Introduction to Lean Process for new Product Managers
One common problem for any new product manager is to know where to start and what to do next. I worked for a decade in Operations part of the business before moving to Product Management. The key difference between the two teams that affected me the most was how Product Management was very unstructured. At least that is how I felt when I first started the role. I was searching for process, for any guidance on where to start, what to do with all these new ideas that are coming to me.
When I came across The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen , it was an eye opener. The author introduces us to the world of Lean product principles which will help Product managers build meaningful products.
He simplifies the full cycle and breaks it down to Six major steps. He starts with identifying your target customer, identify underserved customer needs, define your value proposition, specifying Minimum Viable Product (MVP) feature set, Creating MVP prototype and testing MVP with customer.
All the above steps will help validate a key item which is one of the foundation for any product success, “Product Market Fit”. We don't have a business if it doesn't meet customer requirement. In any organization, this is the building block for any product. As a new product manager, it might be difficult to figure this out. Having these lean process steps definitely helps us to move in the right direction.
I recommend taking any of the innovations ideas that you are working on, use the guidelines in the book and go through all five steps. This will give an idea on things that you need to do to build a good product.
