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Learn to design, build, and scale products consumers can’t get enough of
How do today’s most successful tech companies―Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Tesla―design, develop, and deploy the products that have earned the love of literally billions of people around the world? Perhaps surprisingly, they do it very differently than most tech companies. In INSPIRED, technology product management thought leader Marty Cagan provides readers with a master class in how to structure and staff a vibrant and successful product organization, and how to discover and deliver technology products that your customers will love―and that will work for your business.
With sections on assembling the right people and skillsets, discovering the right product, embracing an effective yet lightweight process, and creating a strong product culture, readers can take the information they learn and immediately leverage it within their own organizations―dramatically improving their own product efforts.
Whether you’re an early-stage startup working to get to product/market fit, or a growth-stage company working to scale your product organization, or a large, long-established company trying to regain your ability to consistently deliver new value for your customers, INSPIRED will take you and your product organization to a new level of customer engagement, consistent innovation, and business success.
Filled with the author’s own personal stories―and profiles of some of today’s most-successful product managers and technology-powered product companies, including Adobe, Apple, BBC, Google, Microsoft, and Netflix―INSPIRED will show you how to turn up the dial of your own product efforts, creating technology products your customers love.
The first edition of INSPIRED, published ten years ago, established itself as the primary reference for technology product managers, and can be found on the shelves of nearly every successful technology product company worldwide. This thoroughly updated second edition shares the same objective of being the most valuable resource for technology product managers, yet it is completely new―sharing the latest practices and techniques of today’s most-successful tech product companies, and the men and women behind every great product.
MARTY CAGAN, widely recognized as the primary thought leader for technology product management, is the founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG). He served as an executive responsible for defining and building products for some of the most successful companies in the world, including Hewlett-Packard, Netscape Communications, and eBay.
Dedication 6
Preface to the Second Edition 7
PART 1: Introduction: Lessons from Top Tech Companies 9
Chapter 1: Behind Every Great Product 11
Chapter 2: Technology-Powered Products and Services 12
Chapter 3: Startups: Getting to Product/Marketing Fit 13
Chapter 4: Growth-Stage Companies: Scaling to Success 14
Chapter 5: Enterprise Companies: Consistent Product Innovation 15
Chapter 6: The Root Causes of Failed Product Efforts 16
Chapter 7: Beyond Lean and Agile 21
Chapter 8: Key Concepts 23
Breakout: Minimum Viable Product 26
PART 2: The Right People 27
Product Teams 28
Chapter 9: Principles of Strong Product Teams 29
Breakout: Principles and Techniques 35
Chapter 10: The Product Manager 36
Breakout: Product Manager vs. Product Owner 43
Breakout: The Two Critical Classes for Product Managers 44
Chapter 11: The Product Designer 45
Chapter 12: The Engineers 50
Breakout: The Tech Lead Role 52
Chapter 13: Product Marketing Managers 53
Chapter 14: The Supporting Roles 55
Chapter 15: Profile: Jane Manning of Google 57
People @ Scale 59
Chapter 16: The Role of Leadership 60
Chapter 17: The Head of Product Role 63
Breakout: The Group Product Manager Role 67
Chapter 18: The Head of Technology Role 69
Chapter 19: The Delivery Manager Role 71
Chapter 20: Principles of Structuring Product Teams 72
Breakout: Autonomy @ Scale 76
Chapter 21: Profile: Lea Hickman of Adobe 80
PART 3: The Right Product 83
Product Roadmaps 84
Chapter 22: The Problems with Product Roadmaps 86
Chapter 23: The Alternative To Roadmaps 88
Breakout: High-Integrity Commitments 91
Product Vision 93
Chapter 24: Product Vision and Product Strategy 94
Breakout: Prioritizing Markets 97
Chapter 25: Principles of Product Vision 98
Chapter 26: Principles of Product Strategy 100
Chapter 27: Product Principles 101
Product Objectives 102
Chapter 28: The OKR Technique 104
Chapter 29: Product Team Objectives 106
Product @ Scale 109
Chapter 30: Product Objectives @ Scale 110
Chapter 31: Product Evangelism 112
Chapter 32: Profile: Alex Pressland of the BBC 114
PART 4: The Right Process 116
Product Discovery 117
Chapter 33: Principles of Product Discovery 120
Breakout: Ethics: Should We Build It? 123
Breakout: Discovery Iterations 124
Chapter 34: Discovery Techniques Overview 125
Discovery Framing Techniques 128
Breakout: Problems vs. Solutions 130
Chapter 35: Opportunity Assessment Technique 131
Chapter 36: Customer Letter Technique 133
Chapter 37: Startup Canvas Technique 135
Breakout: The Biggest Risk 136
Discovery Planning Techniques 138
Chapter 38: Story Map Technique 139
Chapter 39: Customer Discovery Program Technique 141
Breakout: Defining Product/Market Fit 147
Chapter 40: Profile: Martina Lauchengco of Microsoft 148
Discovery Ideation Techniques 150
Chapter 41: Customer Interviews 151
Chapter 42: Concierge Test Technique 153
Chapter 43: The Power of Customer Misbehavior Technique 154
Breakout: The Power of Developer Misbehavior 156
Chapter 44: Hack Days 157
Discovery Prototyping Techniques 158
Chapter 45: Principles of Prototypes 160
Chapter 46: Feasibility Prototype Technique 161
Chapter 47: User Prototype Technique 163
Chapter 48: Live-Data Prototype Technique 165
Chapter 49: Hybrid Prototype Technique 167
Discovery Testing Techniques 168
Chapter 50: Testing Usability 169
Chapter 51: Testing Value 174
Chapter 52: Demand Testing Techniques 176
Breakout: Discovery Testing in Risk-Averse Companies 178
Chapter 53: Qualitative Value Testing Techniques 180
Chapter 54: Quantitative Value Testing Techniques 183
Breakout: The Role of Analytics 185
Breakout: Flying Blind 188
Chapter 55: Testing Feasibility 190
Breakout: Discovery for Hardware Products 192
Chapter 56: Testing Business Viability 193
Breakout: User Test vs. Product Demo vs. Walkthrough 196
Chapter 57: Profile: Kate Arnold of Netflix 197
Transformation Techniques 199
Chapter 58: Discovery Sprint Technique 200
Breakout: Discovery Coaches 202
Chapter 59: Pilot Team Technique 203
Chapter 60: Weaning an Organization Off Roadmaps 204
Process @ Scale 205
Chapter 61: Managing Stakeholders 206
Breakout: Devolving from Good to Bad 209
Chapter 62: Communicating Product Learnings 211
Chapter 63: Profile: Camille Hearst of Apple 212
PART 5: Summary: The Right Culture 214
Chapter 64: Good Product Team/Bad Product Team 215
Chapter 65: Top Reasons for Loss of Innovation 218
Chapter 66: Top Reasons for Loss of Velocity 220
Chapter 67: Establishing a Strong Product Culture 222
Acknowledgments 224
About the Author 226
Learning More 227
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