Product Collective - 🍔 The right Product Management stack

Choosing the Right Product Stack

Grady Booch (or was it Abraham Lincoln?) once quipped “a fool with a tool is still a fool.” We assume he meant that simply using a tool does not make you a better… whatever it was you were trying to do. You could also say an effective Product Manager with the right product stack is even more effective. But that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as easy.

How to Evaluate and Choose the Right Product Tools as a Product Manager. Product managers often lead the evaluation, selection and acquisition of product management tools to use in their organization. However, it's hard to know which product management tool is the right one for the job. Michael Sanders provides 7 strategic steps to evaluate and choose the best product management tools for your organization.
(via @getdonedone)

Collection, analysis, action: A beginner’s guide to the product stack. Data is at the core of good product management. Making the most of the data that your organization collects is a process that’s hindered by unnecessary complexity. The Product Stack provides a useful framework for cutting through that complexity. A product stack is the collection of tools that allow you to collect, analyze, and act on data created by users in your application. Oz Nazilli explains the three core components to know about when building your product stack: collection, analysis, and action.
(via @mixpanel)

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Class is back in session

Every Fall, I teach an undergraduate product management class at the same place where I went to graduate school – Case Western Reserve University. In a way, it’s a bit surreal to teach in the very same building that I took classes in almost 20 years ago. But I enjoy getting to spend time with students and help them along their career journey, even if it’s in a small way.

My class is a reminder to me of how things are changing in our world of product management, though. Although it’s just a single class, it’s the very first undergraduate product management class ever at CWRU. When I was an undergraduate, there were zero product management classes to take not just at CWRU – but really, anywhere in the world. Yet today, more and more are sprouting up everywhere.

I don’t know if my students understand how incredible it is that they have so many resources available to them today – and I don’t mean through the class I teach. But today, there are so many resources that exist – from communities like Product Collective and others, free courses they can take through Udemy and Coursera, and heck, even social media platforms that offer access to insights from some of the best product management leaders and practitioners today.

I can’t blame the students for not realizing what opportunities they have today that didn’t exist for others a couple of decades ago. They live in the world we are in today – and it’s no different from the new opportunities that those like me who grew up with the early web had that the generation before us didn’t. But I am excited for them. With the product management world at their fingertips, we’re bound to see some amazing product people blossom in the very near future. 

I can’t wait to have a front-row seat for that.

How to Select the Right Product Toolkit for Your Team. With product managers having such a varied array of responsibilities, a good product toolkit should have the right integrations, support communication, and enable you to make data-informed decisions. At some point you’ve asked, “am I using the right product toolkit?” The folks at Userpilot explain how to select the right product stack for your team.
(via @teamuserpilot)

12 Best Product Management Tools to Include in Your Stack. A product manager’s job involves a lot more than gathering product insight, tracking the backlog, and reviewing the product roadmap. Whether you’re a new product manager or a seasoned PM, you want to make sure you’re not missing a key component of your role because you’re lacking the proper tool. The folks from ProductPlan provide a list of product management tools to help you excel in your role.
(via @productplan)

13 of the Best Product Management Tools for Your Stack. From capturing and managing ideas to developing a product strategy, from overseeing user research to coordinating complex processes and workflows—the Product Manager role is fast-paced and multifaceted. Besides a broad skill set, Product Managers require a robust tool stack. Emily Stevens identifies 13 of the best product management tools, covering everything from collaboration and project management to road mapping, user analytics, and feature flagging.
(via @careerfoundry)

How to Use Design Thinking as a Product Manager

It can be easy for Product Managers to hear the phrase "Design Thinking" — and assume that it's something that ought to be reserved for our colleagues working in design. But the reality is that even Product Managers who wouldn't describe themselves as "Designers" could really benefit from embracing Design Thinking. In this conversation, we'll dig into on why this is and how Product Managers can use Design Thinking for the benefit of themselves and their teams. Plus, you'll have a chance to ask questions of your own!

1. A newsletter each and every Friday centered around an important product topic, like roadmapping, strategy, and analytics.
2. Access to a thriving Slack group with thousands of others to share advice, tips and get feedback on your work.
3. Plus, invitations to exclusive video chats, special member privileges at the conferences we hold in the United States and Europe, and more!