engineering interviews or
something else?

~~~
kennethn
No brain teasers. Good analytical questions are open-ended, fuzzy, and don't
have "right" or "trick" answers. I want to test problem-solving abilities, not
interview research and memorization skills :-)

~~~
geoffschmidt
Sounds super-useful! Could you share an example or two?

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dps
Don't miss the other great stuff on Ken's website. I particularly enjoyed:

The time I flew on the Enron corporate jet to meet Jeff Skilling
<https://www.kennethnorton.com/essays/enron.html>

and I have been referencing this for a couple of years:
[https://www.kennethnorton.com/essays/leading_cross_functiona...](https://www.kennethnorton.com/essays/leading_cross_functional_teams.pdf)

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nicw
One thing I would add to this:

 _Goes out in person(!) and talks to customers._

It's very easy to add new features to products, but until you sit down with a
customer, listen to them, and watch them use your product you won't have a
clear understanding of their needs. Good product managers realize they are
very close to a product and need to constantly take a step back.

If you're skeptical, sign up for a UserTesting.com account and watch people
navigate your site. You'll be surprised.

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metalsahu
Product Managers play a very important role in the success of a product
because they allow the specialists to focus on their role. An designer is good
with UX and UI but doesn't necessarily want to create product requirements. An
engineer is mostly interested in code but is not really tuned to what the
customer needs.

Designers, Engineers, Sales perform well when they have deep narrow focus and
goals. The Product Managers' job is to allow them to excel in their specialist
role much like the conductor of a multi-piece orchestra.

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joonix
Serious question - what is a product manager? Is there a generally accepted
job description for this title?

~~~
jlees
The job description varies by product and company; products at different
stages of development and growth within the same company demand different
things of their PMs.

Fundamentally, the PM's the one who gets the product shipped, whatever that
entails. If the product is shipped, the PM makes it a success, including
shipping followup features or products.

I've heard a few general descriptions, from "does anything except write code"
(not true in many circumstances) to "mini-CEO" (implies greater degree of
authority than often present). The best one that's stuck is "captain of a
pirate ship"; you have to figure out where the ship is going, influencing
without authority.

On a general level, rough job scope can be in the "design and plan" categories
through to execution, driving everything forward, getting approvals and making
sure all the edge cases are covered (both in the product and overall, e.g.
legal approvals, trademark searches, etc) - plus measuring success, and making
sure those metrics are defined and measurable in the first place. Listening to
customers, or organizing user studies before launch, and incorporating
feedback at every turn.

You sit in the middle of the product vision, and while engineers might want to
make decisions that seem like good ideas from a technical standpoint, you are
the guardian of the context which makes them into great ideas (or not).

Similarly, feeding back technical issues and restrictions into the UX design
process, and providing those intuitive leaps when you realise if the design
goes like this, and the technical architecture like that, the whole thing can
be done in a tenth of the time to 99% of the effectiveness.

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michaelw
Ken nails it. The only thing I would add is that I've seen more software
failures because of insufficient product management than anything else.

Product management is particularly important in non-software companies where
the obvious product isn't software. Your e-commerce website is just as much a
product as your hipster glasses. Failure to manage it results in the classic
IT dept. dysfunctional relationship where everyone hates IT and IT develops a
thick skin and says no a lot.

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msutherl
"Product management is a weird discipline full of oddballs and rejects that
never quite fit in anywhere else. For my part, I loved the technical
challenges of engineering but despised the coding. I liked solving problems,
but I hated having other people tell me what to do. I wanted to be a part of
the strategic decisions, I wanted to own the product. Marketing appealed to my
creativity, but I knew I'd dislike being too far away from the technology.
Engineers respected me, but knew my heart was elsewhere and generally thought
I was too "marketing-ish." People like me naturally gravitate to product
management."

I've been toying with the idea that I'm cut out to be a product manager and
this just convinced me.

Also this:

"In fact, that's the first test - how do they react when I say 'I'd like to
pose some theoretical problems, is that okay?' The best of the bunch are
usually bouncing out of their chairs with excitement. The super smart
sometimes counter with questions of their own."

Asking me this alone would make me substantially more interested in the job.

~~~
tumultco
The quoted description sounds much like a horoscope, and I'm sure applies to
many people who would not make great product managers. There's few ambitious
people who don't want to own the product.

However, if you do "naturally gravitate to product management" -- that is you
find yourself in those roles or have been assigned to those roles without
effort or conscious action -- then it is a good sign of fit.

~~~
msutherl
> I'm sure applies to many people who would not make great product managers

I'm sure it does, but that's beside the point. People who fit this description
may not be great product managers, but they will likely be more satisfied in a
product management role than in a design or development role.

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pinaceae
brilliant essay. the spidey sense is something i have referenced recently, it
is so hard to explain. a good pm simply looks at a design and _knows_ if it
will work or if it somethings wrong and a more thorough drill down is
necessary.

i do not believe in generic pms. experience in pre-sales, consulting,
development, something product related is so important, it builds up that
spidey sense.

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jbl
This is an excellent essay. This was one of the pieces I read when I was
looking into making the jump from engineering to product management. I wanted
to get a better feel for what would be expected (at a software driven
company).

There's a lot in Ken Norton's post, but it's all worth taking to heart. Now,
if someone could point me to a good article on interviewing PMs...

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xfax
I'm going to be joining a startup upon graduation as their first PM and posts
like these are invaluable. There is just _so_ much a PM must do and excel at
that I've started a notebook to keep everything structured till it becomes
second nature to me.

I'd love pointers to other such great resources that shed light on what makes
a good, no great, PM.

~~~
mailarchis
You should definitely pick up Marty Cagan's "Inspired - How to create products
customers love". That is one of the best books I've read on Product Management

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arocks
An excellent essay loaded with very useful advice. Personally, I find Steve
Jobs to be a great role model for Product Managers. The "manager" part is
often misleading, it is usually a Product Visionary what the role demands.

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wangg
Along these same lines, how does an Engineer transition to a Product Manager?
What advice would you give someone looking to make that switch?

~~~
kennethn
(Author here.) I've long wanted to write a follow-up piece addressing exactly
these questions, but haven't gotten around to it.

First, find a PM to talk to, especially one you admire who's made the switch.
Everybody's situation is different, and having someone to mentor you through
it is invaluable.

Second, make sure you have the right motivations. A friend of mine says "run
to product management, not _from_ engineering." If you want to switch because
your current manager is a jerk, you hate the project you're working on, or
(gasp!) your PM is an idiot, you might be doing it for the wrong reasons.

You could test it out with a small project at first. Stepping up and saying
"I'd love to take on more of a PM role on this feature/bug/release" will often
be positively received by a healthy organization.

Startups are ideal places to make the switch (that's where I did it.) Everyone
is used to wearing many hats and the "all hands on deck" attitude is much more
welcoming of someone raising their hand and volunteering to be a PM. Smart,
bigger companies (like Google or Facebook) often have formal programs for
moving into PM. At Google, for example, we even have a six-month rotation
program that lets you try it on for size.

And if you're convinced you want to do it and your current company discourages
you, find a new one.

~~~
asafira
Hi Kenneth,

I first wanted to say thanks for putting up this essay on product management.
I don't think quality pieces on the subject are easy to come by, and I think
you give a lot of valuable and tangible insight on it.

Second, it looks like you favor past experience as a PM --- but what about
college grads? Do you think it's usually a better idea for someone just
beginning their career in the "real world" to start out as an engineer first?
Maybe this sounds obvious as I've stated it, but I have a few friends that
started their careers as PMs and have been successful. Interviewing a college
grad might be a little trickier, no?

Lastly, I definitely agree that a big part of being a good PM, or maybe a good
manager in general, is making good, or even just reasonable, decisions on a
regular basis. There are seemingly endless small choices that need to be made
that add up to a lot, and many of these choices (I've found) aren't going to
be dead obvious. A decision, however, needs to be made and it's important that
to make a decent one without dedicating too much time to it based off of your
understanding of the goals of the project, your experience, and your gut
instinct.

