Understanding Product Management: Value, Usability, Feasibility, Viability

DAY 2/90 – Essential Skills Every Product Manager Must Build A lot of people think Product Management is just about writing requirements or attending meetings. It’s not. At its core, Product Management is a skill-based role, and this framework captures the essentials perfectly 👇 🔹 1. Empathy This is the foundation. As a Product Manager, you’re constantly balancing users, business goals, and the engineering team. From experience, the best product decisions I’ve made came from listening deeply—to users’ pain points, to developers’ constraints, and to stakeholders’ expectations. 👉 For beginners: Talk to users (even informally) Study real user problems Ask “why?” more than “how?” Empathy helps you build products people actually need—not just features. 🔹 2. Communication & Leadership You don’t manage people—you manage alignment. A Product Manager must clearly communicate vision, priorities, and trade-offs. I’ve learned that even the best ideas fail when they’re not clearly explained or championed. 👉 For beginners: Practice explaining ideas simply Document decisions clearly Lead conversations, not titles Leadership in PM is influence, not authority. 🔹 3. Strategic Thinking This is about seeing the bigger picture. It’s not just what are we building? It’s why now?, for who?, and what impact will this have? In real projects, strategy means making tough choices—what to build now, what to delay, and what to say no to. 👉 For beginners: Learn to prioritize Study product roadmaps Always connect features to outcomes 🔹 4. Technical Understanding You don’t need to code—but you must understand how things work. Having a technical foundation has helped me collaborate better with engineers, estimate feasibility, and avoid unrealistic decisions. 👉 For beginners: Learn basic software concepts Understand APIs, databases, and system flows Ask engineers questions without fear 🚀 How beginners can progress in Product Management: Start small. Learn continuously. Build things. Reflect often. Read product case studies, volunteer on real projects, break down existing products, and practice thinking like a PM—even before you get the title. This is Day 2 of my 90-day journey, where I’ll keep sharing real insights from working across Product Design, Product Engineering, and Product Management. If you’re learning, transitioning, or building—this space is for you. #ProductManagement #PMSkills #TechCareers #ProductThinking #UX #DigitalProducts #LearningInPublic #90DaysOfGrowth

Do you believe in beginner’s luck in product management? Some of the most innovative product ideas I’ve seen didn’t come from industry-labeled PMs. They came from PMs who just entered the domain Here’s the uncomfortable truth: A strong product manager with real fundamentals can learn any domain in ~3 months. What they bring in those first months is priceless: - They ask “stupid” questions experts stopped asking - They challenge assumptions that were never validated - They don’t respect “this is how it works in this industry” - They focus on user problems, not domain rules That’s beginner’s luck. And it often leads to: - Simpler solutions - New value propositions - Features users didn’t know they needed But here’s the sad pattern I’ve observed After some time, that same PM: - Learns the industry “rules” - Adopts the same mental models - Starts optimizing the system instead of questioning it and slowly… innovation stops. Specialization isn’t bad. But over-specialization can turn product managers into industry operators instead of problem solvers. The best PMs I know deliberately protect their beginner mindset: - They rotate domains - They revisit first-principle thinking - They keep learning like outsiders Maybe the real skill isn’t becoming a Fintech PM. Maybe it’s staying a product manager who happens to work in fintech. have you seen “beginner’s luck” create real product breakthroughs?

Building DevPro: My Product Management journey by doing! One of the biggest lessons in my product management journey has been this: You don’t sharpen product skills by theory alone, you sharpen them by building real products with real teams. That belief led me to launch DevPro- a tech community made up of engineers, product managers, project managers, designers, and builders. We operate like a real startup scrum team: Product discovery & ideation Sprint planning & execution Stand-ups, reviews, and retros Real ownership and accountability The goal? To sharpen execution skills, stay job-ready, and build startup-ready products in a collaborative environment. What I’ve gained through DevPro: 1. Founded and scaled a tech community from idea to execution 2. Led product vision and roadmap across multiple product ideas 3. Practiced real-world product leadership, not just frameworks 4. Managed cross-functional teams and aligned them around outcomes 5. Strengthened my skills in stakeholder management, prioritization, and delivery DevPro has become more than a community, it’s been a living product lab and a core part of my learning curve as a Product Manager. I’m grateful for the builders who believe in learning by building and growing together. If you’re passionate about product, engineering, or building meaningful tech, this is only the beginning. #productmanagement #productinnovation #productdesign #productowner #productlaunch #community

𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙨. And with that shift, Product Management roles are everywhere. ▶️More products. ⏩More PM titles. ⏭️More people trying to break into Product Management. Yet, from building products and working closely with people learning tech skills, one thing keeps showing up: 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴. Most aspiring PMs know the frameworks, the roadmaps, and the buzzwords. What they struggle with is using them in the real world. 👉 Breaking down unclear problems 👉 Making trade-offs with limited data 👉 Working with designers and engineers 👉 Building confidence while still learning This gap shows up in both product teams and learning environments. 🚀 Better products aren’t built by frameworks alone. They’re built by people who are supported while learning. That’s why I build products and also help people learn how to build them well. If you’re looking for: 📌 A Product Manager to build and ship meaningful software 📌 A PM coach to help tech learners move from theory to practice 📌 A mentor to support growth with real-world product thinking Let’s talk. Tag a founder, startup, or tech learning program building something meaningful this year. Share this post. Or mention my name in rooms I’m not in yet. Better products start with better product builders.

Everyone thinks Product Management is about ideas. It's not. It’s about decisions you’re uncomfortable making. Here’s a moment from building an app that still sticks with me: We had a feature everyone loved internally. Design loved it. Engineering was proud of it. I personally thought, “This is it. This will be the differentiator.” I remember sitting in the first round of user testing, leaning forward, waiting for the "Wow!" Instead, I got silence. The user didn’t hate it. They didn't find it buggy. They just… ignored it. They scrolled right past our "innovation" to get to a basic search bar. It’s the worst feedback you can get: Indifference. At that point, the job wasn’t to defend the idea. The job was to kill it. That’s the part people don’t romanticize about product management: - Saying no to "good" ideas because they’re not the "right" ideas - Choosing clarity over cleverness - Letting user behavior punch your ego in the face (repeatedly) The Lesson: If a user doesn’t feel the value in 5 seconds, your "visionary" roadmap doesn't matter. Fall in love with the problem, not your solution. Because the moment you fall in love with a feature, you stop listening to the person using it. #productmanagement #appdevelopment #productmanager

Turns out Product Management doesn’t end where I thought it did. What I thought Product Management was: >Build a product > Launch it >Move on. What I’m learning it actually is: You don’t stop at launch. You stay with the product. Before now, I genuinely thought product managers focused mainly on building something new, and once it was out, their job was done. But Product Management goes far beyond that. As a PM, you guide a product from idea to launch and beyond — constantly checking if it’s creating real value for users and for the business. That “beyond” part matters. Launching a product isn’t the finish line. The real questions start after: What happens when customers begin using my product? Do they understand it? Does it actually solve the problem it was meant to solve? Does it still meet business goals? These are the questions that don’t stop. I’m learning that Product Management is less about “shipping features and moving on” and more about staying responsible for the product. You act as the bridge between users, the team, and the business, constantly making trade-offs and tough decisions. >You keep listening to users, even after launch. >You stay aligned with the team - designers, developers, marketers etc. >You make sure what’s being built isn’t just impressive, but valuable. As someone currently learning, this shift in mindset is changing my product thinking. As a PM, What was the biggest mindset shift you had when you started? Hi, I’m Naza, a TechCrush scholar currently learning Product Management. I’d love to connect 🤍 #ProductManagement #LearningPhase #Tech

Most people think Product Management is about solving problems. That’s only half the job. The real job? 👉 Earning a seat in the room where decisions are made. Because no matter how good your idea is, if the people in power don’t believe in it, it doesn’t matter. Here’s something I learned the hard way. I once pitched a new product idea. I came fully prepared: • UX flows in Figma • Cost vs impact analysis • Timelines and rollout plan • Data to support every claim I did everything a “good PM” is taught to do. The answer was still no. I walked out frustrated, until I realized something important. People in that room were not deciding on features. They were deciding on direction, risk, and identity. They think in two things: money and emotions. From that day on, I changed how I showed up. I stopped pitching features. I started pitching belief. I focused on: • What kind of company we want to become • How this decision shapes our future • How it makes leadership look bold or safe • How users will feel about us That’s how you earn influence. That’s how you get a real voice. Because Product Management at senior levels isn’t about Jira or roadmaps. It’s about being trusted in the room where the future is decided. What helped you earn your seat at the table?

What startup founders think when they hear "product management": 🤢Process and procedures 🤢Writing detailed tickets and talking to engineers for you 🤢Slowing obvious stuff down for no good reason 🤢Just saying "no" to good ideas What I think when I hear "product management": 😎 Focusing on doing the right things fast 😎 Pressure testing ideas to make them better 😎 Connecting the business to its customers' needs 😎 Delivering relentless progress, whatever it takes

Product Managers: Trying to ‘Influence without Authority’? Here’s your 6-step Guide: With no formal authority as a PM, you need a way to get shit done. Influence is your leverage. Influence is about building trust and using storytelling to herd stakeholders. Toward customer results AND business impact. That’s what makes you a great Product Manager. If managing the human side of PM is your bottleneck to success, here are 6 steps to master. 1/ Listen – Understand how your stakeholders make decisions! ❌ Stop pretending to listen, just so they shut up ✅ Connect as a human. Ask about their key metrics, constraints, and how they decide. Track what is not being said. 2/ Frame – Explain your strategy, using their words ❌ Stop speaking from your view ✅ Tell YOUR story but from THEIR point of view. Show how your roadmap addresses all of their goals & frustrations. (Use this to expose miscommunications!) 3/ Pressure test – Find out who is For and Against ❌ Stop waiting until the big meeting ✅ Identify opposition and what legit concerns they have. Also find supporters and queue them up to help you in the big moments. 4/ Adapt + include – Evolve your strategy based on new inputs ❌ Stop being attached to your ideas ✅ Integrate hidden insights and edge-cases that you couldn’t see before. Mirror back to your stakeholders how you are including them, so they feel seen & heard. (Let them correct you if you are still missing something here!) 5/ Facilitate – Lead the meeting/process ❌ Stop thinking the big presentation is the end ✅ Set expectations, manage the clock, and protect the focus. Make sure the one most important decision is kept front and center. Remind everyone Why this is so important Now. 6/ Review – Actively track & learn in contrast with your original hypotheses ❌ Stop jumping right into the next project ✅ Schedule time to slow down & reflect. Iterate on your understanding of other humans. Point out old conflicts that now have answers. Better understand yourself & plan your next upskilling focus. (7/ Now repeat!) All of these steps make up a structured process to ‘Influence’ your stakeholders. This is how you get shit done in PM! Apply these 6 steps within 1-1 meetings AND over an entire sprint/design cycle. If you struggle with the human side of Product Management, and you need to improve your ‘Influence’ skills. Then here’s how to go deeper ⤵️ 📌 I’ve got an ‘Influence Scorecard’ that breaks down each step of this Guide into ‘beginner’, ‘intermediate’, and ‘expert’ levels. Use it to rank yourself and understand exactly what sub-parts of Influence you are missing. Want access? Send me a DM “influence”. ♻️ Repost this to help other PMs master the art of Stakeholder Influence ➕ Follow along Sam Greenwood for insights on soft skills and stakeholder alignment in Product Management